Taipei Grand Mosque

On Xinsheng South Road stands a distinctive building with a dome 15 metres high: the Taipei Grand Mosque. A mosque is a place of worship in Islam. The mosque covers 2,747 square metres and was completed on 13 April 1960, funded jointly by Taiwan and Saudi Arabia. It was designed by the architect Yang Zhuocheng, who also designed the Grand Hotel. The main structure is a permanent reinforced-concrete frame; the outer walls are reinforced brick finished with fine cement aggregate and decorated with mosaic patterns. The round columns are of dressed stone, and the main doors and windows are full-height. Inside the main prayer hall, the dome rises 15 metres above the floor and spans 15 metres with no supporting columns. The hall is laid with a hand-made Persian wool carpet given by the king of a friendly nation and hung with palace-style chandeliers. Outside, two minarets rise more than 20 metres. Kings, presidents and other leaders of Muslim countries visiting the Republic of China have made the mosque one of their main stops, so it serves as a place of diplomacy and exchange. Visitors should behave respectfully. Only Muslims may enter the main prayer hall and the women's prayer hall on 2F.

Translated and shortened by DealTaipei from Taiwan's national tourism database. Sources are on the terms page.