CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

After a week in the Kingdom of Bahrain which saw the dramatic conclusion of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship I head home to Scotland this evening for a few days rest.  However with a late flight to Qatar I was able to spend a few hours visiting the Al-Fateh Grand Mosque in Manama. The Al Fateh Mosque is one of the largest mosques in the world, encompassing 6,500 square meters and having the capacity to accommodate over 7,000 worshippers at a time. The mosque was built by the late Sheikh Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifa in 1987 and was named after Ahmed Al Fateh, the conqueror of Bahrain. In 2006, Al-Fateh became the site of the National Library of Bahrain. I visited at sunset, but a cloudy day in Bahrain meant there was little sunshine but the clouds broke to provide a dramatic backdrop.  I also made a mistake by not going earlier because when I got there, there was a call to prayers and so I couldn't visit inside.  That will have to be on my itinerary for ...

The Koutoubia Mosque or Kutubiyya Mosque is the largest mosque in Marrakech, Morocco.  It is located in the southwest medina quarter of Marrakech. The mosque is ornamented with curved windows, a band of ceramic inlay, pointed merlons, and decorative arches; it has a large plaza with gardens, and is floodlit at night. The minaret, 77 metres (253 ft) in height, includes a spire and orbs. It was completed under the reign of the Almohad Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur (1184 to 1199), and has inspired other buildings such as the Giralda of Seville and the Hassan Tower of Rabat.     For more information on the Koutoubia Mosque CLICK HERE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION If you like what you see on this blog please visit our Facebook page and click 'like' MORE IMAGES ...