mosque (que as k), mosk he, mosk

[Fr. mosquée, from Sp. mezquit a, from Arab, masjad, masjid=a mosque, a temple, from sæjada = to adore, to prostrate one's self; Ital. moschia; Port. mesquit a. A Mohammedan temple or place of worship. The design is not normal, and consequently the main form is not a settled one. But they have three e ential parts, which must never be wanting. These are the Mihrab, or Hall of Prayer, which marks the direction of Месса [КЕВLAH], and which must consequently have had a different position in different countries; then a place for the ablutions, which precede prayer; and finally a large space for the entry and departure of the faithful, for the reading of the Koran and prayers. In this space are the Maksura, or seat of the Caliph, when one was required; as also a place for the preservation of the Koran, and finally the Mimbar, or kind of pulpit. A further requirement is the Minaret, a kind of tower, from which the Iman calls the hour of prayer, and of which the larger mosques generally po e four or six. [MIHRAB, MIMBAR, MINARET.)