CHAPTER 7

ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

s we have seen, the Early Christians went through toward conquered populations was generally one of

A an extensive process to develop architectural

forms suitable for and expressive of their religion.
Followers of the religion founded by the prophet
Mohammed experienced a similar evolutionary process,
but one that led to quite different results as they created
accommodation. Islamic rule was often preferred by the
natives of occupied lands to that of harsh Byzantine gov-
ernors, and the multi-cultural society the invaders fostered
provided a model of respectful interaction that the
modern world might do well to rediscover. The heady mix
buildings to serve and symbolize Islam. of learned men from Islamic and Jewish traditions, some-
Islam originated in Arabia. In 610 the angel Gabriel is times joined by Christian theologians, contributed to a
said to have appeared to Mohammed in Mecca and over highly productive era in the arts and sciences from the
time expounded the revelation of God, or Allah (,Al-lah' ninth through sixteenth centuries.
meaning 'the God'). These revelations were collected into Today, Muslims represent a majority of the population
a holy book, the Qur'an (or Koran), which expressed in in the Middle East, North Africa, parts of Central and
Arabic the message of Islam, a word signifying submission South Asia, the Malaysian peninsula, and the Indonesian
to the will of Allah. Each Muslim accepted five basic truths archipelago, but sizeable minorities also live in Europe
or duties: to believe in the oneness of God, and that and the United States. Islamic worship requires prayer five
Mohammed was the messenger of God; to pray five times times a day, and this prayer is practiced at four levels of
daily; to fast from sunrise to sunset during the month of participation: 1) the individual or small group, 2) the
Ramadan; to give alms to the poor; and to make at least neighborhood congregation, 3) the entire populace of a
one pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, wealth and small city, and 4) the whole Muslim world, and discrete
health permitting. structures are built for the first three levels of worship . For
Conversion of the tribes to Islam was accompanied by daily prayer (except on Fridays), small numbers of wor-
an intense awakening of Arab fervor, and the courage and shipers use the modestly sized masjid, containing a prayer
fighting skill of Arabic tribes, previously exploited by th e niche, but no facilities for preaching. For universal corpo-
Sassanian and Byzantine empires, was turned against these rate worship, a Muslim town requires an idgab, a very
masters in a fury of rapid conquests, frequentl y aided by large, unroofed open space with a long prayer wall on one
local contempt for the corruption associated with Byzan- side. The residents of a neighborhood attend the most
tine rule. By 661 Islamic armies had swept through what is well-known Islamic religious structure: the congregational
today Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, and Egypt, and they then or Friday mosque, where the principal or weekly service is
moved across the North African coast to enter Spain in held, hence its naming for a day of the week. It is in the
711. From Spain they pushed northward into France, covered prayer hall of such a Friday mosque that mass
where forces led by Charles Martel stopped their European prayer takes place. Worshipers assemble in tightly packed
expansion in 732 at the battle of Tours. Islamic settlers
remained in central and southern Spain until 1492,
however, and their armies continued to batter the south-
em borders of the Byzantine Empire until, under the Chronology
Ottoman Turks, they finally conquered Constantinople in
1453. Through trade, Islamic dynasties made contact with appearance of the Angel Gabriel to Mohammed 610
China and India, where their religion would eventually revelation of the Qur'an to Mohammed 610-633
take root, and strong Islamic influence made a leap as far spread of Islam throughout the Middle East 7th century
east as modern-day Malaysia and Indonesia. With military construction of the Dome of the Rock 687-91
conquest came economic, social, and cultural dominance spread of Islam across North Africa early 8th century
as Islamic customs and the Arabic language replaced sur- defeat of Islamic forces at Tours by Charles Martel 732
viving practices in the old Roman Empire. Islamic policy construction of the Great Mosque, Cordoba 833-988
spread of Islam to India, Malaysia, and Indonesia 12th-13th centuries
conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans 1453
Qibla iwan of the Friday mosque, Isfahan, 12th century.
construction of the Mosque of Siileyman 1550-57
What began in the ninth century as a columnar hall mosque the Magnificent
was transformed over ti me into a more elaborate plan,
culminating with a large four-iwan courtyard. Note the construction of the Taj Mahal 1631-4
iwan's muqarnas vaults.

ISLA MIC AR C HITECTURE 153

 7.1 Muslims at prayer in the Mosque of the Prophet,
Mecca.
ribbing of vaults. Two- a nd three-dim ensio nal orga ni c
This dramatic photograph illustrates a consistent patterning
of highly ordered worshipers at prayer, the repeated
co m pos iti o ns ca n be hi ghly stylized o r app roach natural-
orthogonal structural bays, and polychromatic masonry. All ism, and as th ey beco me linea r a nd seemingly endl ess
the worshipers are facing the prayer wall. produce a so-ca ll ed arabesque, o r intricate pattern of inter-
laced lin es. Ca lligraphy is th e most impo rtant o f the fo ur
ra nks and fil es, pl acing th emselves as cl ose as poss ibl e to strategies because it reco rds the word of All ah. It ca n be
the praye r wa ll , which expl ains the square o r wide- rectan- fl owing, o r cursive, as well as angul ar. So me o rn a mental
gle shapes of such ha lls as o pposed to the lo ng, narrow co nditi o ns expl o it li ght, such as glass o r tra nsluce nt
pl ans o f Christi an churches o r th e central pl ans o f Byza n- screens that filter illumin ati o n, and muqarnas vaults th at
tine o nes. Prayer is directi o nal, o ri ented towa rd Mecca, bo th refl ect and refract it.
and requires th at wo rshipers, after ritual purifi ca ti o n,
proceed th ro ugh a series of bowings, pros trati o ns, a nd
recita ti o ns fro m the Q ur'a n ( Fig. 7. 1) . EARLY SHRINES AND PALACES
Isla m prescribes th at o rn amentati o n be aniconic,
mea ning symbo li c o r suggesti ve rather th an litera lly repre- Fo r their ea rli est buildings, th e largely no madi c Islami c
sentati o na l. This o rn a ment is so metimes executed in Arabs ass imil ated techniques and fo rms fro m the civiliza-
sto ne, but mo re frequently in glazed bri ck o r tile, gypsum ti o ns th ey encountered . Syri an and Christi an influences
stucco, glass, or even wood . The exteri o r envelo pes o f are cl ear in o ne of th e most pro min ent ea rly shrines, the
Islamic religio us buildings are trea ted like a skin th at ca n Do me of th e Rock (687-91) in Jerusa lem (Figs. 7.2-7.4 ).
receive universa lly applied deco rati o n . The o rdering o f Its loca ti o n o n Mo unt Mo ri ah was sacred to th e Jews, bo th
this deco rati o n, th o ugh apparentl y co mpl ex, is typi ca lly as th e site o n whi ch Abraha m had o ffered his so n Isaac as
contro ll ed by prim ary a nd seco nd ary grids and makes a sacrifice to the Lo rd a nd as the locatio n of So lo mo n's
extensive use of repetiti o n, symm etry, and patterning. This Templ e. Muslims ho no red it fo r Abraha m's presence, but
o rdering ca n be subdivided according to fo ur design also venerated it as th e pl ace fro m which Moha mm ed
strategies: 1) the repetiti o n of a n architectural element like ascend ed in his night jo urney to pa radise. At the center of
a n arch, 2) geo metric manipul ati o ns like ro tated and th e Do me o f the Rock is a rock, under which li es a sma ll
interl ocking po lygo ns, 3) o rga ni c growth in th e fo rm o f cave with a single o pening. The shrine is ca refull y pos i-
pl ant-like fo li atio n, a nd 4) ca lli graphy. Architectural ele- ti o ned around this rock, th e do med central po rti o n
ments ca n be two- o r three-dim ensio nal and appea r most encl os ing the rock a nd a co ncentri c aisle permitting
co mm o nly as w ind ow o r doo r o penings . Geo metri c ci rcum a mbul atio n. The building's fo rm was pro babl y
mo ti fs a ll ow for alm ost endl ess crea tivity a nd include the derived fro m Christi a n precedent. Co nstantine's Church

