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, the obligatory element of any mosque is the minaret - a tall and narrow annex, most often cylindrical or rectangular. There can be from one to nine such architectural elements in a mosque. It is from this room that the muezzin calls believers 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, one cannot enter the temple dirty for prayer. In the courtyard there are also farm buildings. Madrasah differs from a mosque in that in the courtyard rooms for seminarians can be equipped. Modern temples, of course, have a rather modest architecture. However, if you look at the old magnificent Muslim mosques, you will notice that before the courtyards were often surrounded by columns, even arranged around the perimeter of the gallery.
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 nowadays divided into two halves - male and female. On the eastern wall of the prayer room, a mihrab — a special niche — is arranged without fail. To his right is a special pulpit with 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 ranks are young people.
Images of people and animals in Islam are prohibited. Therefore, of course, there are no icons in the prayer room or anywhere else. Nowadays, the walls are usually decorated with Arabic letters - lines from the Koran. Very often fractal or floral ornaments are also used to design mosques . They can be made both outside the building, and from the inside. Muslim temples are usually finished in traditional blue and red colors. In addition, in the ornaments you can often observe blotches of white and gold.
A remarkable example of Islamic architecture can be considered, for example, the Taj Mahal in Agra. This is a very beautiful building, which is considered a worldwide jewel of culture. This Muslim temple was built, a photo of which you can see at the very top of the page, by Shah Jahad in honor of his wife. The woman's name was Mumtaz Mahal (hence the slightly changed name of the temple), and she died during childbirth. There are two tombs in the temple - the shah’s wife and his own.
In the second photo - the mosque of Sultan Akhmet, located in Istanbul. A distinctive feature of Turkish Muslim temples can be called a special dome shape - more gentle than in mosques in other countries. In the third photo - the mosque of Sultan Akhmet from the inside. Quite often, Muslims adapted the churches of conquered peoples under their own temples . An example of this is the most significant monument of early Christian culture - Sofia of Constantinople, to which the minarets were attached to the Turks.
Thus, a distinctive feature of buildings such as Muslim temples is the dome and the presence of a courtyard. In addition, the obligatory architectural elements are minarets, mihrab and the department.