A niche in the wall of a mosque which indicates the qibla (direction of the Kaaba in Mecca) and is usually covered by a wall hanging. Some of the earliest niches were constructed in Damascus and Mecca during the eight century CE, under the reign of the Umayyad caliph al-Walid I. From the Old South Arabian mhrb (palace) or the Ethiopian mekwrab (temple or sanctuary).
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A fence or defensive wall made of closely packed wooden or iron stakes or tree trunks and typically serves as…
A type of fine plaster or coating material used to cover walls and ceilings with decorative patterns, it is also…
Meaning ‘gateway’ or ‘arched entrance’ in Sanskrit and Pali, torana refers to a free-standing gateway marking the entrance to a Buddhist shrine or…
A long, rigid hydraulic structure constructed perpendicular to the seashore or riverbank to interrupt flow of water. They are usually…
An architectural term, it refers to the assembly room or audience hall in a Hindu temple.
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The style of cave temple architecture developed under the patronage of the Pallava king Mahendravarman I, characterised by simplicity of…
A row of pillars surrounding an enclosed space or enclosing an open space, taking the form of a porch or…