Do you ever wonder what was the design inspiration of Gumbands (domes) atop buildings? Domes have been around for a long time, but they were popularized by the Islamic Architecture of mainly Mosques and other places, although it is quite common in the Middle Ages European architecture as well. My guess is women’s boobs inspired whoever designed Domes. I am not an architectural engineer, but I don’t see any architectural or design value as Dome does not add any integrity in terms of how secure a building is. A flat roof is as secure (design wise) as a Domed building.
Tell me what you think. Also, tell me where the inspiration for Minaret comes from?
In ancient Egypt, women wore pointed bras to cover their breasts. I think I know where the inspiration of Pyramids comes from.
Let’s please keep this discussion academic and scholarly.
I think it was Marco Polo who commented on this and arrived at the same conclusion.
In Arab lands, the minaret seems taller and larger in proportion to the dome, In desi lands however it's noticeable how it gets smaller and i've witnessed some 'limp' minarets too.. probably due to 'khurd burd' in masjid budgets.. vallah alam.
PaThwari, gurdwaras not only have well rounded big domes on roofs(some of them are studed with pure gold:)) but also every gurdwara have a tall pole with jhanDa on it called Nishan Sahib. Of course it is covered with cloth from bottom to top(roman,no, it does not represent that..we just like the poles covered from environmental damage).
NYA, how can you tell a Ahmadiya mosque from a Sunni or Shia one? Do they have domes too(what a silly question!)? Are they(domes) any bigger or smaller than the sunni, shia mosques or gurdwaras?
[This message has been edited by ChannMahi (edited March 11, 2002).]
DOMES: ancient buildings, were almost always rectangular with coluns to support the flat roof, but as time passed, people realized that the dome wasa stronger structure…
hence domes were much stronger…
they were first built by romans when they rotated an arch in a circle and discovered that it created a strong 3-D structure…
this was in around 100 AD…
despite their thinness, domes are some of the strongest and stiffest structures in existence today…
MINARET: i think it started with the religious buildings…
in the absence of loud-speakers, people had to stand on a high place to call for prayer (azan for example)…
also in army buildings (forts etc) minarets were needed for a watchout…
to increase the distace of sight, taller minarets were used…
am not into architecture either…
but think of more logical reasons…
and get SEX out of ur minds
Channji,,what??? Man, do you want to start a Firka-Warana-Fasad by asking such questions? Needless to say, as Roman has already mentioned, that Qadiyani domes tend to be rounder and pointy and Minarets usually a bit bigger and fatter, but in terms of architectural lay-out, big domes cover a lot of roof space and leave little room to walk atop buildings. It’s been a very very long time since I last offered prayers in a Qadiyani mosque. I am planning a trip to you soon, may be you can take me to a Gurdawara so I can check the dome size for myself.
domes enclose an enormous amount of space without the help of a single column. and as mentiond before by armughal, Despite their thinness, domes are some of the strongest and stiffest structures in existence today.
At the top of a dome, the curving walls push inward toward the center. This force holds the dome in a rigid, stable shape.
[This message has been edited by tipz (edited March 13, 2002).]