The Niche (Mihrab)
The Niche is an essential architectural element of a mosque and symmetrically located in the middle of the Qibla Wall. Its design is inspired by one of the references to ‘Heaven’ or ‘Paradise’ in the Holy Quran (Surah Mohammed-15) that describes the existence of many abundant rivers in heaven including a river of honey and milk.
The yellow golden leaf-glass mosaic of the Niche seems to flow downwards from the ‘beehive’ feature at the top, as if it were a river of golden honey. The reason why the Niche is in a half circle shape is related to the pre-electronic times when it helped to project the imam’s voice so that the worshippers could hear him. The Niche is traditionally known as the place where the imam will stand to lead the worshippers.