7/31/2022
There was only one program left. Even if we had to turn back because of construction work, it wasn't far. We only drove 7 minutes.
The Islamic Center of America is the largest mosque in North America.
One-third of Dearborn's residents are Arab-American.
As the demand for cars began to grow, more workers were needed, so tens of thousands came from all over the world, hoping for work and a better life. For example, many people came from Lebanon and Syria, most of them Christians, but also many Muslims.
The construction of the mosque began in 1963, and today it is the Islamic center of the USA.
The Detroit Mosque was primarily funded by Shi'a Muslims, some of whom pledged their homes and businesses as collateral to support the mosque's construction.
The current center was inaugurated in 2005. The mosque is 120,000 square feet (~11,000 square meters). It has a large and magnificent assembly hall, a kitchen, a spacious prayer room, meeting rooms, and a library. It also has two 110 feet (33.5 meters) high minarets.
The building was closed at 5 pm so we couldn't go inside. But this is a stunning mosque! It was worth a look. Anyway, it was extraordinary for us in the city that everything was written in Arabic! 😀
In the previous post, under the pictures, you can also see that the Arabic inscription also appears on the Fair Lane signs.
After that, we made our way. At this point, it was about half past six, and we knew we still had 4 hours of driving ahead of us. We wanted to go to Frankenmuth, but that was no longer a realistic wish. It's only an hour and a half from here and almost three hours from Traverse City. Despite this, we agreed that we would return there one day.
We stopped near Frankenmuth to buy water and a few things before continuing.
Yes, I would like to mention one awesome thing. Coming north, it was light here until quarter past ten. There was no traffic. Everything is nice and green, there are a lot of lovely pine trees along the streets, so it's beautiful. And as we pulled into town and drove by the bay, we already knew we were in for a great week.
Fortunately, we arrived in Traverse City after 10 pm. We took our room, took a bath, and went to sleep. We were drained, but we saw many amazing things on the first day!
Additional Photos
