Masjid al-Haram
The Haram was built in the 7th century and has been modified, rebuilt, and expanded on a regular basis ever since. Major expansions took place in the 1980s and further work is going on today.
The beginnings of the Holy Mosque were established under Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab (634-644). The caliph ordered the demolition of houses surrounding the Ka'ba in order to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims, then built a 1.5-meter high wall to form an outdoor prayer area around the shrine. During the reign of Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan (644-656), the prayer area was enlarged and covered with a simple roof supported by wooden columns and arches.
In 692, after Caliph Abdul Malik bin Marwan conquered Mecca from Ibn Zubayr, the building was enlarged and embellished: the outer walls were raised, the ceiling was covered with teak and the capitals were painted in gold. The caliph's son al-Walid (705-715) replaced the wooden columns with marble ones and decorated its arches with mosaics. Abbasid Caliph Abu Ja'far al-Mansur (754-775) added mosaics to the columns, doubled the size of the northern and western wings of the prayer hall and erected the minaret of Bab al-Umra on the northwest corner.
In 777, a major rebuild took place under Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi (775-785) to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims. The existing mosque was demolished along with more houses in the area and a new mosque was constructed in its place. Measuring 196 by 142 meters, it was built on a grid plan with marble columns from Egypt and Syria decorated with gilt teak wooden inlay. Al-Mahdi's mosque also included three minarets, placed above Bab al-Salam, Bab Ali and Bab al-Wadi.
In 1399, the northern part of the mosque was severely damaged by fire and the remaining sections suffered from water damage. The mosque was subsequently rebuilt by Mamluk Sultan Nasir Faraj bin Barquq (1399-1405). The damaged marble columns were replaced with stone columns quarried from the nearby Hijaz region and the roof was patched with local wood from the Ta'if Mountains.
In 1571, Ottoman Sultan Selim II (1566-1574) commissioned the court architect Sinan to renovate the Holy Mosque. It is from this renovation that the present building mostly dates. Sinan replaced the flat roof of the prayer hall with domes, supported by the addition of new columns from the nearby Shams Mountains. The interior of the domes were decorated with gilded calligraphy.
Due to damaging rains in 1611, the mosque was once again restored under Sultan Murad IV (1623-1640) in 1629. It received a new stone arcade with slender columns and inscriptive medallions between the arches. The floor tiles around the Ka'ba were replaced with new colored marble tiles and the mosque was given seven minarets.
Between 1955 and 1973, the first of many extensions under the Saudi kings was commissioned by King Abdul Aziz (1932-1953). As part of the renovations, the Mas'a gallery connecting the Rock of al-Safa' with al-Marwah was extended to reach the mosque. The two-story extension was built of reinforced concrete arches clad in carved marble and artificial stone, which communicates with the street and the mosque via eleven doors.
A major extension sponsored by King Fahd (1982-present) consisted of a new wing and an outdoor prayer area on the southeast side of the mosque. In the two-story wing, air conditioning circulates below the tiled floors and is supplied through ventilation grids located at the base of each column. The facade of the extension blends in with the previous constructions, with gray marble facing from the Fatimah Mountains and carved white marble bands.
The monumental King Fahd Gate consists of three arches with black and white voussoirs and carved white marble decoration, flanked by two new minarets matching the older ones. The windows are covered with brass mashrabiyya and framed with carved bands of white marble. The minor gates have green-tiled sloped canopies.
Kul Sharif Mosque
In the second of October 1552 after two grueling siege and brutal assault, knocking Arskii Gates, Russian troops stormed into the burning Kazan. At the city»s streets and squares were battles. Path to the Khan»s palace stood in the most powerful Russian resistance at the walls of the mosque Kul-Sharif.
Path to the Khan»s palace for Russians blocked up the most powerful enemy opposition at the walls of the mosque Kul-Sharif. Madrassa students, led by Seid Kul-Sharif survived several attacks of Russians. But soon the defenders of the Muslim center of the Volga were defeated, and Kazan was captured.
Why we started a conversation with the Kul-Sharif Mosque in Kazan? The fact that Tsar Ivan IV, conquered Kazan, was fascinated by the many buildings of the city, including the mosque Kul-Sharif. Historical sources say that Ivan IV ordered the architectors Posnikov and Barma to build a church like Kazan mosque Kul-Sharif in downtown of Moscow. This church was supposed to symbolize the victory over Kazan by Ivan IV (of Muslims), which opened the way to the Caspian Sea and the transformation of Moscow Empire into the Russian Empire.
There are two symbols of the victory of Russian over the most type seat layout obstacle to the proliferation of Russian and South — Muslims (Tatars, Bulgars). One of these symbols — rising in the center of Moscow Church of the Intercession (St. Basil), 1556-1559, the second — was destroyed Kul-Sharif mosque in Kazan, a gem of Islamic architecture in the Volga Region of XVI century. In many russian historical sources the mosque Kul Sharif is called «Kulsharifovoy”. Many scientists who conducted research on the mosque (Michael Khudyakov, S. Aidarov), argue that the mosque had not disappeared without trace after the Russian invasion. It was rebuilt in stone Blagoveshenskiy sobor. Although there is no precise image of mosque Kul-Sharif, but the draw of Jenkinson we can judge that the mosque had many minarets. The number of minarets is determined from 6 to 8. The mosque consisted of the central tent, surrounded by eight smaller tents. According to another version, the mosque Kul Sharif is similar to the mosque — madrasah called Mihrima-Sultan, built in 1578 in Edirnekapi in Istanbul.
Badshahi Mosque
The Badshahi Mosque or the 'Royal Mosque' in Lahore, commissioned by the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671 and completed in 1673, is the second largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia and the fifth largest mosque in the world.
Badshahi mosque is one of the few significant architectural monuments built during Emperor Aurangzeb's long rule from 1658 to 1707. It is presently the fifth largest mosque in the world and was indisputably the largest mosque in the world from 1673 to 1986 when the Faisal Mosque was constructed in Islamabad. Although it was built late in the Mughal era in a period of relative decline, its beauty, elegance, and scale epitomize Mughal cultural achievement like no other monument in Lahore.
At the time of its construction, and even many years later, the famous River Ravi skirted the ramparts of the Mosque and the Lahore Fort (Shahi Qila) just in front of it. A stream still flaws there and is known as the "Buddha Darya" or the Old River. During the Sikh rules, when Lahore was ruthlessly plundered, many a gems and decorative and ornamental plates both from the Badshahi Mosque and Lahore Fort were removed and sent to Amritsar for the construction of the Golden Temple.
In the chambers above the gate of the mosque are housed relics attributed to Muhammad (PBUH), the Muslims' Holy Prophet, His Daughter and His Son-in-Law and are said to have been brought to the sub-continent by Amir Taimur. Owing to the religious sensitivities and respect, photography of the relics is strictly prohibited.
Outside the Badshahi Mosque, near its steps lies the tomb of the poet-philosopher Dr Sir Allama Muhammad lqbal famously known as Mazar-e-Iqbal. The mausoleum is a mixture of Afghan and Moorish styles of architecture and is constructed entirely of red sandstone, which was brought from Rajasthan. The tomb near the entrance of the mosque was constructed as a mark of respect and pay homage to this great man who gave the very concept of a separate Muslim state for the Muslims of the British India
