Chapter 7: Islamic Architecture

Describe a masjid

It is a modestly sized structure containing a prayer niche but no facilities for preaching. It is used for daily prayers with small numbers of worshipers.

Describe an idgab

For universal corporate worship, a Muslim town requires an idgab, a very large, unroofed open space with a long prayer wall on one side.

True or False: In a Friday mosque, mass prayer takes place in a covered prayer hall and the residents of a neighborhood attend it.

True

Calligraphy is the most important of the four design strategies in Islamic architecture because _____.

it records the word of Allah

Identify true statements about the Dome of the Rock.

1. The domed central portion of the shrine encloses the rock and a concentric aisle permits circumambulation.

2. At its center is a holy rock, under which lies a small curve with a single opening.

The covered prayer hall of a mosque is known as a(n) _____.

haram

Identify the structures associated with Maidan-i-Shah and their descriptions

1. The Ali Kapu Gate- The imperial porch, which serves as a viewing stand.

2. The Qaysariya- The bazaar of Shah Abbas I

Identify features of the Patio of Lions in the fortress-palace of Alhambra

1. It has square pavilions on the short sides that have clustered columns supporting intricately carved arcades.

2. It is divided into four parts by shallow watercourses emanating from a fountain at the center.

Identify a true statement about the Patio of Lions in the fortress-palace of Alhambra.

The layout of the patio is thought to symbolize the Qur'anic vision of paradise.

Identify the characteristics of pre-modern Islamic societies.

1. A bazaar or market with covered stalls for the city and surrounding countryside.

2. A Friday mosque large enough to serve the community and surrounding settlements.

A true statement about the Alhambra's interiors is that _____.

arches are lobed and cusped

Identify the features of the Friday mosque at Fatehpur Sikri

1. Some of the detail borrows elements from the Hindu and Buddhist architecture of India.

2. Behind the western iwan is the major dome of the haram, flanked by two smaller domes.

3. The building reflects arched and domed forms familiar from examples in Iran.

What is an example of an iwan-mosque?

The Bibi Khanum Mosque at Samarkand

Identify notable features of the Taj Mahal

1. It is symmetrical, crowned with a large bulbous dome raised on a drum.

2. It is graced by smaller octagonal pavilions with domical roofs set at the corners.

A trio of architects, Ahamad Lahawri, along with 'Abd al-Karim Ma'mur Khan and Makramat Khan, built one of the world's most celebrated buildings called the _____.

Taj Mahal

Identify the elements that became important features in Western architecture after the Moors were expelled from Spain.

polychromy, the pointed arch, and domes with interlacing ribs, originated in mosque designs, and the gracious elegance of palaces integrating landscape and architecture, such as the Alhambra, were unmatched in northern Europe.

Identify a true statement about the Friday mosque in Isfahan.

Rather than covering one bay of the columnar hall, the southern dome of the mosque covers twenty bays.

Identify the features of the Masjid-i-Shan in Isfahan

1. The circulation path leads first laterally to either side of the initial iwan, then toward the sahn.

2. The mosque's iwan, constructed in front of the qibla, is clearly visible from the entranceway.

3. The decorative elements portrayed in the tiles include peacocks.

A true statement about the sahn at the Great Mosque at Damascus is that _____.

it contains a domed fountain pavilion for ritual ablutions

Who constructed the Friday mosque at Fatehpur Sikri?

Jalil al-Din Akbar

Identify the notable features of the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne

1. Its dome is set directly on eight piers, six freestanding and two engaged in the qibla wall.

2. It has four minarets of exceptional height that are grooved to accentuate their verticality.

Identify a true statement about the Taj Mahal

Its site adjoins the Jumna River to the north, and the tomb is placed next to it, rather than in the center.

Identify a feature of the Suleyman the Magnificent mosque.

Marked by four slender minarets, it dominates the ensemble of buildings.

A true statement about the Islamic housing pattern is that _____.

doorways of the houses on opposite sides of the street must be located so that one cannot look from one dwelling into the other when both doors are open.

The architecture of the Great Mosque of al-Mutawkkil at Samarra, Iraq, is an example of a(n)

hypostyle mosque

What structure has a Kulliye?

The mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent

What materials are more frequently used in Islamic architectures for ornamentation?

1. Glazed brick or tile

2. Gypsum stucco

3. Glass or wood

The _____ is the oldest extant mosque that employs Islamic architectural traits and illustrates a process through which the form developed.

Great Mosque at Damascus

Elevated platforms at the corners of a mosque from which a caller (muezzin) could summon the faithful to prayer are called ______.

minarets

What is an attribute of the Shezade mosque complex?

Its sahn has a central fountain and is surrounded by domed bays behind arcades.

A raised pulpit inside a mosque is known as a _____.

minbar

Identify an Ottoman architect who has been compared with his Italian contemporary Michelangelo.

Koca Sinan

Iwan mosques are popular in _____.

Iran and Central Asia