GEOGRAPHICAL

The Muslim faith flourished principally in

the countries of Southern Asia and Northern
Africa

• Africa North of Sahara ( 7th century

onwards )
• Sahara and Eastern Africa ( 9th
century onwards )
• Asia and Asia Minor ( 7th century CLIMATIC
onwards ) - Philippines and Much of the territory historically dominated by
Indonesia – 14th century onwards Islam tends to be fertile by irrigation rather than
The spread of Islam has been frequently direct rainfall  Although some of the most
associated with military important areas fall within the Mediterranean
climatic region, the greater part of the Moslem
conquest, racial movements, and in some world lies with the grip of some form of
cases displacement of continental climate, with extremes of
temperature and modest rainfall
established populations

SOCIAL
GEOLOGICAL
Public life was reserved for men
Women played a secondary role,
Brick-making and pise’ walling were
almost universal in the alluvial plains The women’s place was the private part of
the household – the Harem
In public life, she was protected by the
There was a long tradition of ceramic
anonymity of the veil
production, the use of gypsum plaster,
glass manufacture, and various forms of
metalwork needed for building
RELIGIOUS of diverse territories by people with no
architectural tradition

Its essence is contained in a simple sentence,

which is both the profession of faith and the The majority of Islamic buildings are
credo of its adherents “There is only one fundamentally related to a
God and Mohammed is his prophet “
principal axis:
a. Principal axis “Kibla “
Moslem thought is codified in three works
1. The Koran is regarded as revelation
through the medium of the prophet
Mohammed
2. Hadith is a collection of his saying or
injunction
(a source for religious law and moral
guidance ranks second only to that of the
Qur'an)
3. Law which is extracted from the Prophet’s
instruction, from
tradition and example • “ Iwan “ (outside of mosque)

The prophet’s successors were the

“Caliphs “
an Islamic state under the leadership of an
Islamic steward with the title of caliph
The Islamic world is divided into Sunni
and Shia persuasions
Sunni – in Turkey and Africa
Shia – in Persia and Iraq

Meaning of mecca is the holiest place in

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER Islam

Islamic architecture is not the product of

any one place or people
It is the product of a major historic event
– the rapid conquest
Mihrab (inside mosque)
Kaaba:

Mosques, tombs, and dwellings are

the chief buildings
The courtyard is a key feature in
The dominant/chief building is the mosques — an open space, usually
mosque with a fountain for washing before
prayers. But it’s not just for
Mosque – a Muslim house of mosques! It’s also the main part of
worship other Islamic buildings like:
Minaret – a tall tower in, or 1. Medrese (or Madrassah): A school or
contiguous to a mosque with arched college for studying Islam — often built
stairs leading up to one or more around a central courtyard.
balconies from which the faithful 2. Han or Caravanserai: An inn for
are called upon to pray travelers, especially along trade routes
— with a courtyard for resting and
unloading goods.
3. Palace: Courtyards create open,
peaceful spaces within grand buildings.
4. House: Even homes use courtyards for
privacy, cooling, and socializing.
The most important type of doorway
or window shape is the pointed arch
— a tall, narrow arch that gives
buildings a sense of height and
In terms of minarets: elegance.
- Four is the normal maximum
- A mosque with six is exceptional
- Ka’ba at Mecca is unique with
seven
 Herod (destroyed A.D. 70), and Hadrian’s
Temple of Jupiter
• sheathed in sixth-century Turkish
tiles
• In concept, the building is similar to
the Byzantine Holy Sepulcher in
Jerusalem
• Built by the Ummayad Caliph Abd
Al Malik

2.MOSQUE OF AL-AQSA, JERUSALEM

Domes were widely used throughout
• The most ancient mosque in Jerusalem
the Islamic world
• Dome of the Rock and align upon it
• beautified by Caliph Abd-Al- Malik

Ancient Greek and Roman columns

were often re-used by Moslem
3. THE GREAT MOSQUE, DAMASCUS
Motifs were derived from
calligraphy, floral abstraction, • Is the earliest mosque to survive
geometric interlacement intact
• This is the first of many examples of
columns, similar in proportion to Greco- the use of superimposed arcades to
Roman give a greater height to a mosque's
interior
1. KUBBET-ES-SAKHRA (DOME
OF THE ROCK), JERUSALEM
Occupies a spot on the temple platform
sacred to Jews, Christians, and Moslems; for
there stood successively the Altar of David,
the Temple of Solomon, the Temple erected
by the Jews after their exile, the Temple of
4. THE MOSQUE OF THE PROPHET’S • This is the first known mausoleum of
HOUSE, MEDINA Islamic history

5. THE GREAT MOSQUE OF 7. CITY OF BAGHDAD

MALWIYA, SAMARRA
• Now disaffected, was the largest
mosque ever built. It was the work of
Caliph Al-Mutawakkil who also built
the nearby mosque of Abu Dulaf

