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hibis   Curiosity.
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this page, devotion - mosques, black stone ; Taj Mahal (mausoleum)
French

Islam
Ishmael would be the ancestor of Ishmaelite (Arab). Seem is the ancestor (very distant) of Abraham; one owes him the name of "Semite", umbrella term for Jew and Arab people (Larousse).  see "some more"



Moslem architecture is characterized by the extraordinary polychrome decoration which covers the frontages and the cupolas of the mosques (it is worth seeing those of Samara (Iraq) or Ispahan. Profusion of interlacing, flowers, and other geometrical patterns. Although the green is the colour of Islam, blue dominates in general. No statue, nor painting, at the contrary of other religions, because the Moslem faith proscribes any representation of human face. (Stephen Gardinier).

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Mosques

One washes our own feet before entering the mosque. The tourists can slip on slippers or "over-shoes". hibis
Architecture byzantine (Greek cross) draws a plan with 4 equal branches whose center is a square. (Both Roman and Gothic churches are long and the cross of the transept is hardly marked). The Greek cross at prevailed a long time, spreading in Europe too.

Sainte Sophie (Holy Sophie) is more often mentioned than the blue mosque due to its Christian origin.
Ii was at the beginning, year 537, the private chapel of emperor Justinian under the Bysantin Roman empire, i.e. an orthodoxe Greek plan square contruction.
Its architecture marks a progress in connection between the walls "in square", imposed by the byzantin plan in "Greek cross", and the central cupola, necessarily round. Stones of angle, called "pendentive", transform the square into hexagon , which facilitates connection between the two forms (round onto square).

At the contrary of the blue mosque, largely open to all the faithful, four separate spaces had been conceived : eastern and southern corners for patriarchs, centre for the emperor and his procession, peripheral spaces for ordinary faithful people, then finally farthest galleries for the women.

Mosquée bleue, Istanbul.

Seven minarets instead of four ! (explanatons further..) hibis



Inside the blue mosque, piece of work of the Ottoman empire, which for me, gives primarily a feeling of pale pink, these two colors being associated. (seen at a time when tiles were getting refurbished).
One is seized by emotional feeling while penetrating in the blue mosque so much immense and impressive is the space which opens in front of oneself. Sobriety astonishes too. There is nothing in a mosque, excepted carpets and lighting.


hibis

Seven minarets. A mosque is surrounded by 4 slim towers.
Seven minarets instead of four. A Mosque is surrounded by four slim towers. <>strong>The blue mosque has seven. They would have ordered 4 gold towers, but a vocabulary confusion led to 6 stone towers. Anyway, it couldn't be six towers because only the sacred Ka'aba can have ! So a seventh one was built. (according to our guide) hibis

The sacred black stone (CLICK HERE !) is embedded at the West angle of the Ka'aba (Mecca), behind a cube of black hangings (left hand on the picture)
Handed on to Mahomet by angel Gabriel, it would have been originally white, then blackened by the sins of the humanity. photo Larousse encyclopaedia.
According to "The Legend of Ninmah", an inspired novel, the ultimate attempt to eliminate humans by the creative gods (deluge etc), consisted of a stream of incandescent lavas that swept down the flanks until an enormous block of obsidian turns into a beautiful black egg. 

After being used for the frame work and external decoration, glued enamel tile provided a more refined finish. "Le Figaro" magazine . earthenware detail.

Mosquée, Bagdad (Irak). Arrière plan : pétrole en feu dans des tranchées (Mars 2003).

  Mosque, Ispahan (Iran).
Earthenware with geometric and floral motifs.
All human representation, in all its forms, is forbidden for mosques.   (Photo "Bon Voyage")

A love story : at some distance from Delhi, India, the Taj Mahal is a tomb built for the beloved spouse of Maharaja Shâ Jahân (XVIIth). A mix of Indian and Moslem style. They rest both there. A mix of Indian and moslem style.
hibis picture. What nobody says : on this side passes a railway in light down, with wires and pylons! (masked here). 		Most often ignored details : semi-precious stone marquetries on the external walls. hibis
That is to say that are made by an inlay of semi-precious stones in white marble ! (as a marquetry).

Also in some parts, patterns in the marble are made by a true reliefprocess, i.e superfluous stone is removed over the entire surface of the plate around the raised pattern and not just a few inches around the pattern.
Brick construction with white marble plating. hibis


A more traditional sight. Left hand picture, I have told about a railway, thus limiting the possibilities of shots. But there is worse since the Big Hotels were established there; fortunes transformed into beauty should not be wasted by fortunes meanly mercantiles.

  Byzantine church, Byzantine style -  see also Abrahamic religions.



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