Andy Warhol
Image:Bernard Gotfryd, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons

During the 1960s Andy Warhol concentrated on painting realistic pictures of everyday items. This style became known as pop art. Among his most famous paintings were comic strips, images of Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, Coca Cola bottles and the electric chair. His probably best known painting is the famous Campbell soup can. In his drawings Warhol simplified objects and portraits, and painted them in many different colors.

The center of Warhol’s life was his art studio, called the Factory. There he met many other famous artists and celebrities. The Factory was also used as a film studio in which Andy Warhol produced many of his famous underground films. They usually had no special plot but were very long. In one of them he shows a man sleeping for five hours.

In 1968 a frustrated actress, Valerie Solanas, walked into Warhol’s studio and shot the artist. Although he had already been pronounced dead, doctors managed to reanimate him and save his life. Warhol never fully recovered from this incident.

During the 1970s and 80s Warhol continued to paint with the same silk screen technique that had made him popular but, in some way, his career was declining. In 1987 Warhol died at the age of 58 during a routine gall bladder operation.

Andy Warhol had a unique personality. He was a declared homosexual who liked to be famous and stand in the spotlights. He liked to be surrounded by flashy characters like Mick Jagger and Jim Morrison. The Andy Warhol Museum, in Pittsburgh is the largest art museum dedicated to one single artist. It holds more than 12,000 works of the icon of pop art. The highest-priced painting is Eight Elvises , images of Elvis Presley, which was sold for over 100 million dollars.

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A mosque is a place where Muslims worship and pray to God. Some mosques are also places where Muslims get together and discuss things or where religious education takes place. In some countries mosques also serve political purposes and Imams discuss political issues.

Mosques date back to the seventh century when they first emerged on the Arabian Peninsula. For centuries towns formed around this central building. Mosques have different sizes and shapes depending on which part of the world they are in. The most famous mosques are in Turkey and the Middle East. The best examples are the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, The Grand Mosque of Mecca or the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.

The Blue Mosque in Istanbul
Rev Stan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

History of Mosques

The model for building mosques was Muhammad’s house in Medina, constructed in the 7th century. After his death, mosques became important symbols of Islam. During the Middle Ages they were built wherever Arabs settled.

They spread quickly throughout northern Africa and southern Europe, as far as Spain. By the 15th century Islam had spread to Asia, where it became the dominant religion on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. During the Ottoman Empire Turks converted to Islam and many great mosques were built in Istanbul and other cities. With the Muslim population spreading to the Balkans mosques have become widespread in many cities and towns in Greece, Albania, Serbia and Bosnia.

The Prophet’s Mosque in Medina
Muhammad Mahdi Karim (GFDL 1.2 or FAL), via Wikimedia Commons

Parts of a Mosque

Arab mosques usually have a square or rectangular layout with a courtyard in the middle. The first mosques had flat roofs on top of the prayer halls. Later on Islamic architecture focused on domes and arched entrances. The Ottomans introduced mosques with a central dome over the prayer hall in the 15th century.

A common feature of many mosques is a minaret, a tall thin tower that is usually located at one of the corners. They were designed to make mosques as big as Christian churches, with their bell towers. From the minaret a muezzin announces praying time to worshipers.

The prayer hall normally does not have any benches or chairs. Worshipers pray in rows facing Mecca. There are no statues or pictures on the walls. Some mosques show verses of the Koran on the walls to assist worshipers. Many prayer halls have columns that uphold the roof. Every mosque has a mihrab, a niche in the wall that points to Mecca. From a pulpit, or minbar, the religious leader of the mosque, the imam, delivers his speech.

In the course of time mosques became bigger and attained other functions. Today there are rooms for social gatherings, health clinics, libraries or gymnasiums.

Prayer hall of the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem with worshipers facing the mihrab
Aseel zm, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Religious Functions

A mosque is basically a house of prayer but during history it has acquired many other religious functions. Adult Muslims must pray five times a day. While normal prayers can be said anywhere, Muslim men should pray in mosques on Fridays.

During the holy month of Ramadan other events take place in mosques. Some mosques offer dinners after sunset or breakfast before sunrise. During the last days of Ramadan some mosques hold all night prayers. Since Muslims are required to give money to charity they often donate it at mosques.

Political Influence of Mosques

In the course of the 20th century mosques have served political purposes. As conflicts between western society and the Muslim world rose, mosques were used to preach peace and understanding among religions.

Mosques are often the center of social conflicts. In the past decades series of bombs have exploded in mosques all over the world. Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations have repeatedly used mosques as a place to recruit and train radical Muslims.

In the 1960s, Saudi Arabia started financing the construction of mosques around the world in an attempt to spread Islam. With petrodollars that the country has received in the last decades Saudis can afford sharing their wealth with others, especially poor Muslims.

