_Mosque in the Valley: A Space for Spiritual Gathering and Cultural Learning

In the history of Architecture, religious structures have always awed people whether a person corresponds to the concerning religion or even he or she is not religious at all. Those structures have been patronized by the riches or the royal highnesses of the time and mostly got the utmost priority regarding planning and construction and the results have been magnificent. By the 16th century when Ottoman Empire (15-20th century) was spreading its dynasty, the world saw the emergence of an overwhelming spread of Islamic architecture as well. Even now one who enters the city of Istanbul or Damascus from the riverside will see series of domes, arches and minarets staggered along the topography. The hierarchical progression of the biggest and most attractive domes among them, which one could hardly miss are of the mosques.
Time to time the social and commercial aspects of life started to redefine urban settlements and demanded for a space for spiritual devotion as well as religious learning and practices in groups. Getting together five times a day as instructed or every Friday for the afternoon where the Imam presents lectures not only on religious matters, contemporary matters and better ways to live in harmony with religious and contemporary concerns. It is the communal gathering of people that demanded for a large hall to pray and communicate with each other afterwards. The Intention of this thesis is to dig into some of the core aspects of the evolution of mosques, significance of its different parts and features and most importantly how those features as a whole are contributing to behold social and communal construct.