154 CHAPTER 7 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

7.2 Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 687- 91.
One of the ea rli est Islamic shrines, this octagonal domed
building has a double ambulatory surrounding the rock from
which Mohammed ascended on his journey to paradise.

7.3 Axonometric section of the Dome of the Rock,

Jerusalem, 687-91.
This section shows the sophisticated geometry involved in
the Dome of the Rock's design, a characteristic shared by a
number of fourth- and fifth-century Syrian churches.

7.4 The Dome of the Rock interior, Jerusalem, 687-91.

This celebration of a holy site through the erection of a
dome, in this case over a rock above a cave and by Jews and
Musl ims in Jerusa lem, can be compared to the building of
the dome of st. Peter's by Christians in Rome (see chapter 11)
over the spot where the apostle Peter is believed to have
been buried.

EARLY SH RIN ES AND PALACES

155
 7.5Muslims circumambulating the Ka'ba during the Haj,
Mecca.
The idea of pilgrimage is one shared by Chri stians and
Muslims. In this scene in Mecca, throngs of pilgrims surround
the Ka'ba. In chapter 8, you will find Romanesque churches
CONCEPTION OF THE MOSQUE
along the pilgrimage roads in France and Spain that lead to
the city of Compostela and the highly venerated tomb of The building type most closely associated with Islam is the
the apostle James son of Zebedee.
mosque, th e primalY place of worship, which evolved
from several sources. These included the House of the
Prophet at Medin a (ca. 622), Christian churches, and
perhaps the audience halls of Persian kings.
of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem had featured a similar Beside Mohammed's house stood a square enclosure,
rotunda, and there were many centrally planned domed with small chambers set in the southeast corner for his
churches throughout the Byzantine world. Unlike most living qual1ers (Fig. 7.6) . The remainder of the space was
Byzantine domes, however, the structure here is of wood. a partially open central court. Although constructed origi -
(There is evidence that early Christian shrines also had nally for domestic purposes, it also served as a gathering
wooden domes, although none has survived to the present place for his followers to hear sermons and prayers, and
day. ) The dome of the Jerusalem sanctuary, sixty-seven feet after Mohammed's death its form was imitated in simple
in diameter, is constructed of a double shell, each shell worship facilities built in other settlements.
having thil1y-two converging wooden ribs, and the whole
rests on a cornice atop a maSOI1lY drum. The inner ribs are
plastered and adorned with painted and gilded designs
(fourteenth-centUlY reconstructions), while the exterior is
sheathed with boards and finished with lead and gold leaf.
The general scheme employed at the Dome of the
Rock, that of a central shrine around which the faithful
could circulate, was used earlier at Mecca in rebuilding the
Ka'ba, the goal of Islamic pilgrimage (Fig. 7.5 ). This cloth-
draped cubical shrine contains the Black Stone, believed to
have been given to Abraham by the angel Gabriel. The
stone was venerated in pre-Muslim times. Mohammed
destroyed the idols placed around it, and his successors
cleared neighboring buildings in order to provide clear cir- 7.6 Reconstruction of the House of the Prophet, Medina,
ca. 622.
culation space around the stone. At the Haj, or annual
pilgrimage, the devout process seven times around the This building became a prototype for the mosque. Followers
of Mohammed assembled in the open courtyard to hear
Ka'ba, fo ll owing the sets of concentric rings set in the sermons and participate in group prayer, functions that had
pavement encircling th e shrine. to be accommodated into mosque design.

156 CH A PTER 7 ISL A MIC A RCHITECTURE

 7.7 Plans of the Great Mosque, Cordoba, 785 and 833-988;
and the Great Mosque, Damascus, 706- 15.
Both these mosques have columned prayer halls preceded by
Prayer hall or haram
open courts or sahns.

Minaret
Original prayer
1 Minaret
wall or qibla
...IlL .\--'
t-
P
Domed fountain pavilion
Octagonal pavilion

"e Court or sahn

J
"=
~ Trip'rarched gate

,-I....ti

Y .Jl'\I .....
!1 Prayer hall or haram

I
Minaret Pra er wall or ibla
- I
Prayer hall or haram
:=l
Minaret
Prayer niche or mihrab

Damascus
N 100m

Cordoba
$ lOO ft
Final quibla

The Great Mosque at Damascus (706-15, with later element develops in later designs into the maqsura, a
rebuildings) is the oldest extant mosque and illustrates a special processional area reserved for the retinue of the
process through which the form developed (Fig. 7.7). The caliph, thereby justifying its dome as a special architec-
site is an ancient one on which had stood a Roman temple tural accent. The south wall being the prayer wall, or qibla,
dedicated to Jupiter and a fOUl1h-centUlY Christian church there are three niches, or mihrabs, set into it to indicate
dedicated to St. John the Baptist. For a time after the the direction of Mecca. A raised pulpit, or minbar (not
Islamic conquest of the city in 635, both Christians and indicated on the plan), from which Qur'anic readings,
Muslims worshiped on the site, but in 706 the church was sermons, or official proclamations and addresses are
pulled down and an impressive mosque, based in pa11 on given, is located to the right of the central mihrab.
tripartite aisle-and-nave basilican church plans, was con-
structed under the caliphate of al-Walid I. The mosque's
outline was determined by the shape of the Roman shrine REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN MOSQUE
that was entered through a gateway in th e center of the DESIGN
shorter, east side. Four towers, or minarets, provided ele-
vated platforms at the corners of the site from which a Because mosques have been built throughout so much of
caller (muezzin) could summon the faithful to prayer. The the world, it will not be possible to represent their full
genera l design of these towers may have been based on diversity in this short chapter. The discussion that follows
earlier fortification towers or lighthouses, but, with their concentrates .o n 1) columnar or hypostyle mosques
incorporation at Damascus, minarets became standard favored in Arabia, North Africa, and Spain, 2) iwan
features of subsequent Friday mosques. Just as belltowers mosques popular in Iran and Central Asia, which consist
or raised domes do for churches, minarets serve to identify of a rectangular court flanked by large, often vaulted
the mosque in the landscape. Much later, particularly spaces, or iwans, and 3) large, centrally organized, domed-
imp ortant mosques were som etimes given multiple space mosques found in Turkey.
minarets, but one generally sufficed.
Over half of the inner space is given over to an open
COLUMNED HALL OR HYPOSTYlE MOSQUES
arcaded court, or sahn, containing a domed fountain
pavilion for ritual ablutions and an octagonal pavilion The Great Mosque of al-Mutawakkil at Samarra, Iraq
originally used for the public treasury. The covered prayer (848/49 -5 2) has both a co lu mned hall and a single, extra-
ha ll, or haram, extends along the entire long south wall. ordinary min aret. Enormous in size, the mosque consists
Two parallel rows of columns divide this hall longitudi- of a rectangular burned-brick-wall enclosure more than
nally into thirds, near the center of which the arcades are 800 feet by more than 500 feet, with attached semi-circu-
interrupted by a broad transverse element similar to a lar towers. To the north along the enclosure's central, lon-
nave, with a wooden dome over its central bay. This gitudinal axis ri ses the brick minaret (Fig. 7.8 ), its spiral

