MINARET. 532 MINCH. Kufa and Mudina. Those earlier than t^e twelfth t-eiitury were usually heavy sijuare structures of stuccoed brick or stone without much ornament. This type is preserved at the mosque of Sidi Okba at Kairwan in Tunis. Amonj; the finest
- .MOups of tlu' middle period is that of Cairo —
the mosques of Ihn Tulun, Hassan, Barkuk, Kalaun, Bordei, and Kait Bey. The Tulun mosque had a stone minaret in the centre of one of the sides on a square plan [jassing first to a cylindrical and tlien to an octagonal shape. The Hassan mosque has two minarets; that of Kait Bey only one. The minarets of Kgypt, Spain. Syria, India, Persia, and Turkey btiilt between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries are among the most original and graceful works of Eastern archi- tecture. The t;iralda at Seville shows that the Sjjanish moors maintained the early square type with added delicacy and richness; generally the circular and octagonal types prevail. The old heavy simplicity has been replaced by a wealth of surface decoration in relief and color and by great slenderness. St-alactite corbels support the balconies, arabesques and colonnettes break up the surfaces, and glazed tiles, especially in Persia, add a brilliant coloring. Damascus and Bagdad presei-ve some of their mediirval ex- amples. The minarets of .hmedabad rival those of Cairo: those of Delhi and Agra are liardly less interesting. Those of the Constiintinople mosques, such as Saint Sophia, Ahmed, etc., are exceedingly graceful. Sometimes the colleges or madrasah had minarets of similar style to those of the mosques, as in that of Sultan Husein at Ispahan, where the towers are similar to those of the great mosque of Ispahan, The height varies exceedinglv : among the highest are Giralda (formerly 2.30 'feet, now 308 feet), Ka- laun I 103 feet I, and Hassan (280 feet) at Cairo, and the Kiitub .Minar near Delhi 1242 feet). Consult the bil)liography of Moii.mmeuan Abt. MINAS, ine'niish. more properly Bfxlo HoKi/uXTE, bel'16 o'rt-zon'tft. The ca])ital of the State of Minas Geraes, Brazil. It is situated on a jdateau 00 miles northwest of the late capital, Oiiro Preto (q.v.). Though founded as late as 1,'^!I4. it has now grown into a large and nourish- ing city of 30.000 inhaliitants. with broad streets, public gardens, fine public buildings, and olViciai residences. It is lighted by electricity, and has an excellent supply of pure spring water. It is connected bv a branch line with the Central P>:iilniad of'tlie State. HINAS, me'nas. Capital of the department of the same name in I'ruguay. It is picturesquely situated .55 miles nortlicast of .Montevideo, with which it is connected by rail (^lap: l'riguay. (i 10). It is surrounded by well-cultivated grain- producing lands, anil there are quarries of marble and granite in the neighborhood. Population, about .'iOltO MINAS DE BIO TINTO, me'nas d.^ re'6 (."•n'to. .
important mining town in Southern
Spain, in the Province of lluelva. situated among the mountains, 32 miles northeast of the city of Hnelvn (Map: Spain, B 4). The surrounding countrj- contains almost inexhaustible ilcposits of copper ore. which were exploited by the an- cient Phienicians. In 1873 the mines were taken over by a London company, and the methods of obtaining the ore revolutionized. The mines now employ 10,000 workers: in 1900 the quan- tity of ore produced amounted to 1,894,000 tons, from which 21,120 tons of pure copper were derived. The town, which in 184;') had a popu- lation of only 80(1, luuubered in 1900, 9956. MINAS GEBAES, me'nash zhirlsh'. An eastern State of Brazil, bounded by Bahia on the north. Espirito Santo on the east, Rio de Janeiro and Silo Paulo on the south, and Goyaz on the west (Map: Brazil, H 7) . Area, 221,890 square miles. The Strife lies wholly in the Brazilian Plateau, with an .average elevation of 2000 feet, and is traversed by a numl)cr of mountain ranges, which, altlunigh the highest in iirazil, are not very prominent, owing to the general elevation of the surrounding countiy. The inincipal ranges are the Serra da Mant.i- qucira along the southern frontier, and the Serra do Espinhaco, running north and scnith through the centre of the State, At their junction is -Mount Itatiaia, about 9000 feet high and the highest point in Brazil. Only the mountain ranges and the river valleys are forested; be- tween them are extensive steppes covered only with grass and scanty shrubbery, ilinas Geraes is watered by numerous rivers, including the Sao Francisco (with its numerous tributaries which take in the larger portion of the State), the headstreams of the Paraml, and the Doce. Of these only the Sao Francisco is navigable, but it does not atlord direct communication with the Atlantic owing to its numerous rapids. The climate dilTers according to the formation of the surface. It is very hot in the thickly wooded valleys, but moderate and not unlicalthful in the more elevated portions, where the temperature may even reach the freezing point during the night. In fonner years the chief economic in- terest of Minas Geraes was centred in its gold and diamond mines. At present, however, mining is in a state of decline. Iron ore is found in great quantities ; and gold is still mined to some extent, but the diamond mines are well-nigh abandoned. The chief industries are in connec- tion with agricultiire and stock-raising, the leading agricultur;il i)rochu'ts being coffee, su- gar, corn, beans, and potatoes. Stock-mising is carried on extensively, and cheese is pro- duced in large quantities. The chief man- ufactures are those of cotton, textiles, and cigars. Railway lines traverse the southern portion of the "State and are connected with the Rio de Janeiro lines, Minas Geraes had a population of 3,184.099 in 1S90. The inhabit- ants are largely of nnxed origin, and the number of aborigines is still considerable: negroes are also numerous. Minas (ieraes was settled at the end of the sixteenth century, immigrants being atlra<'tcd there by the gold and diamond deposits of the region. It was se|>:U!ited from Rio de Janeiro in 1709 and several tinu^s rose in re- volt against the central goverinnent. Up to 1894 the capital was Ouro Preto (q.v.). but the seat of government was then removed to Bcllo Ilorizonte or ^linas (q.v,). MINBXT, min1)no. A division of Upper Burma comprising the districts of Minbu. .Magwe, Pa- kokku. an<l Tliavetmvo, -Vrea, 17,170 s(iuare miles: population, in 1891. 990,873; in 1901, 1.077,078. Capital. Minbu. MINCH. The channel which separates the island of Lewes in the Hebrides from the north-
