Domes: From Ancient to Islamic

Abstract

Much more meaning can be derived by considering masonry domes as case studies rather than testaments to architectural history. A bird’s-eye view of the major city-scapes of Europe and Asia would show silhouettes of domical structures against the skyline. To a lesser extent curvilinear shapes would not be foreign even to the New World. Scores of monuments to the Christian faith in western cities and equally numerous Islamic mosques throughout the lands under Ottoman rule are crowned by imaginative geometric compositions of various shapes that combine to create an identity unique to each city scape. The ages of these structures vary widely from one another, but regardless of their life span they are all part of the present.