Hassan II Mosque

The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco, is one of the largest mosques in the entire world — and it is built right on the Atlantic Ocean! Half of the mosque's huge floor literally hangs over the sea, so when you pray inside you can sometimes hear the waves crashing below.

Its minaret is 210 meters tall — about as high as a 60-story skyscraper. At night, a green laser shoots from the top of the minaret pointing straight toward Makkah, so everyone in the city knows the direction of the qiblah.

The mosque can fit 25,000 people inside and another 80,000 in the outdoor courtyard — that is 105,000 worshippers all together! The roof in the middle even opens up like a sunroof so people can pray under the stars.

It is decorated with hand-carved cedar wood, marble, stone, and colourful zellij tiles made by Moroccan craftsmen. The mosque is fairly new — it was finished in 1993 — but it shows the world that the Islamic art of building beautiful mosques is still alive today.