The Jumeirah Mosque has one large main dome which puts it in the Anatolian Style of mosques. This mosque has 2 minarets...the tower from which the call to prayer is broadcast 5 times a day. Every mosque in the world has at least 1 minaret but no more than 7, the number on the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
"Open Doors, Open Minds" is the name of the program which allowed us to enter the mosque....the only one which allows non-muslims in. The program is offered 4 times/week for one hour and was an excellent opportunity to learn about the beliefs of this religon.
Not all Mosques are this elaborate on the outside.
Heads are covered, feet are washed, so we're ready to go inside......
"Barasti" describes both the Arabian method of building a palm leaf house and the completed house itself. They were very common throughout the gulf region before the oil boom and unlike the mud houses, didn't require water to build. Air flow through the houses was a plus!
simple structures inside.....
..a litle more elborate...maybe the "master" bedroom ?
On those VERY HOT HUMID nights...why not sleep outside?
Wind towers were a MUST and very EFFICIENT !!!! In Arabic, they are called "barjeel" and represent the Gulf's form of non-mechanical air conditioning. They are 5 - 6 metres above the house , open on all four sides, catch the breezes and get channelled down into the room below. Usually the tallest wind tower was above the master bedroom and shorter ones above the family rooms.
