Caravans

Were a form of mutual protection, like convoys of ships in wartime. The (khans), and the markets –should be built on a correspondingly communal scale and features such as watchtowers and marker posts could be developed to a degree without a parallel in the west.

Bridges

Muslim roads and Muslim bridge-building techniques are based on Roman or Sasanian precedents.

Domes

Became increasingly characteristic features of Islamic architecture after Seljuq times. More or less structurally stable themselves, they are difficult to place over the square base resulting from rectilinear planning.

Minarets

Minarets began as low, square masonry towers on the pattern of pre-Islamic Syrian towers, which had been built for both pagan and Christian purposes. As soon as Islamic architects desired to make them higher, however, they resorted to the stepped storeyed construction typical of Roman lighthouses.

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