Muslim temples are called mosques, and they are built according to certain rules. Firstly, the building should be oriented strictly to the East, that is, to the holy place for all Muslims - Mecca. Secondly, an obligatory element of any mosque is a minaret - a tall and narrow extension, most often cylindrical or rectangular in shape. There can be from one to nine such architectural elements in a mosque. It is from this room that the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer.
Almost all Muslim temples are equipped with a courtyard. Here, according to tradition, a fountain, a well or any device intended for ablutions should be arranged. According to Muslim customs, it is forbidden to enter the temple dirty for prayer. There are also outbuildings in the yard. A madrasah differs from a mosque in that rooms for seminarians can be equipped in the courtyard. Modern temples, of course, have a rather modest architecture. However, if you look at the old magnificent Muslim mosques, you will notice that earlier courtyards were often surrounded by columns, even arranged around the perimeter of the gallery.
The building of the mosque is crowned with a dome decorated with a crescent.
These are the features of the Muslim temple in terms of exterior. Inside, the building is divided in our time into two halves - male and female. On the eastern wall of the prayer room, a mihrab, a special niche, is arranged without fail. To the right of him is a special pulpit from which the imam reads his sermons to believers. During prayer, old people stand closest to him. Behind them are middle-aged people. And in the very last rows - youth.
Images of people and animals are prohibited in Islam. Therefore, of course, there are no icons in the prayer room or anywhere else. Nowadays, the walls are usually decorated with Arabic scripts - lines from the Koran. Very often, fractal or floral ornaments are also used to decorate mosques. They can be performed both outside the building and from the inside. Muslim temples are usually decorated in traditional blue and red colors. In addition, blotches of white and gold can often be observed in the ornaments.
A wonderful example of Islamic architecture can be considered, for example, the Taj Mahal in Agra. This is a very beautiful building, which is considered a global pearl of culture. This Muslim temple, the photo of which you can see at the very top of the page, was built by Shah Jahad in honor of his wife. The woman's name was Mumtaz Mahal (hence the slightly altered name of the temple), and she died in childbirth. The temple has two tombs - the Shah's wife and his own.
On the second photo - Sultan Ahmet Mosque, located in Istanbul. A distinctive feature of Turkish Muslim temples is the special shape of the dome - more gentle than in mosques in other countries. The third photo shows the Sultan Ahmet Mosque from the inside. Quite often, Muslims adapted the churches of conquered peoples for their own temples. An example of this is the most significant monument of early Christian culture - Sophia of Constantinople, to which minarets were attached by the Turks.
Thus, a distinctive feature of buildings such as Muslim temples can be called a dome and the presence of a courtyard. In addition, minarets, a mihrab and a pulpit are mandatory architectural elements.
