Mediterranean Translations: Cairo, Constantinople, Venice, and Beyond

Architecture as Translation

Translations of Architectural form and function

Reflections of the cross-cultural entanglements of the Mediterranean created by: trade, diplomacy, warfare, religion, geography

Detail of the Catalan Atlas, Elisha ben Abraham Cresques, Majorca, 1375.
(1959 copy of original Catalan map of the medieval world)

• identifies connections between people across the Mediterranean and their different architectures 

  • mediterranean region as a cultural plexus, site of global migration, entanglement 

Key cities of the Italian Maritime Republics

Umayyad Dynasty (661-750) | Andalusian Umayyad Dynasty (756-1031)
Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258) | Fatimid Dynasty (909-1171) | Mamluk Dynasty (1250-1517

Key Changes in the Mediterranean Region 11th-14th centuries

• Revival in international trade

• Largest commercial centers

  • Cairo

  • Constaninople

  • Italian Maritime Republics:

    • Venice

    • Amalfi

    • Genoa

• Venice and Cairo emerge as the cities with the greatest power

Map of Cairo from Book of Navigation (Kitab-ı Bahriye)
by Piri Reis, presented to Ottoman Sultan Suleiman,
c. 1500.

• cairo emerges as a trading city as it sits on the crux of South Asia and Europe

  • hostile to christian crusaders, still welcomed european merchants (mostly Venetians) at the port of Alexandria 

  • only europeans allowed to enter alexandria were highly ranked ambassadors/merchants. 

• cairo contained many golden domes (see map below).

• major street cut through middle of palace compound  

What is this?

bab al-futub, northern gate, Cairo, c. 1100. Fatimid Dynasty.

Purpose of the Bab al-futub

• gate served as part of palace compounds’ fortifications (alothough it was also used to defend the city). 

• rounded towers = defensive 

• ornamentation = interlocking geometric forms  

  • no figures, Islamic arch 

• ablaqs on interior 

“Eyebrow” motif

Broad recessed arches imported by Armenian masonry

What is this?

Al-Azhar Mosque, Cairo, established in the 970s. Fatimid Dynasty

What is the significance of the Al-Azhar Mosque?

• columns were spolia, each w slightly different capitals.

  • political function: reclaiming materials from past empires to assert power/dominate 

Shagar al-Durr (r. 1250–1257)

The first woman to rule a
pre-modern Islamic state; reigned for 80 days.

Sultan Qalawun

(r. 1279-1290)

Murdrasa

Islamic educational Institution

What is this?

Madras and tomb of Qalawun, Cairo, 1285, Mamluk Dynasty.

What is the significance of MADRASA + TOMB of QALAWUN, CAIRO, 1285, MAMLUK DYNASTY? 

• ablaq frames portal as an entrance

  • calls attention to it w familiar patterning 

  • pointed arches (influence of european cathedrals + crusader churches) 

• laborers were commissioned to work on the project and added elements from their home 

• mamluk rulers couldnt pass down their money to heirs, so they spent the last of their money before they died constructing large funerary monuments. 

What is this?

Madrasa of Nasir, Cairo, 1310. Mamluk Dynasty.

Al-Malik an-Nasir

r.1293-1340

What is the signifigance of Madrasa of Nasir?

• front door of this structure was a large peice of spolia from a christian cathedral 

• exterior was decorated with muqarnas + khufic script  

  • christian portal framed with islamic contexts - parallel reflects relationship bewteen cairo + rest of world 

Iwan

Vaulted hall/ space

Detail of minaret of madrasa of Nasir, Cairo, 1310 with view of mihrab of Great Mosque at Córdoba, 962-966.

• minaret was decorated with more muquarnas. 

• madrasa = synthesis of conquered and admired cultures and their building styles 

• trade had a large influence on Cairo's architecture.

  • filled with hostels for foreign traders

    • hotel-like compounds, specific to Islamic cities 

  • cairo calls them "wekalas." 

What is this?

Al-Bazar Wekela, Cairo, c. 1600. Views of exterior (left) and interior courtyard (right).

fondouk

hostel for foreign traders in an Islamic city, known as a
wekela in Cairo

Mashrabiyya

a perforated screen set over windows in traditional Islamic houses to regulate interior temperatures, ensure privacy

Herat

typical urban neighborhood, gathered around a blind alley

Fondouks in Cairo

• allows for windows looking into courtyard, normally not allowed in courtyard houses of the time but it served a commercial function

• the courtyards would often turn into markets which are topped with living spaces/apartment 

wooden screens were used to ensure that women couldn’t be seen by the public eye  

• Abbasids were the first to seclude women (face coverings, separate mosques, ect.) 

• enable women to look out of houses without being seen 

• complex negotiation of privacy and discretion  

  • calling out the presence of women, but simultaneously protecting them from view 

• screens would also diffuse light + keep living spaces cool 

Jacopo de’ Barbari, View of Venice, 1500

Republic of Venice as the most powerful of the Italian Maritime Republics; established treaties with eastern Mediterranean ports.

