Burial of the dead has always been a historically significant occurrence. Most societies tribute their dead with monuments and other physical signs to honor and recognize their lives and achievements. Mausolea are a significant phenomenon, suggesting something about humanity as a whole: the desire to celebrate dead persons of significance with monuments of grandeur. One of the earliest and most leading mausoleum on record is that of Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the grave site of King Mausollos, constructed around 352 B.C.E. The impressive nature of the large, white, marble tomb led many to place it on the list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Through out history masoleums have been built for people of great significance and value. …show more content…
four muezzins stood at the top of the minaret and called out in perfect unison, each facing a different direction. Then, just as today, the call could be heard across the center of the city. The sense of otherworldliness is an ancient trick of Islamic architecture. Distracted by the colors and designs of the tiles, the viewer forgets to notice the solid structure of the building itself or think about the physical laws that hold it up. Instead, the building appears weightless, like a miracle hovering on earth. When you look at it, the structure appears to be floating, a trick of Islamic architecture, which uses intricately painted clay tiles. The tiles constantly need to be replaced — two square feet every day — from exposure to the natural elements and because the corners of certain tiles are often stolen by pilgrims as religious mementos. There are countless thousands of individual tiles, most about the size of a hand, and each composing a piece of a larger mosaic pattern. The larger patterns themselves vary from one part of the mosque 's exterior to another, turning the whole into a swirling, abstract, and almost otherworldly