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).
Link copied!
The Tamil term for an arch that is shaped like a horse-shoe. It is also known as the chaitya arch,…
A horizontal decorative moulding applied to the edges at the top of an interior wall, ceiling or pedestal. They date…
In Indian temple architecture, it is a style of decorative moulding seen on a tier of the adhisthana, the raised…
In Indian temple architecture, it is the term for the lintel located above a doorway. It is often a carved…
A Shaivite temple or shrine constructed in the cemetery of a ruler or member of the royal family to commemorate…
A layout in traditional Hindu temple architecture in which the central shrine is surrounded by four subsidiary shrines, each at…
A small antechamber connecting the garbhagriha (inner sanctum) of the temple to its mandapa (pillared hall). It is a feature…
A bulbous structure that is the apex of a temple and placed on the roof. Also known as the kalasha,…