Venice known as: La Serenissima – “the most serene”; given in reference to its political stability.

Venice as collection of islands: circulation through city occurs primarily through canal system; Grand Canal almost 100 feet across.

Venice Notes

• venice kept up with Cairo as a force of transnational trade 

• most powerful italian maritime empire, cerated through treaties it established with neighboring ports 

• connection with Byzantine powers enabled it to secure its own political autonomy  

  • only italian city not aligned with the holy roman empire 

• extremely cosmopolitan city - site of many cultural interactions  

  • compiles byzantine, European, and Muslim influences 

• venice’s wealthy merchant class = city's nobility

  • managed the city’s democratic govt. 

  • head of city = doge 

• Venice is known as la serenissima—"the most serene”—given in reference to its political stability. 

• originated as one of a group of lagoon communities in the Adriatic

  • venice is actually a collection of islands that is connected by bridges and canals. 

  • process of consolidating islands = mazelike urban form 

• circulation through both canal systems and streets 

• grand canal = city’s main thoroughfare

  • 100 ft across, wider than most main streets in europe 

• wealthy merchants built palaces on the sides of the Grand Canal.

  • glorify status of merchants, cinematic backdrop for citizens + govt affairs 

What is this?

Ca’ Loredan and Ca’ Farsetti, Venice, 13th century.
Constructed along the Grand Canal.

Significance of Ca’ Loredan and Ca’ Farsetti, Venice, 13th century?

• mostly windows 

• ability to cultivate a maritime empire = dependency on byzantine to not invade 

• lots of arch crossover 

• facades on ca’loredan + ca’farsetti = nods to Tekfur Palace/Byzantine arch 

• v. open facades due to windows; openness of facades shows how peaceful + serene the city is 

• Openness also served structural purpose - makes the building lighter, which is important when building on marshy lands. 

• foundation tech = 10ft wooden piles into marshy soil 

what is this building?

palazzo Santa Sofia (ca’ d’Oro), Venice, 1430

What is the significance of Palazzo Santa Sofia?

• less byzantine, more cathedral 

• pointed, heavily decorated arches 

• would often have warehouses/commercial spaces on ground floors with living spaces above 

• Venetian state would sponsor creation of fondouk-like structures for visiting merchants 

What is this?

Basilica of San Marco, Venice, 1063, and model of Church of the Holy Apostles, Constantinople, 4th-15th centuries, demolished in 1456.
Located in Piazza San Marco, Venice’s main square

Piazza

an italian public squares

What is the significance of Basilica of San Marco, Venica, 1063?

piazza: an italian public square 

• plan was taken from the church of holy apostles in Italy and commissioned for Constantine.

  • can be seen in the way that both structures have domes ornamenting the exterior 

• lots of Byzantine spolia worked into construction (esp. in the arches) 

• domes in san marce are more elongated than its precedent, showing it could have been influenced by cairo’s domes. 

What is the significance of Fondaco dei Tedeschi?

• hostel for German merchants 

• courtyard typology 

• arched arcades w/ more recessed upper levels that were used as dwelling spaces 

• arcades as frames for courtyard, openness is key as it was a mercantile space that needed ways to display wares 

• no screens covering windows because that level of privacy wasn’t prioritized in Venice.

What is this?

Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Venice, built in 1225, rebuilt following a fire in 1508.
Views of the recently restored exterior and interior.
Fonduk El Attarine,
Tunis Medina (upper left).
Al-Bazar Wekela,
Cairo (upper right).

What is this?

DOGES PALACE, VENICE, 1170s 

Quatrefoil

a four-lobe motif often used in Gothic window decoration

Significance of Doges palace?

• parallels between madrasa + tomb of qalawun in cairo  

  • tower, perforations, pointed arches 

quatrefoil: a four-lobe motif often used in gothic window decoration 

• the two key monuments of venice reflect:  

  • gothic, byzantine, and islamic influences 

The two key monuments of venice reflect?

Gothic, Byzantine, and islamic

What is this?

Amalfi Cathedral, Amalfi, 11th century

Significance of the Amalfi Cathedral?

• locatedon western side of italian peninnsula 

• amalfi = pointed arch, forst city to have a significant naval trading post in italy 

  • Cathedral of San Lorenzo

• different elements show cross-cultural exchanges that were fostered by both trade, diplomatic strategies, and religious turmoil throughout the mediterranean 

Key features

Translations of architectural form and function
• Form: stilted domes, pointed and lobed arches, ablaq
• Function: fondouk/wekela/fondaco
Reflecting Islamic, Byzantine, Gothic influences
• Cairo: Fatimid Dynasty, Mamluk Dynasty
• Constantinople: Byzantine Empire
• Venice: Venetian Republic
• All intermingling via trade, diplomacy, war…