Islamic & Moorish Style

Tin-glazed pottery

Produced in Egypt and Iraq were influenced by the Chinese white and porcelain stone ware.

Lusterware

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

Sgraffito

A ceramic or mural decoration made by scratching off a surface layer to reveal the ground

Moorish Architecture

Islamic architecture of North Africa and especially the regions of Spain under Moorish domination characterized by the building of large mosques and elaborate fortress palaces.

Mosque

A Muslim place of worship. Cloistered or arcaded courtyard is a fundamental feature. It is an inward looking building. No positive object of attention or adoration and it is conceived around an axis towards Mecca.

Masjid

Arabic word for mosque; which means a place of prostration.

Jami masjid

"Friday mosque," a congregational mosque.

Bab

Gateway of mosque.

Sahn

Courtyard of a mosque.

Haram

Covered area in front of a qibla wall in a mosque.

Iwan/Ivan

Part of a mosque which is an open-fronted vault facing a court.

Mihrab

A niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of Mecca.

Dikka

A platform in a mosque, often made of wood, that holds muezzins who chant in unison with the prayer leader.

Minbar

In a mosque, the pulpit on which the imam stands

Maqsura

Enclosure in a mosque, situated near the mihrab and minbar, defined by a metal or timber screen, used by a ruler for purposes of protection and status.

Minaret

Originally used as a high point from which to make the call to prayer (adhan), these remain a traditionally decorative feature of most mosques.

Qibla wall

The wall of a mosque that faces Mecca; the wall Muslims face when praying.

Musalla

The central area for prayer is called a (literally place for prayer).

Harem

Living quarters reserved for wives and concubines and female relatives in a Muslim household.

Dome of the Rock

It is an octagonal structure topped with a glittering dome that rises over internal colonnades in Jerusalem. it is characterized by ceramic exterior facings. Believed to be the place from which the Prophet Muhammed ascended into heaven.

Great Mosque of Cordoba

The structure is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture.

Great Mosque, Iraq

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

Umayyad Mosque

Also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus, located in the old city of Damascus, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. It is considered by some Muslims to be the fourth-holiest place in Islam. It is the earliest surviving stone mosque.

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

The largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates.

Alhambra

A palace and fortress built in Granada by the Muslims in the Middle Ages; The name, signifying in Arabic "the red," is probably derived from the reddish colour of the tapia (rammed earth) of which the outer walls were built.

Taj Mahal

White splendored tomb was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his favorite wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, better known as Muntaz Mahal (“Chosen of the Palace”).

Mudejar Architecture

A style of Spanish architecture by Mudejar and Christian working with Muslim traditions; Characterized by the fusion of Romanesque and Gothic with Islamic.

Ottoman Architecture

The Islamic architecture of the Ottoman Empire from the 14th century on, much influenced by Byzantine architecture.

Panj Kāse

'Five Concaved' design

Rahla

Lavishly decorated stands which were designed to hold large copies of the Qur'an. This stand is made of two interlocking wood panels decorated with carved inscriptions and floral, vegetal, and geometric motifs.

Jali

Perforated ornamental stone screens in Islamic art