Npr: Macaulay Returns to Sacred Space With 'Mosque'

Listen to a recorded interview with author and illustrator David Macaulay, who writes books that explain architecture to children. In this interview he discusses what he has learned about Islamic places of prayer. Includes photos of the Islamic Center of Washington, the first mosque built in America's capital. See pictures of the architectural features common to mosque construction, including the courtyard, the prayer hall, dome supports, the kibla (or qibla) wall, modes of decoration, and the mihrab. Includes a pull-apart diagram of how a mosque's circular dome is supported. Also briefly explains how mosques are similar to and different from Western cathedrals.