REGIONAL VAR I AT I ONS IN MOSQUE DES I GN 157

 7.8 The Great Mosque of al-Mutawakkil, Samarra,
848/849-52.
This prominent minaret in the form of a tall spiral has a
lineage traceable as far back as the Mesopotamian ziggurats.
Note how the long, horizontal outer wall serves as a foil for
the minaret's rich, strongly vertical silhouette.

form associated by some with the ziggurats of Ancient of eight new bays that maintained the alignment and
Mesopotamia. Inside the mosque's walls, a forest of square rhythm of the original mosque but necessitated recon-
columns once surrounded a rectangular sahn, with the struction of the qibla and mihrab . .In 951, the sahn was
qibla adjacent to the deepest accumulation of column extended to the n0l1heast and a new minaret erected. The
bays, altogether a highly ordered, even profound haram was again expanded to the southwest beginning in
composition. 962, when another twelve bays were added along with a
The Great Mosque begun in around 785 in Cordoba, new qibla and mihrab. The new mihrab was a richly orna-
Spain (Fig. 7.7), evolved to have a much more complex mented niche, given prominence on the interior by a
columnar hall form than that at Samarra. In the first con- vi11ual forest of lobed and cusped arches, covered by a
struction period, the mosque occupied a nearly square dome formed by boldly interlacing arches (Figs.
plan, half comprising the sahn and the other half the 7.10-7.11), flanked by smaller domes also composed of
haram, which contained ten rows of eleven columns to interlaced arches in the bays to either side. So far as we
create an eleven-aisled sanctualy. In the haram, superim- know, these exceptional domes are an original invention
posed arches connect the columns, the lower arch being here, and they are the possible inspiration for similar
horseshoe-shaped and the upper one not quite semicircu- domes built in the Baroque by Guarini (see Fig. 12.25).
lar (Fig. 7.9). The effect of this work is light and delicate, The final extension of the mosque took place in 987 - 88
and although both the tiered arcades of the Damascus along the southeastern side, adding another eight aisles
mosque and the stacked arches of Roman aqueducts have running the full length of the existing haram, and enlarg-
been suggested as the inspiration for the superimposed ing the sahn as well to create the largest mosque in Spain.
arches, their treatment here is entirely original. Both arch In the sixteenth century, after the Moors were expelled
levels are polychrome, composed of white stone voussoirs from Spain, the cathedral of Cordoba (Fig. 7.12 ) was
set alternately against red brick ones. inserted inside the mosque, disrupting the colonnaded
Beginning in 833, this mosque was enlarged three expanse of the haram but perhaps inadve11ently preserving
times. In the first renovation campaign (833-48), the a good portion of the Islamic fabric through the mosque's
prayer hall was extended to the southwest by the addition conversion to a place of Christian worship.

158 CHAPTER 7 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

 7.10 The Great Mosque vault above the maqsura,
Cordoba, 833- 988.
Note the use of lobed arches. polychromy. and the
7.9 The Great Mosque interior, Cordoba, 833- 988. interlaced-arch structure of the dome.
This view of the prayer hall shows the horseshoe-shaped
polychrome stacked arches that dominate the interior.
Eventually 610 columns defined the immense space.

7.11The Great Mosque vault above the mihrab bay, 7.12 The Great Mosque from t he minaret, Cordoba,
Cordoba, 833-988. 833-988.
This vault also employs interlaced arches in its construction. Parallel rows of ridge-and-valley roofs cover the prayer hall,
and the foreground trees are growing in the sahn. One
regrets the intrusion of a later Christian c'hurch in this
splend id Islamic bUilding.

REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN MOSQUE DESIGN 159

 Minaret

80 ft Small domed
chamber

$
o
-
- - - 110ft
--------
SOm

7.13 Plan of the Bibi Kanum Mosque, Samarkand, begun 7.14a Plan ofthe Friday mosq ue, Isfahan, 8th- 17th
1399. centuries.
Compare this modular mosque plan with the equally This mosque is interesting for its early incorporation of
regimented ranks and files of Muslim worshipers in Fig. 7.1 substantial domes within a multi-columned prayer hall. In its
and remember that they are called to prayer five times daily. final form, the mosque evolved into a four-iwan type, having
This rigorous prayer regime is mirrored in the rigorous a large central courtyard bisected by cross-axes established
planning of the mosque. by the iwans.

7.14b Plan of and section looking southeast through

Masjid-i-shah, Isfahan, 1611-ca. 1630. IWAN MOSQUES
The mosque sits at the top of the public square. Entrance to
it is centered in the arcades defining the square. but the axis To the east, in Central Asian lands now part of Iran,
turns to bring the mosque into alignment with Mecca. Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, mosque
Madrasas. or theological schools, are located beside the
mosque. designs developed initially from multi-columned halls.
The Bibi Khanum Mosque at Samarkand, Uzbekistan,
begun in 1399 by the militalY and political leader Timur,
who founded a dynasty at the end of the fourteenth
century, presents the essentials of the multi-columned
iwan mosque form. Its constituent element, the iwan, is a
vaulted or domed volume, walled on three sides and open
on the other. At Samarkand, the plan (Fig. 7.13) is com-
parable to that at Samarra, with a sahn inside ranks of
columns forming four L-shaped halls, all bounded by a
rectangular perimeter wall. Here, however, an entty p011al,
with stumps of flanking minarets remaining, opens into

o
o
I~
V
1

Sahn
one short side of the sahn, and iwans appear at the center
of the other three sides, becoming porch-like extensions of
the central open space. The iwan facing the entry and ter-
minating its axis is the qibla iwan and is domed and
flanked by additional minarets,

SOm Prayer
--------ISO ft
o hall
Quibla

160 CH APTER 7 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

7.15 Masjid+Shah, Isfahan, 1611-ca. 1630.
In order to respect the direction of Mecca, the mosque is
turned forty-five degrees to the axis of the public square
(left side of the photograph) laid out by Shah Abbas.

