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The Islamic Roots of Modern Pharmacy

by David W. TschanzPublished on: 8th May 2020

Along the road from sympathetic magic and shamanism to scientific method, much trailblazing was carried out over a few centuries by scholars, alchemists, physicians and polymaths of the Muslim Middle East, and their rules, procedures and expectations are, to a great extent, practiced almost universally today.

Figure 1. Medical flasks and bottles can be seen in this Ottoman manuscript about the Islamic market, medicine and pharmacy. (Source)

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Note of the editor

This article was first published in the print edition of Saudi Aramco World (Volume 67, Number 3, May/June 2016, pp. 18-23) written by David W. Tschanz; read online here. (©Saudi Aramco World). We reproduce it with the permission of the publisher.

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“The professional who is specialized in the collection of all drugs, choosing the very best of each simple or compound, and in the preparation of good remedies from them following the most accurate methods and techniques as recommended by experts in the healing arts.” Abu al-Rayan al-Biruni, c. 1045 CE

Figure 2. Flanked by figures indicating his tutelage from master physicians (the figure on the right may represent first-century Greek physician Dioscorides), a saydalani—as an early pharmacist was called in Arabic—is shown at work in his dispensary, in which hang a variety of vessels for alchemical production. The illustration comes from 12th-century Iraq. (Source)

Al-Biruni’s definition of the pharmacist could have been written today. Along the road from sympathetic magic and shamanism to the scientific method, much trailblazing was carried out over a few centuries by scholars, alchemists, physicians and polymaths of the Muslim Middle East, and their rules, procedures and expectations are, to a great extent, practiced almost universally today.

“In the West and the Middle East, early medicine as a whole was primarily a fusion of Greek, Indian, Persian and later Roman practices that had progressed over the better part of a millennium. Texts on medications were common, but most of these materia medica were simply lists of plants and minerals and their various effects. By the start of the Seventh-Century CE Europe and much of the Near East had weakened culturally, and those achievements of Hellenistic arts, sciences and humanities that had not been erased were on an intellectual endangered-species list.

“By mid-century, the rise of Islam brought with it a new thirst for knowledge. This openness to discovery began the saving and, eventually, the expansion of much of what the classical world had lost. Nowhere was this truer than in the field of health, where medical practitioners took guidance from several hadiths (hah-DEETH), or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, such as this related by Bukhari: “God never inflicts a disease unless He makes a cure for it.” Similarly, Abu Darda narrated that the Prophet said, “God has sent down the disease and the cure, and He has appointed a cure for every disease, so treat yourselves medically.” Such words placed the responsibility for discovering cures squarely on the medical practitioner.

Figure 3.  This depiction of an early European apothecary appeared in Tacuinum Sanitatis, a 14th-century Latin translation of Ibn Butlan’s 11th-century Taqwim al-Sihah (Maintenance of Health). (Source)

Within a century of the death of the Prophet in 632 ce, one of the earliest systematic approaches to drugs was underway in Damascus at the court of the ruling Umayyads. Snake and dog bites, as well as the ill effects of scorpions, spiders and other animals, were all causes of concern, and the poisonous properties of minerals and plants such as aconite, mandrake and black hellebore were exploited. As with most areas of medicine at the time, Greek physicians Galen and Dioscorides were considered the ancient authorities, and building off their works, Muslim writers discussed with particular interest poisons and theriacs (antidotes).

Sudden death was not uncommon in royal courts, and it was frequently attributed, often erroneously, to poison. Not surprisingly, fear of poison convinced Umayyad leaders of the need to study them, detect them and cure them. As a result, much of early Islamic pharmacy was done by alchemists working in toxicology.

The first of these was Ibn Uthal, a Christian who served as physician to the first Umayyad caliph, Mu’awiyah. Ibn Uthal was a noted alchemist who had conducted a systematic study of poisons and antidotes. He was also reported to be Mu’awiyah’s silent executioner, and in 667 he was himself poisoned in an act of vengeance by the relatives of one of his alleged victims. Another Christian physician-pharmacist, Abu al-Hakam al-Dimashqi, served the second Umayyad caliph, Yazid.

