Function/s of a minaret/spire taken from Wikipedia * In addition to providing a visual cue to a Muslim community, the main function of the minaret is to provide a vantage point from which the call to prayer, or adhan, is made. The call to prayer is issued five times each day: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night. In most modern mosques, the adhan is called from the musallah, or prayer hall, via microphone to a speaker system on the minaret. Minarets also function as air conditioning mechanisms: as the sun heats the dome, air is drawn in through open windows then up and out of the minaret, thereby providing ventilation. ________________________________ * Symbolically, spires have two functions. The first is to proclaim a martial power. A spire, with its reminiscence of the spear point, gives the impression of strength. The second is to reach up toward the skies. The celestial and hopeful gesture of the spire is one reason for its association with religious buildings. A spire on a church or cathedral is not just a symbol of piety, but is often seen as a symbol of the wealth and prestige of the order, or patron who commissioned the building. As an architectural ornament, spires are most consistently found on Christian churches, where they replace the steeple. Although any denomination may choose to use a spire instead of a steeple, the lack of a cross on the structure is more common in Roman Catholic and other pre-Reformation churches. The battlements of cathedrals featured multiple spires in the Gothic style (in imitation of the secular military fortress). Spires also occur commonly and notably as solo structures, in the way that obelisks are used. The Modernist movements of the 20th century began to build office towers in the form of free-standing spires. Some famous buildings, such as the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, use the spire as a testimony of civic power and hope; this example also references Seattles participation in aerospace. The 1,776-foot (541-m) One World Trade Center under construction at Ground Zero in New York City, incorporates plans for a spire. ________________________________ 1) Why is there a minaret atop the Freedom Tower? 2) Why is the 911 memorial an upside down depiction of the Kaba (most holy Islamic place of prayer) ? Isa 29:15¶ Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Isa 29:16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potters clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? ________________________________ One World Freedom Tower Exposed--Crowning-The-Tyrant youtu.be/ZVYlB8kYftg backup link-same video m.youtube/watch?v=ZVYlB8kYftg&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DZVYlB8kYftg 3photos Left- Kaba Muslim holy place of prayer and worship Middle- minaret atop the One World Freedom Tower N.Y.C Right- 911 memorial built on top of ground zero (Kaba depiction?)
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 00:23:17 +0000