Hajj is the annual pilgrimage that Muslims are required to make to Mecca at least once in their lifetime if they are physically and financially able to do so. It is one of the five pillars of Islam. Early mosques did not have a distinctive architectural style as Islam began in Muhammad's homeland which had no native style, so mosques borrowed from neighboring civilizations. Some important mosques include the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the Blue Mosque in Istanbul with its massive central dome and windows, and the mud mosque in Djenne, Mali, which is one of the strangest Islamic structures.

2. Hajj

3. Hajj
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6. Hajj
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23. Mosques
• Moslems
borrowed
extensively from
neighbouring
civilization
because there
was no native
architectural style
in Mohammad’s
homeland.
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25. Central dome of Istanbul’s Blue Mosque

26. Note the massive pendentive and windowed drum.

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Interior of the Dome of the Rock – where Abraham
intended to sacrifice Isaac and where, for a time,
Mohammad directed Moslems to face when praying –
until Mecca became a Moslem city.

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• One of the strangest Islamic structures in
the world is the mud mosque at Djenne.

44. Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque, in Brunei.

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46. The Blue Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey

47. The Taj Mahal
Agra, India