Tuesday, November 8, 2011

CH 13 #1 Great Friday Mosque in Mali vs. Amon-Mut-Khonsu courtyard

In chapter thirteen the Great Friday Mosque in Mali and the Amon-Mut-Khonsu courtyard caught my eye. I originally thought of the great Friday mosque as a sand castle at first glance. It was rebuilt in 1907 but was originally from the 13th century. The Amon-Mut-Khonsu courtyard’s pillars are so large for that era that it is almost unbelievable that they have lasted that long.

Great Friday Mosque is not a sand castle but a structure of adobe or simply mud. It is actually the largest adobe structure in the world. The Great Friday Mosque is said to have had a strong Islamic influence in the architecture of it. It was first built in the 13th century but it currently dates 1907 because of its rebuild.

This ancient egyption temple of Amon-Mut-Khonsu is a lot like all ancient egyption temples by the use of post-and-lintel system. The columns are carved in the form of many lotus and papyrus reeds bound together. The bell shape is similar to the opening of a flower. They have used post and lintel for at least four thousand years.

I like both structures as they look so simply made with using earth as the morter and brick. I would have to say that the Amon-Mut-Khonsu courtyard is my favorite because of its size alone. The long pillars are very exciting simply because of their sheer size.

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