Surface to requirements

The Mezquita’s Interior
The Mezquita’s architectural uniqueness and importance lies in the fact that it was a revolutionary structure. Earlier Islamic buildings such as the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the Great Mosque in Damascus placed an emphasis on verticality, but the Mezquita was intended as a democratically horizontal and simple space, where the spirit could be free to roam and communicate easily with God – a kind of glorious refinement of the original simple Islamic prayer space (usually the open yard of a desert home). Men prayed side by side on the argama­sa, a floor made of compact, reddish slaked lime and sand.
The final Mezquita had 19 doors along its north side, filling it with light and yielding a sense of openness. Nowadays, only one door sheds light into the dim interior. The solid mass of the cathe­dral in the centre and the 50 or so chapels around the fringes, further enclose and im­pose on the airy space whilst adding a vertical dimension to the enclosure.Read more