Islamic Architecture

Humanities 510
Islamic art (architecture):
 “Refers not only to the art made for Islamic
practices and settings but also to the art made by
and for the people who lived or live in the lands
where most people were, are Muslim” . -Islamic arts
 7th century Arabia-15th century lands between
Atlantic and Indian oceans, central Asia and
Africa.
 Very broad term encompassing many different
styles, mediums, components and influences.
Art
 Arabesques: The
Distinctive decorative
motif on many forms of
Islamic art after the tenth
century. It is based on
such natural forms as
stems, leaves or tendrils
that are arranged in
infinitely repeating
geometric patterns.
 Art

 Calligraphy in various forms of

Arabic Script.
 Geometrical designs using a
limited number of geometric
shapes in many different ways.
Arabesque origin and success
 1. Ban of illusions in Islamic art
 This produced two things: it produced universal forms that omitted specific
imagery and thus, included in its audience all of Islam's diverse subjects.
 it unleashed the passionate Arabic genius for abstraction in symmetrical,
meditative geometry. This geometry organized the foundations of their
architecture and ornament. Abstract pattern also expressed a basic tenet of
Islam: "Instead of ensnaring the mind and leading it into some imaginary world it
dissolved mental fixations and detached consciousness from its inward idols."
As we shall see in exploring the architecture and patterns of Islam further, this
infinite symmetry expressed yet another of Islam's ideals: al-twahid, the
doctrine of unity, or multiplicity in unity.

 2. Usage of Byzantine artists and influence.

 Islam took what was secondary art in Christian and Jewish art and placed it as
the central form of art.
 It distinguished Islam with other religions.
 Mosque origin
 The first mosque was the
courtyard of Muhammad's own
house in Medina (ad622)
 The dome of the rock is the first
form of Islamic architecture.
Mosque origin (masjid, place of prostration)
 Minaret (manara place of light):A tall tower in, or contiguous to, a mosque with stairs
leading up to one or more balconies from which the faithful are called to prayer.The earliest
structures specifically built as minarets were the four low square towers at the four corners of the
Mosque of Amr in Egypt (A.D. 673).

 Mihrab (mhrb, part of a temple, from ḥrb, to fight, perform a certain

ritual in a temple):A niche or decorative panel designating the Quiblah (or direction of prayer
towards Mecca). Implemented around 705 ad, influenced by Muhammad's place of worship within his
mosque when he oriented the quibla 630 ad.

 Minbar (al-minbar):Is a pulpit in the mosque where the Imam (leader of prayer) stands to
deliver sermon. Is said to have originated in In Muhammad's mosque and used by him.

 Domes: First used in 691 in The dome of rock influenced by Constantine's domed style of the
holy Sepulchre erected over Christ's burial place in Golgotha. A form showing religious dominance
and union with God. had two main symbolic interpretations in Islamic architecture involving the
representation of the vault of heaven and a symbol of divine dominance engulfing the emotional and
physical being of the faithful. In functional terms, it is used to externally define the Qibla and internally
lighten it .