B. EGYPT AND NORTH AFRICA TO

TUNISIA

1. THE MOSQUE OF AL–AZHAR,

CAIRO
• Is the earliest surviving Fatimid
structure

6. THE QUBBAT AL– SULAIBIYA,

SAMARRA
• Was constructed over the grave of
the Caliph Al-Muntasir
2. THE MOSQUE OF SULTAN
BAYBARS, CAIRO
4. MOSQUE OF AMR IBN AL-AS, CAIRO
• Was the first mosque built by a
• The most ancient mosque in Egypt
Mamluk Sultan

3,MADRASSAH OF SULTAN SALIH,

CAIRO C. SPAIN AND WESTERN NORTH
AFRICA
• Is the earliest surviving example and
typical collegiate mosquethe
madrassah
1. GREAT MOSQUE, KAIROUAN,
TUNISIA
• Important for its minaret, the
earliest complete surviving
example of a structure built for its
purpose
2. THE ALHAMBRA, GRANADA Though now a cathedral, it remains
• most famous of all Saracenic relatively unaltered and stands as one of the
structure supreme achievements of Islamic
architecture

• a. Court of the Lions - Is 35.00 m x

20.00 m - Is surrounded by
arcades, in which very slender
columns with high dosseret blocks
carry a perforated arcade

D. PERSIA (IRAN) AND TURKESTAN

1. TARIK-HAN MOSQUE, DAMGHAN

• Is the oldest surviving Moslem
building in Persia

• b. Court of the Myrtles - is 42.00 m

x 23.00 m - has on its northern
termination to its axis the massive
tower of Komares, containing the
Hall
2. THE TOMB OF ISMAIL THE
SAMANID, BUKHARA
3. THE GREAT MOSQUE, CORDOBA
• Was begun in 785 by Apd ar– • highly decorative brickwork
Rahman I • weave type, formed by elaborate brick
• done by Apd ar Rahman II in 848, bonding
Al–Hakam in 961and 968, and by Al
– Mansur in 987
 5. MADRASSAH MADIR-i-SHAH,
ISFAHAN
• s the greatest of the eighteenth
century mosque of Persia

3. MASJID-i-JAMI, ISFAHAN
• Is perhaps the most sumptuous and
monumental of Persian Seljuk buildings
• mosque itself reflects Sassanian E. TURKEY
tradition
• ribbed and groined vaults and
structural stalactites ( muqarnas ) 1. FATIH MOSQUE, ISTANBUl
• “Conqueror’s Mosque”, was begun
within ten years of the conquest of
Constantinople

2. CHINLI KIOSK, ISTANBUL

4. GUR-I-MIR, SAMARKAND • Unusual and lovely building on a plan
• Is Tamerlaine’s family mausoleum
 6. SULEYMANIYE MOSQUE,
ISTANBUL
3. MOSQUE OF SULTAN BAYAZIT,
• Or the Mosque of Suleyman I “
EDIRNE
The Magnificent”
• Architect Koca Sinan designed it
• earliest complete work that fully
illustrates the pure Ottoman style

4. MOSQUE OF BAYAZIT, ISTANBUL 7. The SELIMIYE MOSQUE, EDIRNE

• Is the earliest surviving Imperial • Architect Sinan regarded it as his
mosque in the Ottoman capital greatest achievement
• The first substantial Ottoman
building to reproduce the structural
form of Hagia Sophia

8. THE MOSQUE OF SULTAN

5. SHEHZADE MOSQUE AHMED, ISTANBUL
• Built for Sultan Suleyman by the • Blue Mosque
architect Koca Sinan
 3. PERSONNEL
TERMINOLOGIES a. Muezzin - a caller who summoned the
faithful to prayer
b. Imam - a man who leads the
1. BUILDING TYPES
congregation to prayer
a. Masjid (Persia, India), Jami- mosque,
c. Caliph - successor to the Prophet as
principal place of
military, judicial, and spiritual leader of
worship, the word Jami indicating the use of Islam
the
building for Friday prayers
Masjid (Turkey) - a small prayer house
b. Madrassah (Egypt), Medrese (Turkey) -
religious college and mosque
c. Saray, Serai – palace

2. BUILDING COMPONENTS
a. Mihrab - a niche-oriented towards Mecca
b. Mimber - a raised platform for
ceremonial announcements
c. Iwan, Ivan (Persia) - open fronted vault
facing on to a court
d. Bab - gateway
e. Sahn - courtyard of a mosque, also
described as ablution court
f. Minaret - tower from which call to prayer
is made
g. Harem - women's private quarter of a
house or palace
h. Selamlik - men's quarter or guest quarter
i. Kibla, Kible - axis oriented towards
Mecca
j. Chatri (India) – kiosk