Rules and How To Behave in a Mosque

There are many rules that worshipers must obey when they are in a mosque. In most mosques, a religious leader, called imam, is in charge of praying, but in smaller mosques prayers may be said by ordinary Muslims.

Muslims must clean themselves before they enter a mosque. There are washing areas where they can wash their hands and face before entering the prayer hall. The floors of such a hall are normally covered with a carpet. It is not allowed to step on it with shoes.

Loud talking in a mosque is forbidden. It is also disrespectful to walk in front of Muslims who are praying.

Traditionally men and women are separated in mosques, although the Quran does not say anything about separation. Sometimes the women pray in rows behind the men, but more often they stay at home and pray.

Most mosques in bigger cities are open to tourists, but they too must obey the strict rules. You must wear clothes that do not offend Allah. Women are required to wear clothes that cover their body to their ankles and wrist. In some areas mosques are only open to Muslims.

Prayer hall in Hong Kong
Chongkian, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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The Home Insurance Building in Chicago is thought to be the first skyscraper – built in 1885
Image:Chicago Architectural Photographing Company, Public domain,
via Wikimedia Commons

Building Skyscrapers

Skyscrapers have two parts: the foundation is the part below the ground and the superstructure is the part above the ground. Both sections hold the weight of the building.

A skyscraper needs careful planning before it can be built. First a big hole a few stories deep is dug into the earth. Sometimes this foundation reaches into solid rock. Then steel and concrete beams and columns are placed into it. They carry the weight of the superstructure.

When the foundation is finished cranes are used to raise a steel frame up into the sky. The pieces of this frame are bolted together. As it moves upward other workers lay floors and hang in the outside walls. The complete structure of the skyscraper must be finished before the inside systems can be installed.

A skyscraper must also be able to hold off strong winds. Modern buildings are able to swing a few metres in each direction, like a tree, without damaging the structure. Sometimes a steel core rises upwards from the inside of the building to give it better support.

Workman on the frame of the Empire State Building
Image: Taken by Lewis Hine, edited by Durova,
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Service Areas

Corridors , staircases, elevators, heating systems, air conditioning and electrical systems belong to the most important inner elements of a skyscraper. Although the outside structure can be completed in a few weeks it may take years to finish the whole building.

Pumps bring clean water to all parts of the skyscraper, the drainage system carries away water and waste materials.

Air conditioning and heating systems control the temperature in the building the whole year round. Electrical systems provide power and communication throughout the building and wires carry electricity to each floor. Elevators are the most important systems of a skyscraper. They carry people up and down at speeds of up to 500 metres per minute.

History of Skyscrapers

Two discoveries in the middle of the 1800s made it possible to build modern skyscrapers. Before the Industrial Revolution brick and stone walls carried the weight of buildings. Because each floor was very heavy it was impossible to build very high houses. In the middle of the 19th century steel became an important building material. This metal was strong and light. Architects could now construct a steel skeleton to support very tall buildings. Chicago’s Home Insurance Company Building was ten stories tall and the first skyscraper to use such a steel construction.

Skyscrapers would have been useless if people had to walk up and down many flights of stairs. In 1853 an elevator safe enough to carry passengers was invented by Elisha Graves Otis.

During the early 20th century the construction of tall buildings became very popular in big cities. Cities grew bigger as more and more people could live and work there. Tall buildings were also seen as a symbol of power and greatness. Thus, major cities, especially in America, fought for the tallest buildings in the world. For four decades the Empire State Building in New York was the world’s highest structure. The 381 metre high landmark has 102 stories and was completed in 1932. The World Trade Centre, finished in 1973, became a symbol the city’s economic strength. Even though many New Yorkers did not like them at the beginning, they got used to the “Twin Towers” in the middle of Manhattan. The destruction of the World Trade Centre in the terrorist attacks of 2001 hit the heart of the city.

Today the world’s tallest buildings no longer stand in America. Other countries, mainly in the growing regions of Asia, have entered the prestigious race for the tallest structures in the world. The 452 metre high Petronas Towers in Malaysia, completed in 1996, became the first skyscraper outside the US to climb the top of the list. The Burj Khalifa, completed in 2010, is currently the world’s highest building. It has a height of 828 metres spanning 163 floors.

As the race for the world’s tallest building continues most experts have different opinions on how tall skyscrapers can become. Some say building a 1000-metre high structure would be no problem with today’s technology; others think that we would need lighter, stronger materials as well as faster elevators to make this possible

The World’s Tallest Buildings
Image: Phoenix CZE, CC BY-SA 4.0,
via Wikimedia Commons

Burj Khalifa

Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the world’s tallest building. The structure reaches a height of over 800 metres. It was designed by an American company and built at a cost of over 1.5 billion dollars. Over 12,000 men and women worked on the building during the peak of construction.

The skyscraper does not have a steel frame but a concrete structure. Thousands of glass panels give it a futuristic appearance.

Burj Khalifa is a multi-use building. It contains apartments, hotels, restaurants and sky lobbies.

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