Dictionary of islamic architecture

Further reading:
J.Bloom, ‘The introduction of the muqarnas in Egypt’,
Muqarnas
5, 1988.
O.Grabar, 
The Formation of Islamic Art
(revised and
enlarged edition), Yale University Press: New Haven
and London 1987.
musalla
Literally a place where prayer is performed, although in
practice it has come to refer to large open spaces outside
cities for that purpose.
The prime function of a musalla is to provide
additional space for prayer during festivals such as
Ramadhan. Sometimes they are referred to as
‘Festival Mosques’, and in India, Iran and Ottoman
Turkey they are referred to by the term 
namazgah.
Sometimes a musalla is no more than an open space
marked out with a line which indicates the direction
of Mecca (the qibla), although more often it will
include a long wall on the qibla side which may
include a mihrab. Sometimes musalla reached
advanced stages of building with an arcade covering
the qibla wall (as recorded at Bahrain) and elaborately
decorated mihrabs such as that of Mashad. The usual
position of a musalla was outside the city gates
although they are occasionally within the city as in
Abbasid Samarra.
musalla

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nahr
Canal or river.
namazgah
Turkish and Persian term for an open-air prayer place
often used by the army. Sometimes these are quite
elaborately built with a minbar and a standing
mihrab.
naqqar khana
Mughal term for a drum house or place for an
orchestra during ceremonies.
Natanz, shrine of Abd al-Samad
Sufi funerary complex at Natanz in western Iran.
Natanz is located on the edge of the Dasht-i Kavir
desert 60 km south-east of Kashan. This is a large
funerary complex which has grown up organically
around the tomb of Abd al-Samad, a follower of the
famous Sufi saint Abu Said who died in 1049. The
central feature of the site is the octagonal tomb
around which is built a four-iwan congregational
mosque dated to 1309. Internally the tomb is a
cruciform chamber which is converted to an octagon
at roof level. The roof is a blue-tiled octagonal
pyramid dome outside and internally comprises a
tall muqarnas vault. Another important structure at
the site is the khanqa or dervish hostel built in 1317
which is located to the south-west of the tomb. Only
the portal of this structure survives with a large
muqarnas semi-dome.