7.16 Iwan, Masjid-i-Shah, Isfahan, 1611-ca. 1630.

Two-story arcades flank the central arch, which is finished Damascus and Cordoba: rather than covering one bay of
with e!aborate tile decoration and a muqarnas vault. In the
background is the rear of the entrance iwan on the public
the columnar hall, the southern dome covered twenty
square. bays. In 1088, a slightly smaller dom e was added in an
axial line to the n011h. It is not clear what function it
served initially, for it was outside the building at the tim e
The earliest mosque about which we have reliable of its construction but was soon incorporated into arcades.
archaeo logical information is the Friday mosque in At some later date, Isfahan's Friday mosque was modi-
Isfahan (Fig. 7.14a), begun in the eighth centUlY, finally fi ed again to include four iwans set in the center of each
achieving a form not unlike that at Samarkand and side of the sahn. Their boldly sca led arched openings
reworked repeatedly until the seventeenth century. The provided builders with an opportunity to exercise their
origina l form seems to have been a rectangular multi- skills in geometric ornamentation, including the applica-
columned hall covered with a wooden roof, with a large tion of glazed tiles in shades of blue, turquoise, white, and
sahn at its core. In 1086-8 7 a domed chamber was intro- yellow, and stalactite-like muqarnas vaults, the ornamen-
duced at the southwest end of th e existing building, prob- tal treatment of curved wall surfaces with corbeled concave
ably to serve as a maqsura. It differed significantly in scale elements that has the overall effect of dissolving the mate-
fro m the domes already seen as part of the maqsuras at rial presence of the wall into facets that seem to hover in

REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN MOSQUE DESIGN 161

 can see the iwan constructed in front of the qibla, but the
circulation path leads first laterally to either side of the
initial iwan, then toward the sa hn, thereby accomp lishing
the axial shift with finesse. Apart from the transitional ele-
ments at the entrance, symmetty governs the entire design.
A still pool at the center of the sahn refl ects the blue-back-
ground glazed tilework covering the four iwans and the
great dome of the haram. Among the decorative elements
portrayed in the tiles are peacocks, reflecting the builders'
willingness in this case to depict animals in art rather than
confining ornament to recursive geometric elements and
calligraphy. The domed prayer hall is augmented by rooms
on either side, also covered by a succession of small
domes, that served as a winter mosque, and it is further
complemented by LwO religious schoo ls (madrasas), thus
continuing an established tradition of incorporating edu-
cation with worship. (The study of law and religion are
inseparable aspects of Islamic higher education .)
Islam came to India in successive waves of militalY
invasions in the eleventh through thi11eenth centuries,
cha llenging th e established religions of Hinduism and
Buddhism with its fundamentally different religious per-
spective. India's cave-like temp les with interiors used only
by priests and covered inside and out with intricately
wrought sculpted figures were totally alien to the Islamic
idea of the mosque with accessible open coUl1yards, spa-
cious prayer ha lls, and scrupulous avoidance of the
human figure in representationa l art. Hindu and Buddhist
temples were replaced with mosques initia lly based on
multi-columned hall designs. Beginning with the ascen-
dancy of the Mughal Dynasty (mid-sixteenth to eighteenth
centuries), however, one sees a distinctly Ind o-Islamic
style come into being, spurred on in large measure by the
7.17 Masjid-I-shah, entrance to prayer hall, Isfahan,
1611-ca.1630. arrival of foreign craftsmen from Central Asia. Some of
This view shows the elaborate blue-glazed tile work and
muqarnas vault. Sometimes compared to a honeycomb,
these cellular vaults are formed by corbeling. 7.18 Plan of the Friday mosque, Fatehpur Sikri, ca. 1568-71.
The monumental gate is on the southern side of the
mosque, preceded by a wide stairway. while the haram is set
to the west.
Mausoleum of
space. The mosque is also renowned for its intricate brick- Salim Chishti
work patterns in the domes.
During the reign of Shah Abbas I, the core of Isfahan
was greatly expanded, as a whole new market area was
developed at some distance from the older settlement
around the Friday mosque. Included in the new construc-
tion was a congregational mosque, the Masjid-i-Shah
(1 61l-ca. 1630), built to designs of Badi' ai-Zaman Tuni
and Ali Akbar a l-Isfahani (Figs. 7. 14b, 7.1 5-7 .17) .
Entrance into it is mad e through the center of the south-
ern side of the market, so as to provide a monumental
portal to the publi c area and match the gateway to the
bazaar at the opposite end of the square, but the mosque
itself is turned forty-five degrees so as to be correctly
aligned with Mecca. The skill with which the designers
accommodated the change in axis is one of the most
admired aspects of the plan. From the entranceway, one 150ft

162 CHAPTER 7 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

 7.19 Friday mosque interior, Fatehpur Sikri, ca. 1568-71.
This view shows the distinctive detail developed by Akbar's
architects as they fused Islamic forms (the pointed arch, for
example) with elements from Hindu and Buddhist traditions
already well established in India.

these individuals were descendants of Indian craftsmen

taken captive by the Mongol conqueror Timur in 1398.
Their return in the sixteenth centlllY brought skilled
builders familiar with the Islamic architecture of Persia to
India, and the resulting works done for the Mughal rulers
are some of the most magnificent to be found in the
Islamic world .
Jalil ai-Din AJ<bar, the third Mughal emperor, who ruled
1556-1605, was responsible for constructing an entirely
new capital at Fatehpur Sikri (1569-ca. 1580), a site aban-
doned after his death and preserved now as a national
monument in India. The monumental palace buildings are
all that remain, but sixteenth-century accounts describe it
as a city larger than London at the same period, which
explains in part the grand scale employed for its Friday
mosque (ca. 1568-71) (Figs. 7.18-7.20). Constructed in
red sandstone, the mosque has an immense sahn, 312 by
387 feet, entered from the south through a monumental
gate enlarged in 1596. From the palace, entrance was made
through the Emperor's gate, placing it on axis with the
haram on the western side. Behind the western iwan is the
major dome of the haram, flanked by two smaller domes,
setting a pattern for Indian mosques that would often be
repeated. In its architecture, the building reflects arched
and domed forms familiar from examples in Iran, but
some of the detail also borrows elements from the Hindu
and Buddhist architecture ofIndia, a blend that contributes
a distinctive qua lity to Islamic buildings on the subconti-
nent. The mosque's sahn contains the exquisitely detailed
marble tomb of Salim Chishti (d. 1572), a holy man who
had predicted that the childless Akbar would have three
7.20 Friday mosque gateway, Fatehpur Sikri, ca. 1568-71. sons. Fatehpur Sikri was built in celebration of the birth of
As Akbar's city was set on a plateau above the surrounding Akbar's son Jahangir in 1569, and the east-west axis
terrain, a monumental flight of steps is required to gain
entrance to the mosque from the southern side. It serves as
through the Friday mosque aligns with Chishti's hermitage,
a plinth for an impressive arched gateway. which was already on the site.

