Topped with a 160ft minaret, this pale limestone structure on Embassy Row is the national mosque for American Muslims and dates from 1957. Inside, the mosque glows with bright floral tiling, thick Persian rugs and gilt-trimmed ceilings detailed with more Quranic verse. Visitors may enter but must remove their shoes before doing so and women must cover their hair with a scarf.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Oak Hill Cemetery

0.33 MILES

This 24-acre, obelisk-studded cemetery contains winding walks and 19th-century gravestones set into the hillsides of Rock Creek. It’s a fantastic spot for…

2. Woodrow Wilson House

0.35 MILES

This Georgian-revival mansion offers guided hour-long tours focusing on the 28th president’s life and legacy. Genteel docents discuss highlights of Wilson…

3. Croatian Embassy

0.36 MILES

An impressive sculpture fronts the building: a life-size, cross-legged St Jerome dreaming over his book, by renowned Croatian sculptor Ivan Meštrović.

4. Kahlil Gibran Memorial Garden

0.38 MILES

Located within a wooded ravine known as Woodland-Normanstone Park, this garden memorializes the arch-deity of soupy spiritual poetry. Its centerpieces are…

5. Dumbarton Oaks Park

0.39 MILES

Next door to Dumbarton Oaks garden, Dumbarton Oaks Park was once part of the estate but is now a public woodland beloved by joggers and dog walkers…

6. Dumbarton Oaks

0.43 MILES

The mansion's 27 acres of enchanting formal gardens are straight out of a storybook. The springtime blooms – including heaps of cherry blossoms – are…

7. Mount Zion Cemetery

0.43 MILES

The crumbling graveyard dates from the early 1800s. It takes its name from Mt Zion United Methodist Church, which used to be located beside the site…

8. Female Union Band Society Cemetery

0.44 MILES

This cemetery was founded in 1842 by a society of free black women who pledged to help one another in sickness and in death. The graveyard originally was…