General, Mosques - Source # 1

1. General, Mosques - Source #1 S – 253 • Architecture was found in different types of buildings with different functions like mosques, caravansarais, madrasas, and mausolea • Architecture was used to enhance the authority of the ruler • Different types of buildings were connected with specific groups of interested parties at different times in history

2. Style – Source #1 S – 253-254 • Mathematics and geometry were often considered part of medieval architecture aesthetic • Epigraphy became an integral part of the decoration of architecture

3. Famous – Source #1 S – 253 • (Maghribi historian) IbnKhaldun’s work contains insights concerning the relationship between architecture and the state • IbnKhaldun emphasized that cities and other monuments reflected the dynasties that created them • Alhambra (fortified castle) - Built during the latter part of the Moorish period in Spain and at the height of classical Islamic civilization

4. Features (parts) of Mosques - Source #4 S – 53 • Mosques generally have an open space covered or uncovered facing toward Mecca, a minaret (a tower from which the faithful are called to prayer), and a minbar (raised pulpit from which an imam could address the body or read the Koran, and a fountain nearby for ablutions) • Mosques were used for: a place of worship, shelter, food, facilities for teaching, administration and burial • Screened or grilled windows or blank walls facing the street, and with entrances leading the stranger to a blank wall with no view of the interior

5. Features (parts) of Mosques - Source #4 (CONTINUED) S – 53-54 • Features courtyards with fountains, elaborately decorated colonnades, surrounded by formal and informal gardens, surfaces are intricately laden with tiled geometry, elaborate stucco calligraphy and arabesque fantasies • Inside, houses face an open courtyard or garden, sometimes with a fountain or pool, family sitting areas outdoors in shaded areas (especially found in Islamic Spain)

6. Style – Source #4 S – 53 • Discouraged in Islamic art: representations of human and animals figures (thought to encourage idolatry), creation of imitations of life forms (only God can create) • Arabesque – geometric designs as well as elaborate floral designs, became the distinctive Arab decorative motif • Quotations from the Koran were thought to be the most appropriate decoration for any building

7. Style – Source #4 (CONTINUED) S – 53 • Islam emphasizes privacy, mosques and other public buildings were normally decorated on the inside, outsides were plain • Islamic houses are turned inward, showing only blank walls to the street • Calligraphy, geometric and arabesque designs are the distinctive characteristics of Islamic architecture

8. Famous – Source #4 S – 53 • First mosque was the courtyard of Mohammad’s house • Alhambra – fortified castle

9. Style – Source #7 S - 2 • The concept of Allah's infinite power is evoked by designs with repeating themes which suggest infinity • Human and animal forms are rarely depicted in decorative art as Allah's work is considered to be matchless • Foliage is a frequent motif but typically stylized or simplified for the same reason • Arabic Calligraphy is used to enhance the interior of a building by providing quotations from the Qur'an

10. Style (CONTINUED) – Source #7 S - 6 • Furthermore, the use of grandiose forms such as large domes, towering minarets, and large courtyards are intended to convey power • Arabic calligraphy is associated with geometric Islamic art (the Arabesque) on the walls and ceilings of mosques as well as on the page. • Arabesque - An element of Islamic art usually found decorating the walls of mosques and Muslim homes and buildings, the arabesque is an elaborate application of repeating geometric forms that often echo the forms of plants, shapes and sometimes animals (specifically birds)

11. General – Source #7 S - 1 • Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of secular and religious architecture • Principle architectural types are the mosque, the tomb, the palace and the fort. Lesser importance, public baths, fountains and domestic architecture • Islamic architecture has been called the "architecture of the veil" because the beauty lies in the inner spaces (courtyards and rooms) which are not visible from the outside (street view) • Notable Islamic architectural types include the early Abbasid buildings, T-type mosques, and the central-dome mosques of Anatolia

12. Famous – Source #7 S - 1 • Built between 630 and 632, the holy sanctuary of Ka’ba was rebuilt by a shipwrecked Abyssinian carpenter, among the first major works of Islamic architecture • Ka’ba was decorated with painting of Jesus, Mary, Abraham, prophets, angels and trees, later doctrines forbade the use of icons in architecture (humans and animals) • Dome of the Rock is a key example of Islamic architecture • Dome of the Rock featured interior vaulted spaces, a circular dome, and the use of stylized repeating decorative patterns (arabesque)

13. Famous (CONTINUED) – Source #7 S - 1 • The Great Mosque of Samara in Iraq (completed in 847 AD) combined the hypostyle architecture of rows of columns supporting a flat base above a huge spiraling minaret • The Hagia Sophia in Instanbul influenced Islamic architecture • Ottomans (Muslim) converted the basilica to a mosque when they conquered Byzantium, incorporated Byzantine architectural elements like domes • Hagia Sophia served as a model for many Ottoman mosques like the Shehzade Mosque, the Suleiman Mosque, and the Rustem Pasha Mosque

14. Arab Plan (Hypostyle) Mosques – Source #7 S – 3-4 • Arab-plan or hypostyle mosques are the earliest type of mosques, pioneered under the Umayyad Dynasty • Arab-plan or hypostyle mosques are square or rectangular in plan with an enclosed courtyard and a covered prayer hall with a flat roof • Courtyards served to accommodate the large number of worshippers during Friday prayers • Arab-plan or hypostyle mosques gradually fell out of popularity because they were simple and had limited opportunities for further development

15. Elements of Islamic Style – Source #7 S - 6 • Large courtyards often merged with a central prayer hall • Minarets or towers • Mihrab or niche on an inside wall indicating the direction to Mecca. • Domes and Cupolas. • The use of geometric shapes and repetitive art (arabesque). • The use of decorative Islamic calligraphy instead of pictures which were forbidden in mosque architecture. • The ablution of fountains The use of bright color. • Focus both on the interior space of a building and the exterior

16. Source #9 – Islamic Mosque Architecture (Parts of a Mosque) S – 1-2 • Minaret – slim tower rising from a mosque, may be square, round, or octagonal and are usually covered with a pointed roof • Prayer Hall – large open space, central area for prayer, contains little to no furniture, contains copies of religious materials, and individual prayer rugs • Prayer Rugs – provide a clean and cushioned area for worshippers to bow, kneel and prostrate on the ground • Mihrab – ornamental indentation in the wall of a mosque, marks the direction of the qiblah, shaped like a doorway and decorated with tiles and calligraphy • Minbar - raised platform in the front area of a mosque, from which sermons or speeches are given, includes a short staircase and is sometimes covered with a small dome • Dome - holds no spiritual or symbolic significance, and is purely aesthetic, interior of a dome is usually highly decorated with floral, geometric and other patterns • Shoe Shelf – Muslims remove shoes to pray to keep prayer space clean, shelf keeps shoes neatly organized