Masjid-e-Tooba, also known as “Gol Masjid” or the Round Mosque, stands as one of Pakistan’s most beautiful and unique mosques. Located in the Defense Housing Authority Phase II in Karachi, this amazing mosque has made history with its incredible design.
The dome has a diameter of 212 feet (65 m). The mosque is built over a total area of 4,657 square metres. It has a single minaret with a height of 120 feet (37 m). The mosque is considered to be the largest single-dome mosque in the world, with no pillars in its central prayer hall.
Construction of this special mosque began in 1966 and took three years to complete. The mosque was designed by Pakistani architect Babar Hameed Chauhan, and the structural engineer for the project was Zaheer Haider Naqvi. It was finally opened to the public in 1969.
The mosque has the capacity to hold up to 5,000 people, making it one of the largest mosques in the world. What makes it truly special is that the entire space under the massive dome has no pillars supporting it from inside. This creates a beautiful open space where worshippers can pray together.
The mosque is built completely from pure white marble, giving it a clean and elegant look. The mosque’s ceiling contains thousands of pieces of glass, while its walls are constructed from small pieces of marble. When you turn on a light inside the mosque, it reflects and bounces off the glass pieces and provides additional light.
This mosque has unique features as it was built keeping acoustics in mind, which means that if a person speaks at one end of the mosque, they can be heard at the other end. This amazing sound system works naturally without any microphones or speakers.
The dome alone required more than 70,000 man-hours of labour to construct. The local community of Karachi helped build it, contributing both money and physical work. It was truly a community effort that brought people together.
Today, Masjid-e-Tooba remains one of Karachi’s most famous landmarks. Surrounded by beautiful green gardens, it attracts both worshippers and tourists from around the world who come to see this architectural wonder that has stood strong for over 50 years.
