Al Amn Magazine # 162

47 APRIL 2023 Holy Mosques of Mecca and the Prophet. The mosque includes 12 separate buildings on a site that extends over 20 hectares with an area of more than 400,000 square metres. With the use of external spaces, it is possible for the mosque to accommodate about 120,000 worshipers, and among its distinctive features is the presence of a tall minaret, which is also a beacon for ships, its height reaches 265 meters, which is the tallest in the world, and a dome with a diameter of 50 meters and a height of 70 meters. The mosque also includes a school for teaching the Quran, a library, and a museum of Islamic art and history. It is a research centre on the history of Algeria, a conference hall, gardens with fruit trees, fountains, administrative buildings, staff housing, and a health centre. Worshipers can reach the mosque in several ways, whether by car, bus, or even boats due to its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, and is connected to Anchorage on the sea coast through two lanes. The cost of the project to build the Algiers Mosque was estimated at approximately $1.4 billion, and the Algerian government stipulated that the companies that submitted the tender for the construction of this project should have proven employees exceeding 2,000 people, including engineers, technicians, and administrators, and 24 companies from all over the world submitted to this tender, including 3 countries. The tender was awarded to the Chinese government construction company to build the mosque, and the first pouring of concrete foundations began on August 16, 2012, after the inauguration ceremony. The Great Mosque of Algiers won the Best Architectural Design of the Year 2021, presented by the Chicago Museum of Architecture and the European Centre for Architectural Arts.