 Sahn: An open courtyard within a mosque & with a pool usually in the center.
 Howz: symmetrical pool used in center of sahn for ablutions
Mosques
 Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad,
Medina, Saudi Arabia.
 The Prophet was buried underneath the floor.
 The mosque was decorated with marble and mosaics of gold glass that represented
trees and buildings. These decorations covered the walls of the open courtyard, as
well as the colonnaded sanctuary against the south wall.
 The mosque has been redecorated by the Abbasids, the Mamluks and the
Ottomans.
 Most recently, the entire mosque was redecorated and enlarged by King Fahd of
Saudi Arabia. The rectangular mosque enclosure has five minarets and a great
green dome.
 This mosque, with its bipartite division and axis planning, became the prototype
for subsequent Islamic religious buildings. The prototype is called an 'Umayyad
hypostyle mosque'.
 Mosques
 The Kaʼba, located in Mecca in the
Great Mosque of Mecca. Said to be
the holiest place on earth, it is the first
of the three great shrines of Islam. All
Muslims in Islam pray to the direction
of the Kaʼba.
 On the southwest side of the Ka'ba is
a semi-circular wall about one and a
quarter meters tall, which represents
its border (al-hatim) as built by
Abraham.
 Entrance to the inside of the Ka'ba is
gained through a door 2.13 meters
above the ground on the northeastern
wall. Inside is a marble floor and
walls clad with marble half-way to the
roof. Tablets with Quranic inscriptions
are inset in the marble. The upper
part of the interior walls is covered
with a green cloth decorated with gold
embroidered Quranic verses.
mosques
 The Great Mosque of Al
Mutawakkil, located in Samarra
Iraq.164 feet high.
 "Great mosque, Samarra, [was]
built...in the caliphate of al-
Mutawakkil...This is the largest
mosque in the world. Built
entirely of brick within a wall
flanked with towers, it has a 55
m. high minaret with a spiral
ramp that recalls the ziggurats of
Mesopotamia."
Ablution facilities
As ritual purification precedes all prayers, mosques often have ablution fountains or
other facilities for washing in their entryways or courtyards. However, worshippers at
much smaller mosques often have to use restrooms to perform their ablutions. In
traditional mosques, this function is often elaborated into a freestanding building in the
center of a courtyard.This desire for cleanliness extends to the prayer halls where shoes
are disallowed to be worn anywhere other than the cloakroom. Thus, foyers with
shelves to put shoes and racks to hold coats are commonplace among mosques.
Mosques
 Mosque of Sultan Ahmed,
Istanbul, Turkey. Built in
late classical Ottomon style.
 Yaama Mosque, Tahoua,
Niger, Africa. "Initially, the
mosque was a simple,
severe hypostyle hall with
the column spacing
determined by the spatial
demands of kneeling
worshippers
Bazaars
 The great bazaars in the Middle East are
places where people trade spices, jewelry,
cloth, carpets, and even exchange
philosophies.
 In Islamic cities, besides being the place
where business occur, bazaars are the
center of the metropolitan organizational
setting, where mosques and religious
schools are located.
 In a Bazaar the sellers of the same items are
located in the same area of the bazaar.
 These sellers work together to enforce
ethical trading practices and they work
together as members of a community, not
competitors.
 Bargaining is a common practice in Islamic
Bazaars and it can be a long-lasting event.
 Some famous bazaars are the Grand Bazaar
in Istanbul, Tehran Grand Bazaar in Iran, the
Bazaar of Isfahan, and the Old Bazaar in
Cairo.
Arasta Bazaar, Istanbul
Bazaars
 The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul was built in 1464 and today it has more than
three thousand shops.
 It contains 61 streets, ten wells, two mosques, restaurants, cafes and even
a police station.
 Currently there are about 25,000 people working in the bazaar.
 One can also find antiques such as old pages of calligraphies in the Grand
Bazaar of Istanbul.
 The grand bazaar
Bazaars
 The Bazaar of Isfahan, Iran, is
composed of two parts: the old and
the new section.
 The Bazaar has secular Islamic
architecture of more than five
hundred years. Bazaar at Isfahan
 It contains shops, the Shah
mosque and the old Friday
mosque, caravanserais, peripheral
markets, colleges, bathhouses and
shrines.
 The Bazaar of Isfahan is connected
to the rest of the city, including
residential areas by routes.
 These routes contain peripheral
markets with similar products
contained in the bazaar.
Gardens
 Islamic gardens represent a heaven on
earth, a paradise, as describe in the Holy
Quran. In Arabic the name for a
heavenly garden is jannah, of which the
highest level of garden is firdaws, most
commonly used in the phrase jannaat al-
firdaws – gardens of paradise.
 The influences of the Islamic Garden can
be seen around the world, but a famous
ones include the Alhambra, Taj Mahal
and the General life gardens.
Gardens: Basic Features
 Quadripartite layout: garden is divided by four water
courses which are said to represent the rivers to be
found in paradise.
 The four rivers tend to be brought together at a central
fountain or pool, a feature and focus of the garden.
 Water: because Islam was established and grew in a
part of the world which has a hot, harsh climate and
where water brings life to the desert and those who live
in it. These concepts, both conceptually and physically,
are central to the use of water in the garden.
 Walls and gates: Paradise, however large or
small it may be, is surrounded by gated walls,
mainly to protect the garden from the desert,
establishes ownership, and keeps activities
within the garden private.
Gardens: Basic Features
 Vegetation and shade: references and
allusions to the features of the gardens that
await the faithful. But it is not just shade that it
promised. Coolness,lush greenery, fruit and
beauty are also features of the garden.
 Pavilions: Within the garden the Holy Quran
promises that there will be pavilions from which
the faithful will be able to enjoy the garden.
These pavilions are specified as being elevated
and constructed over running water the
pavilions are great places to over see the
garden and enjoy its beauty as a whole.
Houses
 From Daily life in the Islamic World
 Housing included: Tents, mud huts, reed huts, single-story residences,
multi-storied tenements, and elaborate palaces.Tents: Made from hair,
wool, and leather of the nomadic herds and flocks, whether sheep, goats,
or camels.Settled Oases: Made from mud or reeds because wood and
stone were rarely available in sufficient quantities to be practicable.
 Homes: Tended to be huts built of mud bricks in Muhammad hometown
of 7th century Mecca, whereas in other oases, reed huts were more
common. In Yemen, many residents lived in villages and towns made up
of multistory tenement buildings.Major Cities like Damascus, Baghdad,
and Cairo used wood, stone, and brick were preferred materials because
they were more readily available and far more durable than tents and
mud or reed huts.
 Typical structures: central courtyard or common area around which
salons, bedrooms, and kitchens were constructed.
 Ventilation: Mashrabiyya- a wooden grill or grate used to cover windows
or balconies. Grills or lattice work usually made of turned wood that was
joined together with carved blocks or spheres of wood to create intricate
patterns.Malqaf- Wind catcher, functioned as a kind of reverse
chimney/swamp cooler in that it was composed of a shaft that rose
above the building roof.
 Houses
 What is Islamic housing:it is an urban architecture that
developed over the centuries as part of an urban fabric; it
emphasizes interior spaces; it places importance on
pattern and color; it has a defined separation of spaces
and a defined sequence of spaces; and it has the ability to
assimilate other architectures into its own.

Egyptian houses.