An arch- or doorway-shaped niche woven at one end of a prayer rug's field, echoing the niche of a mosque that marks the direction of Mecca. It is the focal point of the rug and reminds the person praying that they stand in a sacred space. The drawing ranges from a bare outline of a doorway to an architectural rendering with columns and fine detail.
Small rugs made for Islamic prayer, each featuring a mihrab (also spelled mehrab), an arched doorway that symbolizes the niche of a mosque and reminds the person praying that they stand in a sacred space; the arch also marks the direction of Mecca. The design is unidirectional, meant to be viewed from one end, and the arch may be a bare outline or an elaborate architectural frame with columns. Prayer rugs are often no larger than about 3' x 5' (0.9 x 1.5 m), are said to date back to the very early stages of rug making in Muslim lands, and are woven by Turkmen, Baluchi, Qum, Isfahan and Malayer weavers, among others. Any small rug can serve for prayer, but a true prayer rug carries the arch as its focal point.
A layout meant to be viewed from one direction, with a distinct top and bottom, so that the rug has to be placed the right way round rather than reading equally well from either end. Prayer designs typically work this way, built around an arched doorway called a mihrab that can be as simple as the outline of a doorway or as elaborate as an architectural arch with columns.