Early Morning Access to The Diyanet Center Mosque in Lanham MD!

As you pull up in your car to 9704 Good Luck Road in Lanham Maryland, the first word out of your mouth will be “Wow!”
Or maybe it will be “Whoa!”

In any case, you will be dazzled by the striking architectural beauty of the Diyanet Center of America Mosque in PG County as it rises before you in the morning sun.

Completed in 2015, this mosque joins the other magnificent religious structures around Washington, DC that we have taken you to on our architectural safari series, such as Washington National Cathedral, the Mormon Temple in Kensington, the National Shrine of Immaculate Conception, St. Matthew’s Cathedral, St. Nicholas Cathedral, and The Franciscan Monastery.
Based on 16th century Ottoman architecture, the mosque covers over 20,000 square feet, built with reinforced concrete and stone and marble cladding. It can hold as many as 760 worshippers in its huge indoor space. Each of the four marble columns are brought from four cities in Turkey famous for their marble quarry, The Diyanet Center describes the mosque as “am abode of peace and a tranquil refuge for Islamic as well as interfaith communities”. More information is available at www.diyanetamerica.org

With special permission from the mosque, we are being given access to this gorgeous structure in the early hours of a Sunday morning when the sun lights it up from the southeast. Taking off our shoes, we will also be allowed to go inside the mosque in order to photograph the extraordinary interior.

Architectural photographer and Washington Photo Safari director E. David Luria will guide you to the best locations for photography at the mosque, giving you tips on composition, ISO settings, white balance, and the use of wide-angle lenses. Tripods are allowed on this safari.

The Diyanet Center campus also includes a beautiful Cultural Center, a Social Hall, Guest House, a Bath and Sports Center, ten houses that typify traditional Turkish domestic architecture, and an Islamic Garden.
Here is a Flickr site with samples of the kinds of pictures you will get on this safari:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/123745666@N04/sets/72157668607882320

For lovers of architectural photography in the DC area, this place is really “Mecca!” Your fee for the safari includes a donation to the Diyanet Center, and this safari will be a great opportunity to enrich your own architectural portfolio while training you to photograph religious institutions in your travels to other parts of the world.