ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Secular and religious architectural
functions influence the design and
construction of buildings and building
types in Islamic culture.
Islamic Architecture
Principal building types:
•Mosque
•Tomb
•Palace
•Fort
Building types of lesser importance:
•Public baths
•Fountains
•Domestic dwellings
Islamic Architecture
DESCRIPTION
Islam had a profound impact on architecture:
product of rapid conquest of
diverse territories by a people
with no architectural tradition
(nomadic)
no essential difference in
techniques between religious and
non-religious buildings
basic conservatism that
discouraged innovations and
favored established forms
symmetry and balance
(as in the concept of perfect
creation)
centered upon God (Allah)
MATERIALS
baked and unbaked
bricks
timber framing with brick
and plaster infill
rubble and worked stone
variety of facings and
casting
OPENINGS
Arches
Pointed Horseshoe
2- or 4-centered
Cusped
Ogee Foliated
Windows
small and traditionally closed with:
•wooden shutters
•delicately carved/
perforated stone
•iron bars
•marble grilles
•plaster lights set with
clear glass
Arcading
timber and masonry
ORNAMENTATION
in lieu of human and animal forms:
•abstract and geometric
motifs
•motifs from calligraphy
•floral abstraction
•geometric interlacement
MOSQUE or JAMI
- Principal place of worship
- Building used for Friday prayer
Prime purposes:
contemplation and prayer
school, place for
transactions,
storage for treasures, place
for hearing official notices Mosque of Ahmed Ibn Tulun, Cairo
Plan:
inward-looking building
no positive object of attention or adoration
conceived around an axis (kibla) towards Mecca
(axis terminates at the mihrab)
sides punctuated with gateways,
prayer chambers and iwans or
porches
a cloistered or arcaded courtyard
is a fundamental feature
Parts of a Mosque
sahn - courtyard of a mosque
mihrab - niche oriented towards Mecca
dikka - reading desk
maqsura – screen
mimbar or minbar - raised platform for
ceremonial announcements
riwaq - arcaded prayer halls
iwan/ ivan - open-fronted vault facing a court;
prayer room
minaret - tower from which a call to prayer is
made
bab – gateway
harem - women's or private chamber of a house
or palace
selamlik - men's or guests’ quarters
ziyada - enclosed space, precinct
Mosque of Ahmed Ibn
Tulun, Cairo
Blue Mosque, Istanbul
Interiors of the Blue Mosque
The Great Mosque, Cordoba
The Great Mosque, Damascus
Dar al-Imara and Mosque of Ibn
Tulun, Cairo
Example of Iwan
Kubbet-es-Sakhra
(Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem)
most important Islamic structure
arcaded aisles on octagon plan
great central dome covers the summit of Mt.
Moriah
(the prophet is believed to have made his ride
to heaven from this mountain)
double timber dome on great masonry arcade
Al-Masjid al-Haram or
The Sacred Mosque (Mecca)
Mosque of Mohamed Ali Pasha or
The Alabaster Mosque
(The Citadel, Cairo, Egypt)
2. MASJID (Persia and India)
or MESJID (Turkey)
small prayer house
Masjid al Aqsa,
Old City of Jerusalem
3. MADRASSAH (Egypt)
or MEDRESE (Turkey)
religious college and mosque
has courtyard
The Madrasa
al Nuriyya al Kubra,
Damas
Madrasa al-Attarin, Morocco
Madrasa at Marrakech