REGIONAL VARIAT I ONS IN MOSQUE DESIGN 163

 Sinan's first major mosque, this bUilding is notable for its
clearl y articulated geometry of squares. One square
comprises the sahn, while the second defines the domed
haram. Minarets are incorporated into the corners where the
squares join. 10m

110 ft

MULTI·DOMED MOSQUES
In Asiatic Turkey, or Anatolia, the spread of Islam came at
the expense of the Byzantine Empire, which was gradually
red uced in size until the fall of Co nstantinople in 1453
brought an end to a civilization over 1000 years o ld. The
victors were the Ottom an Turks, led by Sultan Mehmet II,
wh o thus completed the Islamic conquest of the Balkans.
Hagia Sophia, the most impressive church in the eastern
Mediterranean, was converted into the city's congrega-
tional mosque; minarets were eventually added. Ottoman
architects, who already had experience in building domed
structures set on cubical masses, received new inspiration
from the city's great Byzantine churches, which now stood
before them as models, and in succeeding centuries they
co nstructed a number of mosques that in structure and
architectural detail rank with the best religious buildings
that Byzantium produced.
Among these one must count the works of Koca Sinan
(ca. 1490 - 1588 ), a distinguished engineer and architect
who has been co mp ared with his Italian contemporary
Michelangelo. Born to a peasant family of non-Muslim 7.22 Longitudinal sect ion and plan of Shezade Mosque,
background, Sinan was recruited fo r governmental service Istanbul, 1545- 48.

as a youth and trained in the co rps of Janissaries, elite These drawings show how Sinan took Hagia Sophia's theme
of the central dome with fl anking semidomes and expanded
infantlY units of the Ottoman army composed of non- it into a completely centralized design. The square plan of
Muslims abducted as children and fo rced to co nvert to the sahn matches the square enclosed space of the haram.

164 CHAPTER 7 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

 7.23 Shezade Mosque interior, Istanbul, 1545-48.
This view shows the piers supporting the great dome and
the flanking semidomes.

Islam. After participating in militalY campaigns in Austria, Sinan has handled the great piers and necessary buttress-
Greece, and Mesopotamia, he served as court architect in ing so as to minimize the apparent bulk of the masomy.
Constantinople for fifty years, during which time he As a result, window openings are larger and the volumet-
designed and supervised constmction of a large number of ric massing on the exterior presents a harmonious compo-
projects, including waterworks, bridges, fortifications, and sition of successive layering of domes and semidomes.
buildings. Sinan's career coincided with the reigns of gen- Associated with the mosque are the tomb of Sh ezade
erous sultans, and he was undoubtedly fortunate to have Mehmet, a madrasa, a hospice for the infirm, a school,
the vast Ottoman building corps of ski lled workmen at his and a caravanserai (accommodation and markets for
command. Without both liberal patrons to finance them foreign merchants who so ld at wholesale prices),
and capable assistants to cany them out, major projects reminders that even in a well-established city, mosques
could not have been realized, no matter how brilliantly provided space for both civic and sacred functions. It was
designed. Ottoman practice to provide separate buildings dedicated
Sinan's first major architectural commission in Con- to different particular needs.
stantinople was the Shezade mosque complex (1545 - 48), A similar quality marks Sinan's celebrated mosque of
commissioned by Sultan Siileyman in memory of his son, Siileyman the Magnificent (1550- 57 ), within a vast
who had died as a young man. Constmcted on the site of complex, or Kiilliye, containing th e mosque and cemetelY
Justinian's Church of the Holy Apostles, the mosque is at the center, with four madrasas, a primary school, a
co mposed of two joined squares (Figs. 7.21-7.23). One medical school, a caravanserai, a hospital, a community
square contains the sahn, which has a central fountain kitchen to feed the poor, a hospice, public baths, and even
and is surrounded by domed bays behind arcades. The a house for Sinan (Figs. 7.24-7.25 ). It was sited on the
second square is the enclosed haram, where the central sloping side of a hill fronting on the Golden Horn (harbor
do me is complemented by four semidomes set at the of Constantinople), and Sinan located the comp lex so as
sides, with smaller domes and semidomes filling the to exploit the dramatic possibilities of the terrain, which
remaining spaces. The elegantly symmetrical geometly of required that the layout be asymmetrical. Marked by four
the plan is matched by the balanced volumes of the inte- slender minarets, the mosque dominates the ensemble of
rior space and the exterior massing, punctuated by paired buildin gs. Its pl an is familiar: an arcaded sahfl, a domed
minarets at the corners where the two squares adjoin. haram, and a walled cemetery set on a linear axis. The

REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN MOSQUE DESIGN 165

 7.24 Mosque of Su leyman the Magnificent, Istanbul,
1550-57.
Constructed as the centerpiece of a larger complex of
schools, shops, and community faciliti es, the mass of this
mosque is balanced by the slender vertical accents of its
four minarets.
Hostel
Hospital

Medical
school - -- -+-FtI' -
l-bJJll~
Madrasa - - -+l-K

Madrasa - - -+I1--!-- I- Madrasa

Primary school -.:=1-l:~3Efi~ ~!~~~~~t~r Mausoleum

of
>Oleyman Madrasa

100m

lOO ft

Public baths

7.25 Site plan of the Kulliye of Su leyman t he Magnificent,

Istanbul, 1550-57.
The site plan provides concrete evidence of the Islamic
integration of church and state, with combined facilities for
worship, education, medical care. and social services.

166 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

 Qibla

SOm

o
--------ISO ft

l
A

7.26 Selimiye Mosque, Edirne, 1568-75.

Generally held to be Sinan's masterpiece, this mosque is SOm
essentially a single dome supported on eight great piers and -
o ISO ft
braced by external buttresses. The minarets are exceptionally
tall and provided with internal spiraling staircases of
considerable geometric complexity. 7.27 Plan of and section through the Sel im iye Mosque
complex, Edirne, 1568-75.
Sinan attempted here to equal the dome of Hagia Sophia
and exceed its integration of interior space.
haram is a variant of that at Hagia Sophia, having a central
dome flanked by two semi domes, but here the aisles, also
domed, are so configured as to allow the entire building to domed haram that commands particular attention. Sinan
exist within a square. Spatially, the interior functions as a boasted that here he had built a dome both wider and
single vo lume, with aisles and nave available for prayer. taller than Hagia Sophia, which is not quite the case, but
(There is no second-level gallelY as at Hagia Sophia.) The his method of conceiving the space transcends that of the
who le presents a more consistent articulation, both inside Byzantine original. There are no semidomes. The dome is
and out, than was achieved in the Byzantine building. But- set directly on eight piers, six freestanding and two
ll"essing elements, arches, vaults, and domes work together engaged in the qibla wall. Arches connecting these piers
structurally and visually to create a satisfying architectural support the dome, wh ich rises above ranks of windows
composition. The octagonal mausoleum of Siileyman (d. pi erced in the exterior wall. Buttressing necessary to brace
1566 ), placed in the center of the cemetery behind the the dome's latera l thrust is placed within the wa lls and
qib la wall, has a plan inspired by the Dome of the Rock, seen more clearly on the exterior. As daring as is the dome,
although this is not evident from the exterior treatment. one must also malvel at the four slender minarets that
Sinan's final major work was the Selimiye Mosque in mark the corners of the haram. Of exceptional height (23 2
Edirne, built in 1568-75 for Selim n, successor to Siiley- feet), th ey are grooved to accentuate their verticality. Inside
man (Figs. 7.26-7.27 ). The comp lex contains the usual two of the minarets are separate sta ircases leading to each
madrasas and commercial buildings (whose revenues of th e three balconies, a complex exerci se in spiraling
helped to offset the running costs of the mosque and its geometlY and a structural chall enge that Sinan bo asted
related ed ucational and charitable faci lities), but it is the proudly that he had met successfully.

