Mosque

Rating:
Summary: Yet Another Fine David Macaulay Book
Review: * I'm something of a fan of David Macaulay -- author of THE WAY THINGS WORK,
CASTLE, CATHEDRAL, BUILDING BIG, and other books for adolescents -- who
always does a very neat job of describing how various constructions are put
together. (BUILDING BIG was also a PBS TV series, and showed that Mr.
Macaulay is also an articulate and enthusiastic lecturer.) Anyway, when I
ran across his latest work, MOSQUE, I had to pick it up and go through it.

MOSQUE details the construction of a mosque in Istambul at the end of the
16th century, when the Ottoman Empire was at its peak. The story of the
construction of this particular mosque was fictional, but the building's
design follows principles established by Sinan, the chief architect of the
Ottoman court for fifty years during the 16th century, and the details of
actual construction were carefully researched. No doubt Mr. Macauley did not
want to have to go through the extremely difficult job of trying to
authenticate the personnel and chronology of a specific construction project,
which would have greatly increased his effort without any real benefit to the
reader.

In any case, the story begins in 1595, when a wealthy and powerful Ottoman
admiral decided to create a charitable foundation to establish a mosque in
Istambul as his legacy. Actually, the admiral wanted to build more than just
a mosque; he wanted to establish a "kulliye", a complex of buildings centered
around the mosque but including a seminary (madrese), a bathhouse (hamam), a
soup kitched (imaret), a public fountain (cesme), and his tomb (turbe).

Construction began in the spring of 1596 on a burned out section of the city.
Planning details of the effort were pretty much what they are for a big
construction project today, involving estimating materials and costs, lining
up suppliers and subcontractors, and keeping work on a prearranged schedule.
Some of the considerations were surprisingly elaborate, such as ordering the
fabrication of stained-glass panels from Venice.

The buildings were constructed of stone and brick. The mosque itself was a
two-story stone box with a brick dome and a minaret, with the building laid
out so the faithful would face Mecca, and with a front courtyard with a
fountain for washing (a "sadirvan") before prayers. The other buildings were
single-floor structures, with a set of rooms, each with its own small brick
dome, ringing a courtyard. The complex was completed in 1600 and dedicated
in July of that year.

The admiral died soon after and was laid to rest in the turbe. However, his
favorite wife then funded the construction of two more buildings for the
kulliye: a combination office / shop and hotel building (han) and an
overnight lodge for caravans (caravanserai). They followed similar design
principles to the other buildings in the kulliye and were completed in 1602.

MOSQUE maintains the same standards of quality as Mr. Macaulay has set in
books like PYRAMID and CATHEDRAL, and in fact MOSQUE follows the exact same
format, with very tidy drawings of even small details of construction and Mr.
Macaulay's friendly, clear prose. Although targeted at adolescents, this
book meets the standard that any good book for young people should meet: a
adult can read it and find it perfectly entertaining and informative.
Recommended, if you can get into construction projects.

Rating:
Summary: Macaulay tops himself
Review: A very informative book about the building of a mosque in the Middle Ages that can be appreciated by anyone from teenagers on up (anyone younger might not get the full benefit of the text, unless they are intellectually gifted). Macaulay focuses on the architectural and social aspects surrounding these holy structures, so that even those with no knowledge of Islam can appreciate the significance that these buildings have in Muslim culture. Not only that, the author's drawing style has improved greatly from his books of the mid-70s, bringing more vividness to the subject and doing justice to the intricacies and beauty of the artwork within the mosque. As always with Macaulay's books, a treat for the eye and the mind.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Fictional History
Review: As the author has shown in numerous award-winning books-Cathedral, Pyramid and City, to name a few-his unique gift is the ability to show how monumental historical creations have been fabricated through wonderfully complex sequences of logical steps. This book fits neatly into that lineage, which could seem formulaic by now if each book were anything less than fascinating. Though the mosque, architect and patron in his story are all fictional, the book is set in Istanbul between 1540 and 1580, during the life-time of Sinan, the most renowned architect of the Ottoman Empire. The author remains faithful to that history, and imparts genuine awe at the resulting beauty. DD

Rating:
Summary: Good book... for adults
Review: Macaulay draws as well as any architect, and his lengthy explanations of the architectural intricacies of a mosque's construction are clear. Unfortunately, it would be a rare child who would possibly interested in any such thing, and this verbose, detailed picture book is not likely to draw them in. His books are more popular with the New York Times set who thinks children's books ought to be aimed at adults. However, this book may prove useful for kids in the 4th grade and up who need to do a report on mosques.

Rating:
Summary: For those who've wondered what a minaret is...
Review: Macaulay has been writing thrillingly illustrated books about architecture for over 20 years. This latest volume seems to grow out of a desire to increase understanding of Islam in the West after the attacks on the US. In his preface he says, "I was convinced ... that the time had come to find out where these extraordinary buildings came from, who built them, and of course how." There follows a wonderful explanation of the planning and constructing of a fictional mosque. Along the way, you learn the meaning of minaret towers, qibla walls, and why much Islamic art is so closely tied with Arabic calligraphy. During the Dark Ages, Islam was the caretaker of geometry and architecture, and this book is a quick primer on how they did it.

Rating:
Summary: Richie's Picks: MOSQUE
Review: When I take such pleasure in reading about Paul Edward Logan's accomplished woodworking skills in THE LAND, when I become so attached to Alex and Morris Rose's old house and unique towers in THE OUTCASTS OF 19 SCHUYLER PLACE, and when I delight in telling middle school audiences about Duncan's toilet-stealing scene in ACCELERATION, it is within the context of those beloved childhood memories: Days breathing sawdust and trying to keep my hands warm through a gray autumn Saturday as I did a man's work on my dad's construction jobs and created something lasting.

Thus, I can imagine being one of Huseyin Bey's nine sons. Huseyin is hired to serve as the superintendent of building for the fictitious, late-1500s construction feat that is chronicled in David Macaulay's MOSQUE. To read David's dedication, "For my children and their children's children" is to get but an inkling of the temporal scale we must learn to think in when discussing the subject matter. This is a book which can quite handily serve as the front step for a comprehensive study of the Islamic religion, or of the Ottoman empire, or of what is going on today. And while the impeccable work of David Macaulay is no secret to any of us, this focus on the magnificent vision, the mathematical beauty, and detailed craftsmanship inherent in these structures sacred to a large part of the world, is a wonderful way to begin educating children (and their parents) about that which most of the West is so ignorant. (I am sad to say that as I read MOSQUE during half-time at a freshman basketball game yesterday, someone's parent leaned over and muttered, "Yeah, mosques, that's where they hide the weapons of mass destruction.")

Throughout the book we're treated to those illustrations for which David Macaulay is so well known and loved: from large overviews of the overall project as it rises from the ground, down to detailed views of creating stained glass windows, bricks, forged iron grilles, perfectly rounded arches, and the Muezzins' balcony.

The what?

Yes, that's another great thing about MOSQUE. We are provided with a whole series of new "languages," involving architecture and the Islamic culture. And not only do we see how the project is laid out so that the worshippers are facing Mecca when they pray, but we also get to see the balconies, the bakeries, the bathrooms and the bath house.

Not a picture book for little kids, MOSQUE is an entertaining and info-packed illustrated introduction to a world different from our own--temporally, geographically, and culturally--which we learn is not all so different as some would want us to think.