MinaretA minaret (ˌmɪnəˈrɛt,_ˈmɪnəˌrɛt; منارة, or مِئْذَنة; minare; گلدسته) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (adhan), but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can have a variety of forms, from thick, squat towers to soaring, pencil-thin spires. Two Arabic words are used to denote the minaret tower: manāra and manār. The English word "minaret" originates from the former, via the Turkish version (minare).
KaabaThe Kaaba (ٱلْكَعْبَة, al.ˈkaʕ.ba), also spelled Ka'ba, Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Ka'ba al-Musharrafa (ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, al.ˈkaʕ.ba‿l.mu.ˈʃar.ra.fa), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is considered by Muslims to be the Bayt Allah (بَيْت ٱللَّٰه) and is the qibla (قِبْلَة, direction of prayer) for Muslims around the world. The current structure was built after the original building was damaged by fire during the siege of Mecca by Umayyads in 683.
MosqueA mosque (mɒsk ) or masjid (ˈmæsdʒɪd,_ˈmʌs- ; both from masjid, ˈmasdʒid; place of ritual prostration) is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (salah) are performed, including outdoor courtyards. The first mosques were simple places of prayer for Muslims, and may have been open spaces rather than buildings. In the first stage of Islamic architecture, 650-750 CE, early mosques comprised open and closed covered spaces enclosed by walls, often with minarets from which calls to prayer were issued.
