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Entrance portal at the Mosque of al-Zahir Baybars in Cairo, Egypt (13th century) Ablaq became a prominent feature of Mamluk architecture in Syria, Egypt and Palestine in the 14th and 15th centuries. During this period, black and white stone were often used as well as red brick in recurring rows, giving a three colored striped building. [3]
Middle stage patterns on geometric borders around a Mihrab in the Alâeddin Mosque, Konya, Turkey. 1220 onwards. The next development, marking the middle stage of Islamic geometric pattern usage, was of 6- and 8-point stars, which appear in 879 at the Ibn Tulun Mosque, Cairo, and then became widespread. [25]
The first maqsura is believed to have been created by Caliph Uthman (caliph between 644 and 656 CE) at the Mosque of Medina to protect himself from possible assassins after his predecessor, Umar, was assassinated inside the mosque. [4] In this early Islamic period, the caliph also acted as imam and led prayers in the main mosque.
Along the top corners of the walls runs a black cloth embroidered with gold Qur'anic verses. Caretakers anoint the marble cladding with the same scented oil used to anoint the Black Stone outside. Three pillars (some erroneously report two) stand inside the Kaaba, with a small altar or table set between one and the other two.
The Fatimids used a green standard, as well as white. The Saudi Emirate of Diriyah used a white and green flag with the shahadah emblazoned on it. Various countries in the Persian Gulf have red flags, as red represents nationalism. The four Pan-Arab colours, white, black, green and red, dominate the flags of Arab states. [2] [3]
Balconies are a common feature of Islamic domestic architecture due to the warm climates in most countries. One of the mosque recognizable types is the mashrabiya, a wooden lattice screen which projects from the side of a building and which protected privacy by allowed those inside to look outside without being visible from outside.
The mosque has an unusual layout, consisting of two consecutive halls, with the second one accessed through the first one. The first hall is accessed via a portal with a large pointed arch, inside which is a doorway built in alternating black and white stone, or ablaq.
The principal entrance to the mosque is through a flight of 23 steps. At the entrance is an ornamented portico supported by four black-veined marble columns. Inside the mosque are arcades of white marble columns. The beauty of the mosque's chambers, minarets and ceilings is accentuated by the distinctly Moorish plaster work.