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Minarets
A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can have a variety of forms, from thick, squat towers to soaring, pencil-thin spires. Etymology Two Arabic words are used to denote the minaret tower: ''manāra'' and ''manār''. The English word "minaret" originates from the former, via the Turkish language, Turkish version (). The Arabic word ''manāra'' (plural: ''manārāt'') originally meant a "lamp stand", a cognate of Hebrew language, Hebrew ''Temple menorah, menorah''. It is assumed to be a derivation of an older Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed form, ''manwara''. The other word, ''manār'' (plural: ''manā'ir'' or ''manāyir''), means "a place of light". Both words derive from the Arabic root ''n-w-r'', which has a meaning related to "light". Both words also had other meani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosque
A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were simple places of prayer for the early Muslims, and may have been open spaces rather than elaborate buildings. In the first stage of Islamic architecture (650–750 CE), early mosques comprised open and closed covered spaces enclosed by walls, often with minarets, from which the Adhan, Islamic call to prayer was issued on a daily basis. It is typical of mosque buildings to have a special ornamental niche (a ''mihrab'') set into the wall in the direction of the city of Mecca (the ''qibla''), which Muslims must face during prayer, as well as a facility for ritual cleansing (''wudu''). The pulpit (''minbar''), from which public sermons (''khutbah'') are delivered on the event of Friday prayer, was, in earlier times, characteristic of the central ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qutb Minar
The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and victory tower comprising the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi's oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of South Delhi, India. It was mostly built between 1199 and 1220, contains 399 steps, and is one of the most-frequented heritage spots in the city. After defeating Prithviraj Chauhan, the last Hindu ruler of Delhi before the Ghurid conquest of the region, Qutab-ud-din Aibak initiated the construction of the victory tower, but only managed to finish the first level. It was to mark the beginning of Islamic rule in the region. Successive dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate continued the construction, and, in 1368, Firuz Shah Tughlaq rebuilt the top parts and added a cupola. It can be compared to the 62-metre all-brick Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, of , which was constructed a decade or so before the probable start o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Badshahi Mosque
The Badshahi Mosque (; ) is a Mughal Empire, Mughal-era congregational mosque, imperial mosque located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was constructed between 1671 and 1673 during the rule of Aurangzeb, opposite of the Lahore Fort on the northern outskirts of the historic Walled City of Lahore, Walled City. It is widely considered to be one of the most iconic landmarks of Pakistan. The Badshahi Mosque was built between 1671 and 1673 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. The mosque is an important example of Mughal architecture, with an exterior that is decorated with carved red sandstone with marble inlay. It remains the largest mosque of the Mughal-era, and is the List of mosques in Pakistan, third-largest mosque in Pakistan. In 1799, during the rule of Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire, the mosque's courtyard was used for worship. When the British Raj, British Empire took control of Lahore in 1846 it was used as a garrison until 1852. Subsequently, the Badshahi Mosque Authority was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography), right bank, Delhi shares borders with the state of Uttar Pradesh in the east and with the state of Haryana in the remaining directions. Delhi became a union territory on 1 November 1956 and the NCT in 1995. The NCT covers an area of . According to the 2011 census, Delhi's city proper population was over 11 million, while the NCT's population was about 16.8 million. The topography of the medieval fort Purana Qila on the banks of the river Yamuna matches the literary description of the citadel Indraprastha in the Sanskrit epic ''Mahabharata''; however, excavations in the area have revealed no signs of an ancient built environment. From the early 13th century until the mid-19th century, Delhi was the capital of two major empires, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and 27th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a population of over 14 million. Lahore is one of Pakistan's major industrial, educational and economic hubs. It has been the historic capital and cultural center of the wider Punjab region, and is one of Pakistan's most Social liberalism, socially liberal, Progressivism, progressive, and Cosmopolitanism, cosmopolitan cities. Origins of Lahore, Lahore's origin dates back to antiquity. The city has been inhabited for around two millennia, although it rose to prominence in the late 10th century with the establishment of the Walled City of Lahore, Walled City, its fortified interior. Lahore served as the capital of several empires during the medieval era, including the Hindu Shahis, Gha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giralda
