HAID: Islamic Art & Architecture

MOORISH

Islamic architecture of North Africa and Spain, characterized by large mosques and elaborate fortress-palaces.

mosque or masjid

Means "a place to prostrate," a prayer hall rather than a house of God.

zullah

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

Portico

Maqsura

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

screen; It was typically reserved for a Muslim ruler and his entourage, and was originally designed to shield him from potential assassins during prayer.

dikka

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

reading desk

Dome of the Rock

Oldest Islamic monument. Octagonal structure with a glittering dome that rises over two internal colonnades. Has multi-patterned ceramic exterior facings. (Jerusalem)

Great Mosque of Cordoba

Known for its prayer hall with double arcades, lower arches are of horseshoe form and have voussoirs of white stone and red brick. Has 860 columns. (Spain)

Taj Mahal

White-splendored tomb built by Shah Jahan for his favourite wife, Arjumand Banu Begum (Mumtaz Mahal). Ustad Ahmad Lahauri is considered to be the principal designer. It sits on a raised platform surrounded by four minarets.

Sits on a raised platform surrounded by four minarets.

Great Mosque of Isfahan

The largest mosque ever built. Has a cone shaped minaret encircled by n spiral outer ramp. (Iran)

Alahambra

A richly decorated and elaborate palace and fortress in Spain. "A pearl set in emeralds"

Granada, Andalusia, Spain

Calligraphy

work of writing that uses Arabic text as the basis of a written text

Lustreware/Luster-Painter

a type of pottery with an over-glaze finish containing copper and silver or other materials that give the effect of iridescence

Sgraffito Ware

also called a scratch ware, due to the way the decoration was scratched into the surface

Jami Masjid

the neighborhood mosque or a big mosque

Sahn

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

courtyard of a mosque

Haram

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

Covered area in front of the qibla wall

Mihrab

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

Niche oriented towards Mecca; usually shaped like a doorway and decorated with tiles and calligraphy to make the space stand out.

Dikka

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

Reading desk

Minbar

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

Raised platform for ceremonial announcements; usually made of carved wood, stone, or brick. It includes a short staircase leading to the top platform, which is sometimes covered by a small dome

Iwan/Ivan

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

Open-fronted vault facing a court

Minaret

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

A slim tower rising from a mosque; used as a high point from which to make the call to prayer

Qibla Wall

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

Axis oriented towards Mecca

Bab

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

Gateway

Musalla

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

The central area for prayer

Harem

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

Women's or private chamber of a house or palace

Selamlik

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

Men's or guest's quarters

Dome of the Rock

Characterized by multi-patterned ceramic exterior facings. It's an octagonal structure topped with a glittering dome that rises over two internal colonnades. The oldest Islamic monument and found at Jerusalem. Believed to be the place from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven during his Night Journey.

Great Mosque of Cordoba

Known for its prayer hall which is comprised of double arcades with which the lower arches are of horseshoe form and have voussoirs of white stone and red brick. Located at Spain

Great Mosque of Samarra

The largest mosque ever built, it has a cone-shaped minaret that is encircled by an outer ramp on the form of a spiral.

Mudejar

A Spanish architecture style characterized by the fusion of Romanesque and Gothic with Islamic elements.

Umma

The local Islamic community

Muezzin

the Muslim official of a mosque who summons the faithful to prayer from a minaret five times a day

Fawwara

[PARTS OF A MOSQUE]

fountain

Kaaba

is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

saray or serai

palace with courtyard