REG I ONA L VAR I AT I ONS I N MOSQUE DESIGN 167

 7.29 Section and plan of the
Tomb of Ismail the Samani d,
Bukhara, ca. 900.
Note how the reentrant, or
notched-out, corners are filled
with circular columns that
decorate the joining of the tomb's
faces. The arched openings in
each fa~ade are splayed so that
the arches become wider as they
advance outward. The same
device was frequently used in the
medieval churches of Europe.

_ 10m

30n

7.28 Tomb of Ismail the Samanid, Bukhara, ca. 900.

In places where constant, bright sunlight is the norm,
architects of various cultures have used cast shadows to
great advantage. Here smooth wall-surfaces have
disappeared in favor of advancing and receding masonry
units that create a rich patterning of light and dark.

TOMBS
It is common for a mosque to include the tomb of a
founder or holy m an. Freestanding monumental tombs,
usually with domes, also became popular by the tenth
centUly. The Tomb of Ismail the Samanid in Bukhara,
Uzbekistan, dates from ca. 900 or even earlier. A cub e-like
mass with inset cylindrical corners houses a single domed
chamber supp0l1ed by four squi nch arches and ringed by
an upper-level ambul atOlY (Figs. 7 .28-7.29 ). Most dis-
tinctive is its highly textured brickwork laid in forcefu l
geometric patterns that contrast solids and voids .
Returning to Samarkand, location of the previously
discussed Bibi Khanum Mosque, we find th e Gur-i-Amir,
built as the resting place ofTimur's grandson, who died in
battle. It consists of a Greek-cross-plan interior space, with
its four arms crowned by muqarna vaults inside an octag-
onal mass that is surmounted by a tall cylindrical drum o n
squinch arches and tall , bulbous dome (Fig. 7.3 0) . The
interior ornamentation is lavish, including hexagona l
alabaster panels, jasper, and even painted, molded paper.
With the constructio n in Delhi of th e tomb of
Humayun, fath er of Jalil ai-Din Akbar, the idea of the
domed-chamber tomb arrived in India. The most famolls
of these domed tombs is the Taj Mahal in Agra (1631-47 )
(Figs. 7.31-7.32 ). Its builder was Jahangir's son, Shah
Jahan, wh o ruled from 1628 to 1658 and is remembered as 7.30 Gur-i-Amir, Samarkand, early 15th century.
a prolific Mughal patron of building. Aided by a well - The bulbous dome, a dome that grows wider above its drum
before curving inward, is a distinctive Muslim device and one
trained group of architects attached to his court, Shah Jahan comparable in profile to the Muslim horseshoe arches seen
promoted a style that included an emphasis on bilateral in Fig. 7.9.

168 CHAPTER 7 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

7.31 Taj Mahal, Agra, 1631-47.
This tomb is one of the world's most famous bUildings. Its River jumna
serenity derives in part from its sheer elegance and its Minaret
Minaret

....",.
placement in a totally designed landscape of plants. water,

rJ G "........
and paving.

Mosque Guest house

symmetly, the use of cusped arches, and white marble or

stucco faci ng instead of red sandstone for exterior finishes.
.........,.
..,t..~

Tomb
Minaret Minaret
Because of its great size, elegant massing, refinement of
detail and ornamentation, and general countenance of
serenity, the Taj Mahal is unquestionably one of Islam's
and indeed the world's most ce lebrated buildings. It was
built as a tomb for Shah Jahan's beloved wife, Mumtaz
Mahal, by a trio of architects: Ahmad Lahawri, along with
'Abd ai-Karim Ma'mur Khan and Makramat Khan, all three
assisted by craftsmen from Persia, Central Asia, and India.
The site adjoins the Jumna River to the nOlth, and the
m
·· ··",: : ~
~. - ~" ~" ~.

mrn
;
tomb is placed next to it, rather than being in the center of
the layout as was Humayun's. Entrance is made from the
;-;S~
south, through a main gateway set on axis with the tomb.
rn~
In between the two lies a square garden, with canals divid-
ing the square into quadrants defining the central and
cross-axes. Flowering trees, cypresses, and blooming plants
[IJK4
....... ' . ..-:~ Main gate

origina lly grew in the garden areas as symbols of rebirth

and immortality. The tomb itself is symmetrical, crowned
Servants' Servants'
with a large bulbous dome raised on a drum and graced by quarters quarters
smaller octagonal pavilions with domical roofs set at the
corners. Highly polished and inlaid marble adorns the
exterior, so that the building appears to glisten in the sun.
The who le structure is raised on a square platform, the o
corners of which are marked by minarets. Flanking th e
tomb are symmetrically placed red sandstone buildings, to
100m
the west a mosque and to the east a guest house, whose -
color contrasts deliberately with th e shimmering white o 600f,

marb le. Against a verdant foreground of plant material,

accentuated by reflecting water channels, the Taj Mahal 7.32 Site plan of the Taj Mahal, Agra, 1631-47.
seems ethereal, its propOltion and detail so finely wrought In this orthogonal scheme, the tomb (top) is set in a larger
landscape of square courts divided into quadrants by
as to capture the beautiful memOlY of the woman whose watercourses, creating a nested hierarchy of axes and cross-
untimely death prompted its construction. axes that allude to the garden of paradise.

TO M B S 169
 Roof terrace for
sleeping in summer

7.33 Axonometric section througl

trad itional house, Baghdad.
HOUSES AND URBAN PATTERNS This house incorporates many
Screens characteri stics of Islamic urban dwt
covering
in hot, dry climates. Under the COur
projecting
Across the broad geographic area that comprises the windows floor is an earth-sheltered room th,
Islam ic world, there is obviously considerab le diversity in overlooking provides cooling air during the day.
street Screened rooftop areas are used for
climate, traditional house forms, and construction materi-
sleeping in hot weather. Gril led wir
als, making it imposs ibl e to propose a single definition for at upper levels can be opened for a
an Islamic house. Fro m the Qur'an and related texts com- Internal screens circulation while preserving privacy
to protect
prising traditions and laws, however, there developed family privacy
7.34 Plan of the Maidan-i-Shah ("
cerlain principles governing both private and public life
square) and related developments
that also regulated aspects of house forms and city plan- Interior courtyard Isfahan, 1590-1602.
ning. Islam recognizes the fundam ental right of privacy for Shah Abbas had an ambitious new (
the family within its own house, hence in many places center laid out around the Maidan-
Earth-sheltered room Shah, a twenty-acre urban square. 1
houses present plain exterior walls to the ·street. In hot,
Masjid-i-Shah (Shah's Mosque) was
arid climates, residences tend to be designed around at the south end to draw the faithf
courtyards that preserve privacy and also modify the from the older Friday mosque.
microclimate advantageously (Figure 7.33 ). Doorways of
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, and ground-level windows are
set so high that those passing by cannot look in. Windows
above the ground floor may be larger, but they may not be
placed so as to overlook courtyards or rooftop areas of
other houses and thus invade the privacy of those occupy-
ing them. These upper-fl oor windows may project beyond
the plane of the wa ll, and they are frequently provided
with elaborately carved screens to restrict the view from Government
buildings
the outside. Within the fam ily, women and children are
segregated from men and visitors, so the family living area
(haram: note th at the same word describes a mosque's
prayer hall; in both cases they are spaces "set apart" ) is sep-
arated from reception facilities provided for male guests,
and from the entrance to the house one cannot see directly
into living areas. Privacy and seclusion are often achi eved
by the use of separate doors and carved screens or grill es,
which admit light and air whil e also all owing those
behind to look out without being seen.
Masjid-i-Shah or Shah's
Islam has a lengthy urban tradition, and aspects of the mosque isee pages 160-
Prophet's teachings were applied to the problems inherent
in establishing rights when living in larger communities.
Grand avenue
Pre-modern Islam ic society made no distinction between
the sacred and secul ar realms. In many traditional settle-
ments located from North Afri ca to the Midd le East, the
essenti al features of an urban area were a Friday mosque
large enough to serve the community and surrounding
settlements, a governor who exercised control over the ter-
ritOlY, and a bazaa r or market with covered stalls for the
city and surrounding countlyside. The Friday mosque and
th e bazaar were inseparable. Market stalls were grouped by
trade or type of merchandise, with those of highest
status (perfume, boo ks) located closest to th e mosque
entrance, and those associated with noise or noxious
odors (coppersmiths, lea therworkers) farthest away. Inter-
spersed with the public areas might be fountains, cafes,
caravanserais, pub I ic baths, and madrasas. This whole
publi c area was the domain of men, and its plan tended to 100m

