The mosque that arose on this hallowed spot included the first known concave mihrab—a feature in the mosque wall indicating the direction of Mecca, which is a unique and essential part of every mosque in the world today—yet this is set within a building that is decorated with mosaics far more reminiscent of the great churches of Byzantium than later monumental mosques would be. There are no representations of people, but there are many intricate images of houses, palaces, places of worship, trees, rivers, and foliage, which suggest earth and paradise all at once, and hint at a style of Islamic
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