Arabic miḥrāb
Semicircular prayer niche in the qiblah wall (the wall facing Mecca) of a mosque , reserved for the prayer leader ( imām ).
The mihrab originated in the reign of the Umayyad caliph al-Walīd I (705–715), when the famous mosques at Medina, Jerusalem, and Damascus were built. It was adapted from the prayer niches common in Coptic Christian monasteries. Mihrabs are usually ornately decorated.