Egypt has opened a record-breaking mosque in its new administrative capital city – but has been widely criticised for the costs involved.
The government has been building a new city in the desert, to try to move people away from heavily-congested Cairo.
But the unveiling of the new centre and mosque was criticised on social media.
It comes at a time when Egypt has been fighting soaring prices, with inflation running at just over 30% in March.
The New Administrative Capital of Egypt has been purpose-built 45km (28 miles) east of Cairo.
Its new Islamic Cultural Centre also includes the Grand Mosque, which covers more than 19,000 sq m and is capable of hosting 107,000 worshippers.
The mosque cost 800 million Egyptian pounds ($25.9m; £20.7m) to build and is the second-biggest mosque in the Africa.
State media celebrated the mosque for breaking three world records – including the highest pulpit in the world, standing at 16.6m (54.5ft) and handcrafted from the finest types of wood.
The second and third were for the main chandelier of the mosque, which is the heaviest in the world at 24,300kg (53,572lb), and the largest, with a diameter of 22m (72.2ft) and comprising four levels.
The opening event was attended by President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, with state media describing it as showing Egypt’s “grandiosity”.
But on social media there was severe criticism.
Source: bbc.com
