Qubba

thumb|Qubbat al-Sulaibiyya in Samarra, Iraq, the oldest surviving Islamic domed mausoleum (9th century) A qubba (, pl. qubāb), also transliterated as ḳubba, kubbet and koubba, is a cupola or domed structure, typically a tomb or shrine in Islamic architecture. In many regions, such as North Africa, the term qubba is applied commonly for the tomb of a local wali (local Muslim saint or marabout), and usually consists of a chamber covered by a dome or pyramidal cupola.

== Etymology == The Arabic word qubba was originally used to mean a tent of hides, or generally the assembly of a material such as cloth into a circle. It's likely that this original meaning was extended to denote domed buildings after the latter had developed in Islamic architecture. It is now also used generally for tomb sites if they are places of pilgrimage. In Turkish and Persian the word kümbet, kumbad, or gunbād has a similar meaning for dome or domed tomb.