Minarets: the skyscrapers of the galilee

This article is a preview of a comprehensive research study of one of the most prominent structures in the Galilean skyline. Their incommensurate height penetrating the natural landscape and their increasing numbers give the impression that the classic role of these buildings has shifted from serving a very defined function to acting as a symbol. The purpose of the study is to examine whether the "landscape text" has changed and to determine whether this change has any particular meaning. Beginning in the 1990s, the structure of the minarets became more externalized, their shape changed and they became higher. It seems that the events of the Land Day and the Nakba Day influenced this phenomenon. The minaret structure has become a proclamation: "We are here; we are on the map." From a structure defined by religion, the minaret has become a structure symbolizing territory and nationalism.