Mecca: Close to the Source

4 MONTH OLD HAJI, originally uploaded by chinx786.

Rwanda: Studying the Koran

Studying the Koran, originally uploaded by Samer!.

Xinjiang: Tajik Wedding

Tajik Wedding, originally uploaded by Zhenfeng.

Iran: Sublime Sunburst

dome, lotfollah mosque, isfahan oct. 2007, originally uploaded by seier+seier+seier.

Best viewed large on black.

"sheikh lotfollah (or lutfallah or lotf allah) mosque, isfahan, iran, 1602-1619.
architect: muhammad reza ibn ustad hosein banna isfahani.

consider the cool geometric mastery and inventiveness behind the ornamental incrustation of the dome.

sheila blair and jonathan bloom write, "the apex of the dome is filled with a giant sunburst, from which descend tiers of ogival medallions filled with floral motifs, which swell in size with the curve of the dome". I like this description even if I had to look up ogival.

pope wrote, less objectively, "the chamber is entirely empty. any appurtenances would have been superfluous and quite overwhelmed by the powerful forms and commanding colors. this is pure architecture, flawless and serene, and still as perfect as on the day of dedication three hundred years ago". guess he liked it. -seier+seier"