The Giralda ( ) is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain. It was built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville in al-Andalus, during the reign of the Almohad dynasty, with a Renaissance-style belfry added by the Catholics after the expulsion of the Muslims from the area. The cathedral, including the Giralda, was registered in 1987 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, along with the Alcázar and the General Archive of the Indies. It remains one of the most important symbols of the city, as it has been since the Middle Ages. The tower is one of the most famous monuments of Moorish architecture in Spain and one of the most refined examples of Almohad architecture. Origin Initial construction The mosque was built to replace the older Mosque of Ibn 'Addabas, built in the 9th century under Umayyad rule, since the congregation had grown larger than that modest mosque could accommodate. It was commissioned in 1171 by caliph Abu Ya'qub Yusuf. Sevillian archite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics of Turkey, population of Turkey. Istanbul is among the List of European cities by population within city limits, largest cities in Europe and List of cities proper by population, in the world by population. It is a city on two continents; about two-thirds of its population live in Europe and the rest in Asia. Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus—one of the world's busiest waterways—in northwestern Turkey, between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea. Its area of is coterminous with Istanbul Province. Istanbul's climate is Mediterranean climate, Mediterranean. The city now known as Istanbul developed to become one of the most significant cities in history. Byzantium was founded on the Sarayburnu promontory by Greek colonisation, Greek col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muezzin
The muezzin (; ), also spelled mu'azzin, is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer ( ṣalāt) five times a day ( Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer, Asr prayer, Maghrib prayer and Isha prayer) at a mosque from the minaret. The muezzin plays an important role in ensuring an accurate prayer schedule for the Muslim community. Etymology The English word ''muezzin'' is borrowed from , , simplified ''mu'azzin'', the active participle of "to call". Thus, it means "the calling one". Roles and responsibilities The professional muezzin is chosen for his good character, voice and skills to serve at the mosque. Muezzins are typically men. The muezzin is not considered a cleric, as he cleans the toilets and the place where people wash their hands, face and feet when they perform the Wuḍu' (Arabic: ''wuḍū’'' وُضُوء, the "purification" of ablution) before offering the prayer. When calling to prayer, the muezzin faces the qiblah, the direction of the Ka'bah in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adhan
The (, ) is the Islamic call to prayer, usually recited by a muezzin, traditionally from the minaret of a mosque, shortly before each of the five obligatory daily prayers. The adhan is also the first phrase said in the ear of a newborn baby, and often the first thing recited in a new home. It is the first call summoning Muslims to enter the mosque for obligatory () prayers (); a second call, known as the , summons those already in the mosque to assemble for prayer. Muslims are encouraged to stop their activities and respond to the adhan by performing prescribed prayers, demonstrating reverence for the call to prayer and commitment to their faith. The five prayer times are known in Arabic as (), (), (), (), and (). In Turkey, they are called , and ; the five calls to prayer are sung in different makams, corresponding to the time of day. Terminology , Arabic for 'announcement', from the root , meaning 'to listen, to hear, be informed about', is variously transliterated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roof Lantern
A roof lantern is a Daylighting (architecture), daylighting architectural element. Architectural lanterns are part of a larger roof and provide natural light into the space or room below. In contemporary use it is an architectural skylight structure. A lantern roof will generally mean just the roof of a lantern structure in the West, but has a special meaning in Indian architecture (mostly Buddhist, and stretching into Central Asia and eastern China), where it means a dome-like roof raised by sets of four straight beams placed above each other, "arranged in diminishing squares", and rotated with each set. Normally such a "lantern" is enclosed and provides no light at all. The term ''roof top lantern'' is sometimes used to describe the lamps on roofs of taxis in Japan, designed to reflect the cultural heritage of Japanese people, Japanese paper lanterns. History The glazed lantern was developed during the Middle Ages, one notable medieval example being that atop the 14th-centu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