be irregular, built up over time. The city's neighborhoods -

o ISOO II

170 CHAPTER" ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

7.35 View of the bazaar at Isfahan.
The bazaar is composed of a street linking merchants' stalls
and small shops, interspersed with baths, workshops, and
theological schools. Vaults over the street provide relief
from the intense sun, while skylights admit necessary
daylight and fresh air.
square established just outside th e traditional area and
defin ed it as a formal rectangular square, the Maidan-i-
Shah, lined with shops and punctuated by major monu-
or residential quarters began as homogeneous groupings ments: two mosques, the Ali Kapu gate (the imperial
of families affi liated by a common trade or religious and porch, which served as a viewing stand), and the entrance
ethnic connections. At one time, many quarters had a to th e Qaysariya, the shah's bazaar. The center of the open
gate or door that could be used to close off the area space was normally available for small vendors to sell their
when desired. Within the neighborhood, families shared wares in, but it could also be cl eared and used for military
a mosque, fountains, public baths, communal ovens, and or athletic events, the two-stolY arcades around the edges
shops. The distinctive organization of residential qualters providing a good base for observation.
helps to explain why the street plans of traditional Islamic The Shah's contributions to this grand urb an scheme
cities such as Tunis or Isfahan have few through roads, on included construction of a complex of governmental
which are found the major pub lic p laces and markets; a buildings on the western side of the square behind the Ali
li mited number of secondalY streets; and hundreds of cul- Kapu gate. Directly opposite the gate was the imposing
de-sacs, along which most houses stand. The street pattern entran ce to the small Sheikh Lutfullah Mosque (1602)
resembles a maze with many dead ends, far more than in that has a bent-axis ent,y around two sides of the square
the grid layouts more common in Europe. haram to bring the faithful into the mosque on the axis
The Iranian city of Isfahan provides perhaps the most aligned with Mecca. The Masjid-i-Shah, or Shah's mosque
handsome example of th e application of Islamic princi- (see pages 160-62), occupies the shOtt southern end of
ples of city planning, although one must admit from the the square, set opposite the grand entrance to the shah's
start that its royal qual1er and new section as laid out by bazaar on the northern side. This formally conceived space
Shah Abbas I (1587- 1629) are not typical of the growth comes as a surprise after the more organic city core, but its
by accretion associated with traditional Islamic urbanism layo ut is not out of character, for it displays at a large sca le
(Fig. 7.34). In the older part of town, around the Friday what many of th e older buildings, including the Friday
mosque, one finds the traditional network of streets and mosque, had beco me over a longer period of time: spaces
cul-de-sacs. The historic trade route extending south with biaxial symmetry and uniform perimeter articulation,
toward the Ziyanda River grew into a linear covered bazaar whether in arcades or colonnades. Shah Abbas's ambition
(Fig. 7.35) of small shops that meandered past entrances was to link the Maidan-i-Shah, by means of a grand new
to other facilities that lay behind the merchants' stalls: car- avenue lin ed with palaces of nobles, to the river and a new
avanserais, madrasas, mosques, baths, fountains, and craft bridge, making accessible gardens and th e commercia lly
workshops. Shah Abbas, determined to bring greater glOty important Armenian settlement beyo nd, but n.ot all of his
to his capital city, undertook redevelopment of th e public program came to fruition.

HOUSES AND URBAN PATTERNS 171

 THE PALACE AND THE GARDEN surface. At the north end is the Co mares Tower, which con-
tained the square-plan Hall of the Ambassadors, thirty-six
Some of the form al concepts that characterized the plan- feet on a sid e, with a soaring sixty-foot height (Fig. 7.38 ).
ning of Isfahan are also seen in the f0l1ress-palace of the This was the throne room of the sultan, and its domed
Alhambra, a royal citadel erected above the city of ceilin g, composed of over 8000 wooden sections, captures
Granada (Fig. 7.36). Built in the thirteenth and fo urteenth the effect of thousands of stars in the seven levels of heaven
centuries, the Alhambra was the work of the Nasrid as described by Islamic theology.
Dynasty, which governed the dwindling Islamic territories The Patio of Lions (Fig. 7.39 ) includes arcades resting
of southern Spain until expulsion in 1492 by Ferdinand on slender columns, and is divided into four parts by
and Isabella, the monarchs who also financed Co lumbus's shallow watercourses emanating from the lion fountain at
expedition to the Indies in the same year. Some parts of the center. As with th e Tomb of Humayun and the Taj
the Alhambra are now ruined, and the center of its site on Mahal, this layout is thought to symbolize the Qur'anic
a ridge overloo king the city is crowded by the later palace vision of paradise-a ga rden below which four rivers flow
of Charles V. The red-brick exterior wall bristles with with water, wine, honey, and milk-and the coLlltyard was
towers capped by crenellated battlements. It originally originally p lanted. Square pavilions on the shOt1 sides
enclo sed an entire palace city, including co mm on proj ect into the COLll1 and have clustered columns support-
dwelling houses, craft workshops, the royal mint, several ing intricately carved arcades. There has been considerabl e
mosques, publ ic baths, and a militalY garrison, in addi- scholarly di scussion about the dates and origins of the
tion to seven palace buildings. Archaeological work on the fountain's twelve lions, which as figurative representations
surviving buildings is ongoing as historians tty to under- of animals would seem to have no place in Islamic a11. The
stand the site's construction history. basin is clearly Islamic, as attested by its fourteenth-ce ntlllY
Of the surviving palace chambers, th e two most inscription, but it does not match the animals in style. It
impress ive are grouped around rectangular courts: one has been specu lated that the lions originated in a Jewish
known as the Patio of Arrayanes or Myrtle Trees, which palace form erly on the hilltop, where they may have repli-
provid ed access to the Hall of the Ambassadors; and the cated the anim als supporting the great bronze basin th at
other ca lled the Patio of Leones or Lions, so named for the was found in the courtyard of th e Temple of Solomon.
fountain at its center. The Patio of Myrtle Trees has a Opening off the long sides of their court are two chambers,
central rectangular pool fed by gently overflowing foun - each of which is a jewel of ornamental vaulting. To the
tain basins at opposite ends (Fig. 7.37 ). Arcaded galleri es south, the Hall of the Abencerrajes is covered with a splen-
are set across the shOt1 sides, and rows of myrtles parall el did muqarnas vault in the shape of an eight-pointed star.
to the pool on the long sides are reflected in its smooth The n0l1hern room, the Sala de las Dos Hermanas (Hall of

