Minarets: The Latest Architecture and News

Friday, September 8th, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit Morocco’s High Atlas Mountain range. The epicenter was located just 72 kilometers southwest of Marrakech, the country’s fourth-largest city and a popular tourist destination. The quake is the strongest to hit the nation’s center in more than a century. Estimates put the number of victims at over 2,000 and more injured, but as several towns and villages remain inaccessible high in the mountains, the number is expected to increase. In addition to the human toll, several historical landmarks, including UNESCO World Heritage sites, have been affected, while eyewitnesses in the foothills of the mountains report that several remote towns have been completely destroyed, according to CNN.

In the past, minarets were considered an important architectural element serving several purposes. They were built adjacent to mosques for the call to prayer, as well as at the entrances of cities as a main focal point to guide travelers. Today, however, the need for minarets has decreased as they have become tokens of historic times. 

In the latest collection of his photo-series "Retrofuturism", Iranian architect and visual artist Mohammad Hassan Forouzanfar introduced a new function to historic Persian minarets through imaginary illustrations that compliment the aged brick structures with contemporary industrial archeology.