What is a hypostyle mosque?
A hypostyle mosque is a mosque that contains unique features like lots of columns, decoration in mihrab and in front of most mosques, and they also include minarets that can vary greatly in design. These type of mosques were favored in Arabia, North Africa, and Spain. When looking at a floor pan of a mosque you can easily identify the hypostyle because of the numerous columns. In the text and lecture you can see the “forest of columns” in the Great Mosque at Cordoba and these pictures show how these columns dominate the interior.
Describe the architectural feature that connects the columns in the haram in the Great Mosque at Cordoba.
The columns in the Great Mosque at Cordoba are connected with “superimposed arches that connect the columns, the lower arch being horseshoe-shaped and the upper one not quite semicircular”(Fazio). It is suspected that this style of arch was inspired by Roman aqueducts. The delicately crafted horseshoe-shaped polychrome stacked arches add a lot more character to the building rather than boring plain columns. …show more content…
An iwan is a mosque feature that came from Persia culture and has been used as early as the 6th century. It is a vaulted chamber that is walled on three sides and it has an arched opening on the fourth side. In a mosque it is usually a rectangular court flanked by large, often vaulted spaces, or iwans. Iwans were popular in Iran and Central Asia. Iwans also often had onion shaped domes and intricate tile
A hypostyle mosque is a mosque that contains unique features like lots of columns, decoration in mihrab and in front of most mosques, and they also include minarets that can vary greatly in design. These type of mosques were favored in Arabia, North Africa, and Spain. When looking at a floor pan of a mosque you can easily identify the hypostyle because of the numerous columns. In the text and lecture you can see the “forest of columns” in the Great Mosque at Cordoba and these pictures show how these columns dominate the interior.
Describe the architectural feature that connects the columns in the haram in the Great Mosque at Cordoba.
The columns in the Great Mosque at Cordoba are connected with “superimposed arches that connect the columns, the lower arch being horseshoe-shaped and the upper one not quite semicircular”(Fazio). It is suspected that this style of arch was inspired by Roman aqueducts. The delicately crafted horseshoe-shaped polychrome stacked arches add a lot more character to the building rather than boring plain columns. …show more content…
An iwan is a mosque feature that came from Persia culture and has been used as early as the 6th century. It is a vaulted chamber that is walled on three sides and it has an arched opening on the fourth side. In a mosque it is usually a rectangular court flanked by large, often vaulted spaces, or iwans. Iwans were popular in Iran and Central Asia. Iwans also often had onion shaped domes and intricate tile