Mihrab:

We are looking at the prayer niche, a Mihrab and I have chosen it in spite of others due to
its unique artistic design and architectural decoration. This is really just a directional
pointer. In the Islamic faith, you are supposed to pray five times a day and you’re
supposed to pray towards Mecca. So knowing where you are meant to be pointing and
where you are meant to be praying is really a fundamental thing so all of the mosques
anywhere in the world are set up to do this. And so they’d have this Mihrab in a wall
which is known as Qibla wall. And that just basically faces towards Mecca. If you
imagine this back into its mosque, into its context, you could see people in rows facing
the Qibla wall praying towards Mecca. This basic architectural form which is now found
in every mosque may have in fact been based on perhaps an archway within the courtyard
of the Prophet’s home in Medina and it’s interesting that you say that and this house was
the civic center because that’s the way that we think about mosques. That is, that they’re
not just religious spaces, but they’re really cultural centers.
Let’s put this particular Mihrab back in its historical context. This is from the city of
Isfahan and it would have been within not a public mosque but a Madrassa, part of a
school. The Madrasa Imami was founded shortly after the Ilkhanid dynasty fell apart. The
intricate arabesque and calligraphic designs on the mihrab were developed by joining a
plethora of cut glazed tiles. One of the earliest and finest examples of mosaic tilework is
the result. This mihrab is one of the most important works in the Museum's collection, as
it is a magnificent piece of religious architectural decoration.
Stylistic features of Taj Mahal:
 A bulbous dome crowns the marble building, which is surrounded by four equal-
height minarets. Minarets are commonly associated with mosques in Islamic
architecture.
 The Taj's interior floor plan follows the hasht bishisht (eight levels) principle,
alluding to paradise's eight levels. The main chamber contains Mumtaz Mahal's
intricately carved marble cenotaph on a raised platform, which is linked to the main
space in a cross-axial plan—the preferred style for Islamic architecture from the mid-
fifteenth century.
 The Taj's white exterior is enriched by Qur'anic verses etched into the building's walls
and designs inlaid with semi-precious stones such as coral, onyx, carnelian, amethyst,
and lapis lazuli.
 The carved imagery's dominant theme is floral, with some familiar and other fanciful
species of flowers—yet another connection to the theme of paradise.
 The monument appears to be centrally situated in a grander complex than originally
thought when viewed from the Mahtab Bagh, moonlight gardens, across the river.
This view, which is only possible when the Yamuna River is included in the complex,
demonstrates the architect's genius. Furthermore, by erecting the Taj on a raised
foundation, the builders ensured that Shah Jahan's funerary complex, as well as the
tombs of other Mughal nobles and their associated gardens, could be seen from a
variety of angles along the river.
The most interesting type of decoration in the Alhambra:
The room is illuminated by the double arched windows, which have stunning views.
Arched grille (lattice) windows set high in the walls provide additional illumination. The
walls are richly painted with tiles laid in intricate geometric designs at eye level. The
remaining surfaces are decorated with intricately carved stucco motifs in curvilinear
patterns and calligraphy, which are arranged in bands and panels and so are the most
interesting type of decoration in Alhambra according to my point of view.