Al Azhar Mosque in Cairo, Egypt has a hypostyle hall Many early mosques have a square or rectangular plan. They also have a prayer hall and an enclosed courtyard. This is known as Arab-plan. The first mosques of this type were built during the Umayyad Dynasty.
The flat roof of the prayer hall was supported by columns. Many rows of columns were needed to support such roofs;[10] this is called "hypostyle architecture". One of the most famous hypostyle mosques is the Mezquita de Córdoba in Spain. It is supported by over 850 columns.[11]
In the warm Mediterranean and Middle Eastern climates, the courtyard served to hold the large number of worshippers during Friday prayers. Often, hypostyle mosques have outer arcades. They allow the visitors to enjoy the shade. Arab-plan mosques were built mostly during the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. The Arab plan was very simple, which did not allow for much further development. This caused that style of mosque to fall out of favour.[10]
Al Azhar Mosque in Cairo, Egypt has a hypostyle hall
Many early mosques have a square or rectangular plan. They also have a prayer hall and an enclosed courtyard. This is known as Arab-plan. The first mosques of this type were built during the Umayyad Dynasty.
The flat roof of the prayer hall was supported by columns. Many rows of columns were needed to support such roofs;[10] this is called "hypostyle architecture". One of the most famous hypostyle mosques is the Mezquita de Córdoba in Spain. It is supported by over 850 columns.[11]
In the warm Mediterranean and Middle Eastern climates, the courtyard served to hold the large number of worshippers during Friday prayers. Often, hypostyle mosques have outer arcades. They allow the visitors to enjoy the shade. Arab-plan mosques were built mostly during the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. The Arab plan was very simple, which did not allow for much further development. This caused that style of mosque to fall out of favour.[10]