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Welcome
to Islamic Architecture,
database of Islamic
architectural styles, architects and regions
872
Islamic buildings and monuments | |
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middle east |
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Israel and
Palestine
Jerusalem is a city like no other – it has fired
people’s imaginations in every generation and is revered by adherents of
the three monotheistic faiths. |
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Turkey
With the establishment of the Ottoman empire,
the years 1300-1453 constitute the early or first Ottoman period,
when Ottoman art was in search of new ideas. |
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Syria
Archaeologists have demonstrated that the civilization in Syria was one
of the most ancient on earth. |
North Africa |
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Egypt
Egypt is famous for its ancient civilization and some of the world's
most ancient and important monuments, including the Giza Pyramids and
the Great Sphinx of Giza; the southern city of Luxor contains a
particularly large number of ancient artifacts such as the Karnak Temple
and the Valley of the Kings. Today, Egypt is widely regarded as the main
political and cultural centre of the Middle East. |
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Morocco
What became modern Morocco in the seventh century, was an area of
Berbers influenced by the Arabs, who brought their customs, culture, and
Islam, to which most of the Berbers converted, forming states and
kingdoms such as the Kingdom of Nekor and Barghawata, sometimes after
long-running series of civil wars. Under Idris ibn Abdallah who founded
the Idrisid Dynasty, the country soon cut ties and broke away from the
control of the distant Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad and the Umayyad rule
in Al-Andalus. The Idrisids established Fes as their capital and Morocco
became a centre of learning and a major regional power. |
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Tunisia
Around forty percent of the country is composed
of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of
particularly fertile soil, and a 1300 km coastline. Both played a
prominent role in ancient times, first with the famous Phoenician
city of Carthage, and later, as the Africa Province, which became
known as the bread basket of the Roman Empire. |
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Contemporary architecture |
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Fertile Crescent |
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Iraq
The region of Iraq was historically known as Mesopotamia (Greek:
"between the rivers"). It was home to the world's first known
civilization, the Sumerian culture, followed by the Akkadian,
Babylonian, and Assyrian cultures, whose influence extended into
neighboring regions as early as 5000 BC. These civilizations produced
the earliest writing and some of the first sciences, mathematics, laws
and philosophies of the world; hence its common epithet, the "Cradle of
Civilization". |
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Iran
Architecture in "Greater Iran" has a continuous
history from at least 5000BCE to the present, with characteristic
examples distributed over a vast area from Syria to North India and
the borders of China, from the Caucasus to Zanzibar. Persian
buildings vary from peasant huts to tea houses, and garden pavilions
to "some of the most majestic structures the world has ever seen". |
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Uzbekistan
Located in the heart of Central Asia between the Amu Darya (Oxus) and
Syr Darya (Jaxartes) Rivers, Uzbekistan has a long and interesting
heritage. The leading cities of the Silk Road - Samarkand, Bukhara, and
Khiva - are located in Uzbekistan. |
West Asia |
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Pakistan
Ancient sites in Pakistan include Buddhist monuments, Hindu/Buddhist
temples, Palaces and Monuments built by Emperors, tombs, pleasure
grounds and Anglo-Mogul mansions - some in a state of dereliction which
makes their former grandeur more emphatic. Sculpture is dominated by
Graeco-Buddhist friezes, and crafts by ceramics, jewellery, silk goods
and engraved woodwork and metalwork. |
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More......... |
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| This
watercolor-rendering was done by Ali Akbar Sahiwala, a fourth-year
undergraduate student studying architecture at the University of
Toronto, Canada. Having worked with Bruce Mau Design earlier this
year (2009) for an urban development and a future transportation
infrastructure for the Holy City of Makkah, Ali dedicated this
painting for the auspicious Eid-Al-Adha celebration that follows the
annual Hajj pilgrammage in which millions of Muslim pilgrims visit
the Holy City. He was influenced by his mentor, Michael McCann who
is an award-winning rendering artist. For more information, please
visit his blog:
http://aliakbarsahiwala.blogspot.com/ |
This month's featured building |
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Masjid
al-Haram 638, 1571 Mecca, Saudi Arabia |
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Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām (المسجد الحرام IPA: [ʔælˈmæs.ʤi.dæl.ħɑˈrɑːm] "The
Sacred Mosque"), is the largest mosque in the world. Located in the city
of Mecca, it surrounds the Kaaba, the place which Muslims turn towards
while offering daily prayer and is considered to be the holiest place on
Earth by Muslims. The mosque is also commonly known as the Haram or
Haram Sharif.
more....
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