Islamic Architecture

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Islamic Architecture

• Comparative Civilizations 12
• K.J. Benoy

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Mosques

• The Most notable type of building is the mosque.
• Originally this was only a large open area where
  the faithful would gather.
• The original mosque was probably the courtyard of
  Mohammads house in Medina.

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Mosques

• The courtyard descendant of the basilicas
  atrium and the Egyptian temple court, remains a
  feature of most mosques today

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Mosques

• Within the courtyard is usually an ablution
  fountain where the worshipper symbolically
  washes before prayer.

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Mosques

• Certain characteristics are present in most
  mosques.
• The Mihrab, or niche, indicates the Qibla, the
  direction of Mecca, which the faithful must face
  when praying.

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Mosques

• There is also a minbar, or pulpit, from which
  sermons are delivered.

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Mosques

• And a minaret, or tower, from which the Muezzin
  call the faithful to prayer.
• Originally this call was made from the main roof
  of the mosque.
• Minarets developed from Christian bell towers.
  Later they influenced Christian designs.

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Mosques

• The social obligations within the religion later
  led to the addition of madrassa (schools,
  colleges or universities) attached.
• Occasionally there were and are also hospitals.

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Mosques

• Moslems borrowed extensively from neighbouring
  civilization because there was no native
  architectural style in Mohammads homeland.

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The Blue Mosque - Istanbul

• Istanbuls Blue Mosque is clearly based on the
  Hagia Sophia.
• Mehmet Agas 17th century structure rises 77 feet
  to the top of its central dome.

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The Blue Mosque - Istanbul

• It is actually built facing Justinians Church,
  on the site of the old Imperial Palace.

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The Blue Mosque - Istanbul
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The Blue Mosque - Istanbul
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The Blue Mosque - Istanbul

• The Blue Mosque is more properly known as the
  Sultan Ahmed Mosque.
• Its more common western name comes from the wide
  use of blue Iznik tiles.

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The Blue Mosque - Istanbul

• This mosque is particularly notable for its six
  minarets.

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The Blue Mosque - Istanbul
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The Blue Mosque - Istanbul

• Stained glass creates a magical lighting effect.
• However, unlike European stained glass, there are
  no images of people, due to Mohammads
  prohibition against them.

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The Blue Mosque - Istanbul

• It is the magnificent dome and adjoining
  half-domes that impress most.
• Built a thousand years after the Hagia Sophia,
  the Blue Mosque displays more grace than its
  predecessor.

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The Great Mosque at Samarra, Iraq

• Regional variations in Islamic architecture
  reflect local traditions, where they exist.
• The Great Mosque at Samarra has a minaret in the
  style of a Babylonian Ziggurat.

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The Grand Mosque - Mecca

• Meccas Grand Mosque houses Islams most holy
  site the Kaaba, which all moslems face to pray.
• It features the Kaaba in its massive courtyard.

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The Grand Mosque - Mecca
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The Dome of the Rock - Jerusalem

• This is one of Islams earliest mosques.
• It is built on a site holy to Jews, Christians
  and Moslems.
• Note the Byzantine inspired Central Plan.

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The Dome of the Rock - Jerusalem
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The Blue Mosque - Isfahan

• Iranian mosques frequently used the same blue
  tiles as was popular in Ottoman Turkey.
• However, their Iwan (great Hall) form and
  characteristic monumental entrances are purely
  Persian in design.

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Mosque of Sheik Lotfallah- Isfahan

• Note the ornate and characteristically Persian
  dome.
• Note also the tendence toward horror vacui.

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Mogul Architecture

• The Moslem conquerors of India developed an
  architecture of particular grace and grandeur.
• Persian domes and great gates appeared throughout
  northern India.

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Mogul Architecture

• Sometimes Islamic and Hindu features were fused
  as in Akbars palace complex at Fatehpur Sikri.
• In the pavilion to the right one sees the
  traditional trabeated Hindu features, merged with
  Persian domes.

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The Taj Mahal

• The most famous Mogul building of all is neither
  a palace or a mosque.
• Rather, it is a mausoleum to house the favourite
  wife of a mogul emperor.

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The Taj Mahal
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The Taj Mahal

• Modelled on a mosque, the building is sited in a
  garden.
• The glistening white marble appears almost
  weightless, despite the volume of masonry.

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The Taj Mahal

• Unlike its Persian predecessors, there is no
  sense of horror vacui.
• Rather, the inlaid stone work has a restrained
  feel of balance and harmony. Floral decoration,
  and, especially passages from the Koran in
  magnificent calligraphy, decorate its marble
  surfaces.

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The Mesquita -- Cordoba

• In Spain, some of the most exuberant Moslem
  architecture evolved.
• A prime example of this Moorish architecture is
  theMesquite (mosque) in Cordoba.

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The Mesquita - Cordoba

• The horseshoe-shaped double arch atop its forest
  of columns is easily identified.
• The double arch helped to increase the vertical
  height of the ceiling.

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The Mesquita - Cordoba
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The Mesquita - Cordoba

• Close examination of the pillar capitals reveal
  that they are recycled from earlier buildings
  both Roman and Germanic.

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The Mesquita - Cordoba

• Another prominent feature is the incredibly
  intricate arching found in the Mihrab here
  called the Capilla de Villaviciosa.

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The Mesquita - Cordoba

• The vaulting is also wondrously complex, showing
  the Arab love of geometry

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The Mesquita - Cordoba

• Perhaps the strangest feature of the Mesquita
  today is th Christian church carved out of the
  middle of the original mosque.
• Yet another example of cultural recycling but
  strangely out of keeping with the rest of the
  building.

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The Alhambra - Grenada

• For a time Grenada was the Moorish capital of
  Spain.
• The Alhambra palace complex contains some of the
  most beautiful Islamic architecture in the world.

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The Alhambra - Grenada

• The Court of Lions, with its slim columns and
  carved lace-like wall surfaces are unique.

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The Alhambra - Grenada
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The Alhambra - Grenada

• The carved stucco of the ceiling in the Hall of
  the Two Sisters is unparalleled in beauty and
  geometrical complexity.

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The Alhambra - Grenada

• Of particular note is the use of water as an
  architectural feature.
• The Patio de los Aranyanes shows the value of
  water to a culture with desert roots.

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The Generalife - Grenada

• The fountains and abundant water features serve
  to reduce the temperature of the palace gardens.

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Mud Mosque at Djenne - Mali

• One of the strangest Islamic structures in the
  world is the mud mosque at Djenne.

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Mud Mosque at Djenne - Mali

• Here the palm wood beams extend out in order to
  support scaffolding for the workers who must
  annually plaster its surface.

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Islamic Architecture Today

• Traditional features remain apparent, but are
  interpreted in novel ways.
• New building materials and techniques create new
  and interesting possibilities.

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Islamic Architecture Today
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Finis