Just a guess - but I doubt my post will be pertaining to the particular mosque you are thinking about.
Construction is going on right now in Mecca on the Abraj Al Bait Towers. It is not technically a mosque (that phrase sounds familiar) but will incorporate a prayer room capable of holding nearly 10000 people as well as several hotels (one which is a 7 star hotel) and a large shopping complex. This beast of a building will be right across the street from the Kaaba, the most holy site in Islam.
Architecturally this thing is a weird hybrid of a Las Vegas Casino, the Burj Khalifa, and Big Ben – with the emphasis on the casino. While Islam has the potential to produce some very beautiful buildings it seem that the current leaders of the Arab world just can’t help but flaunting their bad taste with a building that dominates a world religion’s most sacred site with a literal mountain of tacky.
What really gets me is the shear commercial-ness of the whole thing. It’s like its turning the Hajj into a trip to Disneyland. My sense of beauty has been assaulted and I’m deeply ashamed that constructs such as this get the recourses of our world.
So a word of advice to the owners of the "Mosque at Ground Zero" - if you survive your public relations disater, please hire a good architect.
2 comments:
I have nothing to comment about your post. Sorry! But seeing all your posts over the past few days made me realize we haven't seen you guys in forever and live less than an hour a part. Plus you need to see your "niece." Let me know when yall are free and we can either meet halfway or plan something at either house. I probably can talk Randy into getting the pool swimable again! lol!
It's the birth of a new architectural style. Henceforth known as...puke.
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