Figure 4.  This page from Kitab al-Diryaq (The Book of Antidotes), a 13th-century guide to medicinal plants, also from Iraq, highlights the role of botany in early Islamic pharmacy. (Source)

Yazid’s son, Khalid bin Yazid, took particular interest in alchemy, and he employed Greek philosophers who were living in Egypt. He rewarded them well, and they translated Greek and Egyptian books on chemistry, medicine and astronomy into Arabic. A contemporary of Khalid’s was Jabir ibn Hayyan, called Geber in the West, who promoted alchemy as a profession, laying early foundations for chemical and biochemical research.

These early Islamic alchemists proved to be meticulous and persistent in their experimentation, and they made careful written observations of results. They designed their experiments to gather information and answer specific questions, and through them “scientific alchemy” arose. Avoiding unproven belief (superstition) in favor of the compilation and application of procedures, measurements and demonstrated trials that could be tested and reproduced, their work represented the true advent of the scientific method.

The role of scientific alchemy cannot be overemphasized. By the ninth century, the trend, approach and type of information that circulated in Arabic alchemical manuals represented some of the best work in this field. The careful methodology the alchemists developed served all fields, including pharmacy.

In the process of experimenting in making amalgamations and elixirs, important mineral and chemical substances were used, such as sal ammoniac, vitriols, sulphur, arsenic, common salt, quicklime, malachite, manganese, marcasite, natron, impure sodium borate and vinegar.

Among simples of botanical origin, they used fennel, saffron, pomegranate rinds, celery, leek, sesame, rocket, olives, mustard and lichen. Significant gums such as frankincense and acacia were used, as well as animal products including hair, blood, egg white, milk (both fresh and sour), honey and dung.

Figure 5.  A French manuscript from the 14th century depicts alchemists at work. Some 500 years later, French chemist, Henri Moissan was shown at work in his lab at Paris’ l’Ecole de Pharmacie, below. (Source)

Laboratory equipment consisted of pots, pans, tubes, retorts, alembics, crucibles and various distilling apparatus; covering platters, ceramic jars, tumblers, mortars and pestles (often made of glass or metals); as well as tripods, scales and medicinal bottles. The range and scope of alchemical operations included processes often used today: distillation, sublimation, evaporation, pulverization, washing, straining, cooking, calcination and condensation (the thickening of liquid compounds).

While the translation of Greek, Persian and Indian scientific books into Arabic had begun under the Umayyad caliphate, it blossomed in the ninth century under the Baghdad-based Abbasids. Hunayn ibn Ishaq, with his superlative knowledge of Syriac, Greek and Arabic, was probably the greatest of the translators, and his works included most of the corpus of Hippocrates and Galen. Intellectual ferment, reinforced by support from the highest levels of government, paved the way for some 400 years of achievements. Methods of extracting and preparing medicines were brought to a high art, and these techniques became the essential processes of pharmacy and chemistry.

A pharmacist was called saydalani, a name derived from the Sanskrit for a seller of sandalwood. The saydalanis introduced new drugs including—not unexpectedly— sandalwood, but also camphor, senna, rhubarb, musk, myrrh, cassia, tamarind, nutmeg, alum, aloes, cloves, coconut, nuxvomica, cubeb, aconite, ambergris, mercury and more. They further introduced hemp and henbane as anesthetics, and they dispensed these in the forms of ointments, pills, elixirs, confections, tinctures, suppositories and inhalants.

As was the case in Europe and America up to modern times, many prominent physicians in Islamic lands prepared some medications for their patients themselves. While Al-Majusi, Al-Zahrawi and Ibn Sina are all good examples, they are actually exceptions, for the typical medical professional often welcomed the separate, specialized role of a saydalani, whose work proved as distinct from medicine as grammar is from the composition.

