They may be simple square or round towers, as in the Levant; or elaborate architectural designs as in Egypt; or the slender,
pencil -
shaped minarets of Turkey; in Iraq and Iran the minarets in Shi'a mosques are often beautifully decorated with
colorful ceramic tiles; in Indonesia they stand as separate towers, or in the villages may even be a chair in a high tree; and in China the government did not permit the building of minarets.