Comares Tower
with Hall of the
Ambassadors

Sala del - -1I::f-

Mexuar
(original
Throne
Room)
Hall of the
Two Sisters

7.36 Plan of the Alhambra, Granada, 13th-14th centuries.

This plan shows what were originally two separate palaces.
In the center are the Patio of Myrtle Trees and the
associated Hall of the Ambassadors, constructed on the
N lSm
foundations of a military tower. To the righ t is the Patio
of Lions.
.'o,J1'.
/ --------7S ft
o

172 CH ili'T R 7 ISL A MIC ARCHITECTURE

7.37 Patio of Myrtle Trees, Alhambra, Granada, 13th- 14th
centuries.
This view shows the reflecting pool and the Comares Tower in
the background. The delicacy and grace of late Islamic
architecture in Spain is evident in the arcade.

7.38 Ceiling and upper wall, Hall

of the Ambassadors, Alhambra,
Granada, 13th- 14th centuries.
Thousands of small wooden pieces
are suspended from the roof timbers
to transform this ceil ing into the
seven layers of heaven surrounding a
small dome at the cfnter
representing the heavenly throne.
Pierced grilles filter sun light.

THE PALACE AND THE GARDEN 173

 7.39 Patio of Lions. Alhambra, Granada, nth- 14th
centuries.
This view shows the central fountain and the water
channels dividing the court into four quadrants. In the
background is the roof of the Hall of the Two Sisters.

7.40 Hall of the Two Sisters, Alhambra, Granada,

13th- 14th centuries.
The Muslim fascination with patterning takes on three-
dimensional form in muqarna vaults like thi s one. While
much more elaborate than the results produced by
civilizations such as the Mycenaeans (see Figs. 2.8 and
2.9). the vault in the Hall of the Two Sisters still relies
on the elementary structural device of corbel ing.

174 CH APTER 7 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

the Two Sisters), has an octagonal drum supporting what the abambar is the storage reselvoir, which is covered with
appears to be a star-shaped muqarnas vault that is actua lly a dome, a quintessential element of Iranian mosques. The
suspended from wooden trusses (Fig. 7.40) . ventilation device for this reselvoir is a minaret-like wind-
In contrast to its simple exteriors, the Alhambra's inte- catcher that directs air down to the storage level. Entry into
riors are enriched by a profusion of decorative detail that the reservoir is made by way of a stair that descends to an
covers all surfaces, conveying splendor, ineffable lightness, iwan-like porch, sometimes including muqarna vaults.
and the ethereal quality of a dream world. Marbles, Altogether, the abambar can be interpreted as a domed
colored ceramic tiles, and calved and gi lded wood or stucco iwan mosque disassemb led and its constituent parts
screens create changing patterns of shadow as light reflects reassembled as a utilitarian structure. This repetitive use of
on water and polished surfaces, or flickers through pierced certain architectural, as we ll as ornamental, forms has, in
walls and ceilings. Pattern and texture abound in both fact, been a principal theme in this chapter.
geometric arabesques and stylized plant forms embell- When initially faced with the production of religious
ished with flowing Arabic inscriptions; arches are lobed structures, Islamic designers assimilated and reinterpreted
and cusped; windows have elaborate grilles; and ceilings the buildings left around them by the ancient Romans,
feature stalactites of calved wood or plaster. Behind the Sassanians, and others. They derived their conception of
ornament, the underlying rubble masoll1Y construction is the mosque from the form of Mohammed's own house in
not of the highest quality- it was the effect of magnifi- Medina. Based upon his teachings, they quickly estab-
cence that was desired rather than its actual substance. lished the sahn (court) , haram (prayer hall), qibla (prayer
Even without its interior furnishings and original court- wall), and mihrab (prayer niche) as essenti al elements.
yard plantings, however, the Alhambra's sumptuous char- After an initial period of experimentation and depending
acter can sti ll be appreciated today. on the location, they settled on several, regional, mosque-
By 1492, when the Moors were expel led from Spain, design variations. The columnar or hypostyle mosque,
many aspects of Islamic architecture had long since found most popular in Arabia and across NOlth Africa, includes
their way into buildings in western Europe. During the numerous ranks and files of columns surround ing a COLllt,
medieval period, interactions among learned men from with a prayer hall at one end. The iwan mosque, preferred
Islamic, Hebraic, and Christian traditions had generally in Iran and falth er east, includes a court, possibly with sur-
been amicable, undermin ed primarily by intolerance for rounding columns, expanded on three sides by vaulted or
non-Christian religions on the part of the Catholic Church. domical porches, with one of th ese porches lying opposite
Elements that became impOltant features in Western archi - the entty. The domed, centra l-plan mosques of Turkey
tecture, among them polychromy, the pointed arch, and begin with a court surrounded by domed bays and con-
domes with interlacing ribs, originated in mosque designs, clude with a domed worship space surrounded by more
and the gracious elegance of palaces integrating landscape domed bays. Large Islamic tombs also frequ ently have
and architecture, such as the Alhambra, were unmatched central plans, sometimes expanded by porch-like arms.
in nOlthern Europe. Gardens for enjoym ent as well as th e evocation of par-
adise were sometimes integrated with funerary architec-
ture and with palaces, which is exemplified nowhere
CONCLUSIONS ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL better than at the Alhambra, where landscaped courts with
IDEAS water features reflect highly ornamented wall surfaces.
Islamic ornamentation is generally prolific, over not only
While the basic forms of Islamic architecture, including exterior walls but interior ones as well and even across
those of th e mosque-the building type emphasized in this ceilings, where it is integrated with exposed structural ele-
chapter-can seem bewilderingly unfamiliar to Western ments. Ranging from puzzle-like fie lds of geometric
eyes, they are actually remarkably limited but extremely figures to plant-inspired arabesques to organic or angu lar
versati le. As evidence of this condition, consider the abam - calligraphy, this abstracted ornamentation reached a level
bars, or urban cisterns, found in Iran. Their function is, of of invention and sophistication arguably unexcelled by
course, simply to store water in a coo l, fresh condition, and any des igners and craftsmen at any other time and in any
they must be easily and regularly cleaned. At the heart of other place.

CONCLUS I ONS ABOUT ARCHITECTURAL IDEAS 175