Faisal Masjid

Faisal Mosque sits at the foot of the Margalla Hills in Islamabad and is usually the first stop on the itinerary, because most yatra groups land at Islamabad International and spend their first nights in the capital.

Completed in 1986 and funded by Saudi Arabia, it was designed by the Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay and looks unlike any other major mosque: no dome at all, but a white concrete structure shaped like a desert tent, framed by four slender minarets. It was the largest mosque in the world for many years and still holds tens of thousands.

For a Sikh group this is a stop for orientation rather than pilgrimage. It gives the first morning a fixed point, the hills behind it are a good introduction to the landscape, and it is a short drive from the hotels used in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The natural pairing is with Gurdwara Panja Sahib at Hasan Abdal, about 50 km away on the Grand Trunk Road, which most itineraries take on the same day or the next.

Visitors remove shoes and cover their heads, and it is quietest early in the day. Konnect Yatra groups travel together with our own transport and staff.

What a visit involves

Usually the first stop of the trip, on the first morning in Islamabad while the group is still adjusting after a long flight from the United States. A walk through the courtyard and, where permitted, the prayer hall. Shoes off, heads covered, scarves for women.

Allow an hour. It is a deliberately gentle start.

Before you go

• Jet lag is real after a flight from the east coast, and this first morning is scheduled lightly on purpose.
• The marble stays cool here even in summer, unlike the Badshahi Mosque courtyard later in the trip.
• It is an active mosque. Avoid prayer times and keep photography discreet.

Getting there from your hotel

Faisal Mosque is in the north of Islamabad below the Margalla Hills, a short drive from the Islamabad and Rawalpindi hotels we use. Konnect Yatra groups travel by private coach with our own staff. It is normally paired with Gurdwara Panja Sahib at Hasan Abdal, the same day or the next.