Dictionary of islamic architecture

particularly on minbar domes.
Most early minbars in Persia and Afghanistan
were destroyed by the Mongol invasions; however,
from the Timurid period we have several examples.
One of the most impressive of these is that in the
Djawahr Shah Agah in Meshed (constructed between
1436 and 1446). Structural elements in this minbar
are subordinated to the covering of pentagonal and
star-shaped panels with tendrils in relief, which has
the overall effect of a woven carpet.
In Ottoman Turkey although most minbars
were made of wood some of the most important
were built of marble. Thus in the Selimiye Cami
in Edirne there is a tall minbar of Marmara marble
which is widely regarded as the finest in Turkey.
The form of this minbar with its solid portal, its
steep stairs and tall hood are all characteristic
Ottoman features.
Umayyad minbar in the mosque of the Prophet, Medina (after
Sauvaget)
Minbar

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In India almost all minbars are built of stone and
are often elaborately carved. In Gujarat and
Ahmadabad minbars are in the form of pavilions
on four piers. In Hyderabad, to the south, the
minbars are heavier and plainer, with no canopies
or portals.
The Swahili mosques of the East African coast
usually have simple stone mihrabs. At Sanje Ya
Kate in southern Tanzania there is a sixteenth-
century mosque with a unique minbar set into the
wall. This is entered through an opening in the
qibla wall from which the stairs lead to a niche
next to the mihrab.
Mogadishu
Capital of Somalia located on the southern coast.
Mogadishu was established as a trading city
sometime before the twelfth century although no
early remains have yet been discovered. There are a
number of historic mosques in the old quarter of the
city which mostly date from the nineteenth century
or later. The principal mosque of the town is the
mosque of Fakhr al-Din dated to the thirteenth
century. This is the most sophisticated example of
mosque architecture in East Africa and demonstrates
architectural planning. The mosque has a narrow
courtyard which opens on to a portico of five bays,
the central bay of which is covered with a fluted
dome. Entry into the prayer hall is through doorways
decorated with marble panels. The prayer hall is
divided into nine bays covered with a panelled
ceiling with a central dome. The mihrab is carved
out of north Indian marble and carries a date of 1269.
The mosque also has a minaret which is the earliest
occurrence of this feature in East Africa (minarets
only become widespread from the nineteenth
century).