Figure 6.  According to science historian E. J. Holmyard, Jabir ibn Hayyan, born in the early eighth century and known in the West as Geber, worked with classical Greek texts and the alchemy of his own time and “opened a gate which no one had ever opened,” paving the way to scientific alchemy and, from there, to the foundations of modern rational chemistry based on controlled, replicable experiments. (Source)

By the beginning of the ninth century, Baghdad saw a rapid expansion of private pharmacy shops, a trend that quickly spread to other Muslim cities. Initially, these were unregulated and managed by personnel of inconsistent quality, but all that changed as pharmacy students were trained in a combination of classroom exercises coupled with day-to-day practical experiences with drugs, and decrees by the caliphs al-Mamun and al-Mutasim required pharmacists to pass examinations and become licensed professionals pledged to follow the physician’s prescriptions. To avoid conflicts of interest, doctors were barred from owning or sharing ownership in a pharmacy. Pharmacists and their shops were periodically inspected by amuhtasib, a government-appointed inspector of weights and measures who checked to see that the medicines were mixed properly, not diluted and kept in clean jars. Violators were fined or beaten. Hospitals developed their own dispensaries attached to manufacturing laboratories. The hospital was run by a three-man board comprising a non-medical administrator, a physician who served as mutwalli(dean) and the shaykh saydalani, the chief pharmacist, who oversaw the dispensary. Around this time pharmacy developed its own specialized literature. It built first on Dioscorides’ materia medica of some 500 substances, and then also on Nestorian physician Yuhanna bin Masawayh, a second-generation pharmacist, who penned an early treatise on therapeutic plants and aromatics.

It was a younger colleague, Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari, who said that the therapeutic value of each drug needed to be reconciled with the particular disease, and he urged physicians not to simply provide a routine remedy. He identified the best sources for components, stating, for example, that the finest black myrobalan comes from Kabul; aloes, from Socotra; and aromatic spices, from India.

He recommended glass or ceramic storage vessels for liquid drugs, special small jars for eye liquid salves and lead containers for fatty substances. To treat ulcerated wounds, he prescribed an ointment made of juniper gum, fat, butter and pitch. In addition, he warned that one mithqal (about four grams) of opium or henbane causes sleep and also death.

Figure 7.  (Source)

The first known medical formulary was prepared in the mid-ninth century by Al-Aqrabadhin Sabur ibn Sahl for pharmacists in both private and hospital pharmacies. The book included medical recipes, techniques of compounding, pharmacological actions, dosages and the means of administration. The formulas were organized by tablets, powders, ointments, electuaries or syrups, and later, larger formularies followed his model.

More generally, pharmacological drugs were classified into simples and compounds—mufraddat and murakkabat. The largest and most popular of themateria medica manuals, written by Ibn al-Baytar, born in Malaga in the kingdom of Granada toward the end of the 12th century, offered an alphabetical guide to more than 1,400 simples taken from Ibn al-Baytar’s own observations as well as 150 from named written sources.

Today, every prescription filled, every pharmacy license granted, every elixir, syrup and medicament created, used or tested reflects this Islamic legacy. If what the alchemists and early medical practitioners did then seems all too obvious to us now, it is only because today’s obvious is yesterday’s discovery.

Figure 8.  Henri Moissan (1852-1907) French chemist, working on Fluorine in his laboratory at l’Ecole de Pharmacie, Paris. He isolated Fluorine in 1883. Later in his career, he worked on the production of artificial gems, particularly diamonds. From La Nature, Paris, 1903 (Source)

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Keep your distance – health lessons from the history of pandemics

by The Editorial TeamPublished on: 8th April 2020

From a simple cold to a serious illness, humans have always lived with the risk of catching diseases from one another. Pandemics affecting millions are fortunately rare, but the bubonic plague of the 14th century and the 1918 influenza outbreak have left a dark shadow on history.

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Editorial Note: Extracted from “1001 Inventions: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Civilization Reference (4th Edition) Annotated”. First published in 1001 Inventions website – www.1001inventions.com/health-lessons

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From a simple cold to a serious illness, humans have always lived with the risk of catching diseases from one another. Pandemics affecting millions are fortunately rare, but the bubonic plague of the 14th century and the 1918 influenza outbreak have left a dark shadow on history.

