Status
Available
Collection
Publication
HMH Books for Young Readers (2008), Edition: Illustrated, 96 pages
Description
An author and artist who has continually stripped away the mystique of architectural structures that have long fascinated modern people, David Macaulay here reveals the methods and materials used to design and construct a mosque in late-sixteenth-century Turkey. Through the fictional story and Macaulay's distinctive full-color illustrations, readers will learn not only how such monumental structures were built but also how they functioned in relation to the society they served.
Local notes
Publishers Weekly, 09/28/2003
With the level of precision and care that his fans have come to expect, Macaulay (Castle; Cathedral) broadens his bookshelf of architectural wonders with this timely new addition, adding color to his palette as well as insight into the Middle East. He whisks readers to the Ottoman empire of the 16th century, where a fictitious admiral prepares to underwrite a new mosque ("The time had come to demonstrate both his faith and his gratitude in the way that had become traditional for a man of his standing"). Macaulay meticulously illuminates the spiritual and architectural considerations in the process of design and construction; he explains the importance of the mosque's alignment upon the kibla ("an imaginary line that points toward and radiates from Mecca"), then examines its structural complexities, such as a "system of piers and arches" to support the building's domed roof. In the process, the mosque's many societal functions emerge; it is actually a complex of buildings consisting of a college for religious education, a kitchen, a public bath, fountain and so on. The monument grows stone by stone through color-washed pen-and-ink illustrations. Full-spread vistas alternate with smaller inset sketches that offer a step-by-step look at brick-making, the crafting of stained glass windows, etc.; readers can practically hear the busy hum of the worksite. Macaulay's wide-ranging perspectives pull onlookers into the thick of the construction, capturing everything from a minaret's-eye view of the activity below to an image of the soaring dome seen from the ground. As always, the level of visual detail is extraordinary; no less so is the explanation of the mosque's role at the center of Muslim social and religious life. All ages.
With the level of precision and care that his fans have come to expect, Macaulay (Castle; Cathedral) broadens his bookshelf of architectural wonders with this timely new addition, adding color to his palette as well as insight into the Middle East. He whisks readers to the Ottoman empire of the 16th century, where a fictitious admiral prepares to underwrite a new mosque ("The time had come to demonstrate both his faith and his gratitude in the way that had become traditional for a man of his standing"). Macaulay meticulously illuminates the spiritual and architectural considerations in the process of design and construction; he explains the importance of the mosque's alignment upon the kibla ("an imaginary line that points toward and radiates from Mecca"), then examines its structural complexities, such as a "system of piers and arches" to support the building's domed roof. In the process, the mosque's many societal functions emerge; it is actually a complex of buildings consisting of a college for religious education, a kitchen, a public bath, fountain and so on. The monument grows stone by stone through color-washed pen-and-ink illustrations. Full-spread vistas alternate with smaller inset sketches that offer a step-by-step look at brick-making, the crafting of stained glass windows, etc.; readers can practically hear the busy hum of the worksite. Macaulay's wide-ranging perspectives pull onlookers into the thick of the construction, capturing everything from a minaret's-eye view of the activity below to an image of the soaring dome seen from the ground. As always, the level of visual detail is extraordinary; no less so is the explanation of the mosque's role at the center of Muslim social and religious life. All ages.
Subjects
Awards
Lexile
1340L