Minbar
A Minbar is a pulpit in the mosque where the Imam (leader of prayer) stands to deliver sermons (khutbah). The minbar is usually shaped as a small tower with a pointed roof and with a stair leading up to it. It is often richly ornamented, though in its simplest form the minbar is just a small platform with only a few steps. The minbar is located to the right of the mihrab, the niche that indicates the direction of prayer (i.e. towards Mecca). In some mosques there is a platform (müezzin mahfili in Turkish) opposite the minbar. That is the place of the assistent of the Imam, the muezzin, stands during prayer. The müezzin recite the answer to the prayer of the Imam. This feature is the Islamic equivalent of the Pulpit found in Christian Churches.
Minbar is also a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Minbari race in the television series Babylon 5. The planet and race were named (by Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski) after the religious reference above.
Minbar is located in the Chi Draconis A star system - a binary star system. It is the seventh planet in orbit around the local suns. The system is just over 25 light years from Earth. Like Earth, Minbar has an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere. The polar caps are larger than those on Earth, the northern cap covers 23% of the planet's surface. On the whole, Minbar's climate is colder than that of Earth. The planet is noted for vast crystalline structures, many cities are carved directly from crystal. Minbar's year is about 1.5 Earth years. It's day is shorter than Earth's, being 20 hours and 47 minutes. It has two moons. The population of the planet is about 4 billion, and the capital city is located at Yedor.