Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also:
Damascus, Diyarbakir, Harran, Syria,
Umayyads
Further reading:
K.A.C.Creswell (mosaics by Marguerite Van Berchem),
Early Muslim Architecture,
Oxford 1969, 1 (1): 156– 210,
323–72.
dam
Dams have always been an important factor in
Islamic civilization as a means of harnessing scarce
or fugitive water supplies. Famous examples of pre-
Islamic dams in the Middle East include the Macrib
dam in Yemen and the Shallalat dam in northern Iraq.
The advantages of dams over cisterns or reservoirs
is that a large volume of water can be stored with a
relatively small amount of construction work. The
simplest forms of dam are made of earth with a clay
core whilst more imposing masonry dams are built
to contain larger volumes of water. Most dams are
associated with irrigation works and are sometimes
linked to water mills. However, some of the largest
dams are built to provide drinking water for cities;
one of the best examples is the Birket al-Sultan in
Jerusalem which consists of a large masonry dam
built across the wadi Hinon in the sixteenth century.
On top of the dam in the centre is a drinking fountain
or sebil which supplied water to travellers. One of
the greatest examples of Ottoman engineering is the
Valide Bend, a large masonry dam constructed in the
Belgrade forest in 1769 to supply water to Istanbul.
dar
House or residence. Often implies a house of high
status and may be roughly equivalent to mansion.
dar al-imara
Governor’s palace. In early Islamic architecture this
was usually located at the qibla end of the mosque
(i.e. behind the mihrab). This was a safety measure to
enable the govenor (or caliph) to enter the mosque
without having to pass through other worshippers.
See also:
Kufa