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March 08, 2005
Decorative or functional?
It is said that decoration is nothing without function, I would disagree, especially when the decoration is pleasing to the eye and focuses the mind on some aspect of the function of the building. Mosques are prime examples of the art of decoration which enhances, yet serves no apparent functional purpose - other than to decorate.
The decorative frieze below the parapet on the external wall of a mosque.
Different decorative patterns adorn many of the buildings in Doha, and this particular frieze caught my eye. Typical of the style of "tracery" used in screens and window arches, this pattern is probably produced by means of stencil and forms; it is nonetheless beautifully even and exquisitely executed.
On the way to Umm Said, this mosque caught my eye for its proportions and its decorative finishing to the minaret and the parapet.
Much plainer in its decoration than the first example, the very simplicity of the design is what draws the eye. For those who wonder, dark circular objects in the top balconey of the minaret are loudspeakers of the "big" kind. The sound from these can be heard up to a mile away when the muessin calls the faithful to prayer. I leave to your own imagination what it sounds like when you have a mosque in every couple of blocks all calling their people to prayer with each muezzin singing his own distinct version of the music and in his own pitch!
Suffice it to say that some can sing, and some shouldn't - especially not with a public broadcast system in their hands!
Posted by The Gray Monk at March 8, 2005 09:21 AM