Islamic World
- Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold) Seville, Spain c. 1220
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Mezquita del Cristo de la Luz
Toledo, Spain
999
One of the oldest Moorish monuments in Spain, this tiny 10th-century mosque was built over a Visigothic chapel then converted into a church by King Alfonso.
- Alcazar Seville, Spain
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Al-Aqsa Mosque
Jerusalem, Israel
1035
This large and important mosque on the Temple Mount was originally built in 710. It features 11th-century mosaics, a 12th-century mihrab, and Romanesque arches added by Crusaders.
- Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam Ghowr, Afghanistan
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Muhammad Ali Mosque
Cairo, Egypt
1848
Completed in 1848, the Ottoman-style Muhammad Ali Mosque or "Alabaster Mosque" is the most prominent in Cairo, dominating the skyline from its lofty location on the Citadel.
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Blue Mosque
The cascading domes and six slender minarets of the Blue Mosque dominate the skyline of Istanbul. The 17th-century mosque was built by Sultan Ahmet I to rival the Hagia Sophia.
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Great Mosque of Aleppo
Aleppo, Syria
This Umayyad mosque was founded just 10 years after its more famous counterpart in Damascus. Recently restored to gleaming beauty, it is notable for its geometric courtyard paving and shrine of Zechar.
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Suleymaniye Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey
1550-57
Commissioned by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and constructed by the great Ottoman architect Sinan, this beautiful mosque patterned after the Hagia Sophia was finished in 1557.
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Yeni Camii
Istanbul, Turkey
The "New Mosque" is not so new - it was built in the 1600s. Designed by Da'ud Aga, a pupil of Sinan, Yeni Camii has become a defining feature of Istanbul's skyline.
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Damascus Citadel
Damascus, Syria
The citadel of Damascus, smaller than the one in Aleppo, dates mainly from the Ayyubid and Mameluke periods, when Sultan al Adil used it to defend Damascus against the Crusaders and Mongols in the 13th century.