Sancaklar Mosque, world's first underground mosque, inspired by Cave of Hira

Located in Istanbul's Büyükçekmece district, the Sancaklar Mosque was built seven meters beneath the ground and was designed and built by Turkish architect Emre Arolat. Arolat took inspiration from the Cave of Hira when he designed the mosque. The Sancaklar Mosque is the first underground mosque in the world. The mosque's 1,200 square meters can accommodate 650 worshippers. The construction of the mosque, which merges the essence of Islamic and Ottoman design, started in May 2011. The mosque lacks a crescent and has a nontraditional minaret, Today's Zaman reports. In May 2012, the world's first underwater mosque was built in the city of Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The first Friday prayer in the mosque was performed at the close of January 2014 with the participation of Istanbul Governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu. Speaking to reporters, Mutlu said that he was impressed with the mystic atmosphere in the mosque. Although the mosque has held its first Friday prayer, it has yet to be opened to the public. It is expected to open in the coming weeks. Speaking to reporters after the Friday prayer, Büyükçekmece Mayor Hasan Akgün said it was a great honor for the district to have a mosque that was dubbed the World Architecture Festival's best religious building.