Minaret is Arabic for beacon. In the olden days Muezzin or criers would call the faithful to the mosque to pray five times a day. At the time of Muhammed the Muezzin would call from the roof of the mosque. The earliest minarets were former Greek watchtowers or Christian church towers. Today the calls are done through loud speakers and the minarets are decorative only. Between Muhammed times and today minarets were used to call worshippers to pray.
The oldest minaret is the Kairouan in Tunisia. It was built between 724-727. The number of Minarets per mosque, can be from one to six and they can be squared, pencil thin, or even spiral shaped.

Minarets

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