During Muslim civilisation, people encountered plague and infectious diseases such as leprosy – but how did physicians then deal with issues of contagion? And are there any lessons we can learn?

Gilles Le Muisit’s painting depicts the mass burial of plague victims in Belgium. (Source)

Preventative Medicine

A key medical principle from the early days of Muslim civilisation was preventative medicine – sensible guidance for people of all ages on keeping well.

Physicians stressed in their medical works the importance of sport, personal hygiene, healthy eating and drinking, and good sleep. They encouraged positive management of worry, anger and anxiety, believing that the health of the body had a close link with the health of the soul.

Examples of those physicians include Al-Razi in his book (Kitab Manafiʿ al-Aghdhiyah wa-Dafʿi Madharriha), and sections of Ibn Sina’s Canon of Medicine.

Similar manuscripts of work on anatomy contained illustrated chapters on five systems of the body: bones, nerves, muscles, veins and arteries. This page depicts the arteries, with the internal organs shown in watercolors… (Source)

Measures to Avoid Contagion

Distancing

‘Flee from the one with leprosy as you flee from a lion,’ cautioned the 14th-century theologian and physician Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, in reference to a saying of the Prophet Mohammed. In cases of contagious diseases such as leprosy, doctors knew that the only way to avoid transmission was by steering clear of a sick person.

In his book al-Ṭibb al-Nabawi (The Medicine of the Prophet) Ibn Qayyim identified how disease transmits through contact with a sick person or via their breath.

Quarantine

Umayyad Caliph Walid ibn ʿAbd al-Malik built the first Bīmāristān (hospital) in Muslim civilisation in the year 707 in Damascus. In this hospital, lepers were cared for in a separate ward and provided with regular supplies, measures designed to avoid patients infecting others.

Caricature by the English artist James Gillray (1757-1815) The Cow-Pock or the Wonderful Effects of the New Inoculation! (London, 1802) depicting a vaccination scene at the Smallpox and Inoculation Hospital at St. Pancras, showing Dr. Jenner vaccinating a frightened young woman and cows emerging from different parts of people’s bodies (Source) (1001 inventions: The Enduring Legacy of Muslim Civilization, 3rd edition, Page 176)

Limitation of movement

Guidance in relation to epidemics was not to enter or leave a land affected by the disease. 14th-century Andalusian physician and scholar Abu Jaʿfar Amad ibn ʿAli ibn Khatima al-Ansari followed this guidance appropriately when he stayed put in the city of Almeria after it was struck by bubonic plague. He made the most of his confinement, however, by investigating the nature of the disease and its spread, as well as tending to patients. His findings are recorded in his book Tahsil Gharad al-Qasd fi Tafsil al-Marad al-Wafid (The fulfilment of the Inquirer’s Aim Concerning All About the Invading Epidemic).

One of Ibn Khatima’s insights was that diet, and the strength of the body’s resistance, play a role in how severe the impact is and how quickly a patient will respond to treatment.

Conclusion

As the world grapples once again with a pandemic, there is a notable resonance with the past. Physicians in Muslim civilisation sought to provide the best care and advice they could during epidemics and outbreaks of infectious diseases, and today the guidance given by governments and health practitioners across the world is remarkably similar.

After all, the notion of medicine is about preserving health and saving lives.

Medicine is a science, from which one learns the state of the human body, in order to preserve good health when it exists and restore it when it is lacking.” 11th century physician and scholar Ibn Sina

The opening of the popular didactic poem on medicine by Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna). The copy is undated, possibly 17th century. (Source)

Resources and further reading

• 1001 Cures: Introduction to the History of Medieval Islamic Medicine, Professor Rabie E Abdel-Halim
• 1001 Cures: Contributions in Medicine and Healthcare from Muslim Civilisation, Peter E Pormann (editor)
• 1001cures.net

The end of a plague tract that, according to the colophon shown here, was completed on 19 Rabi‘ II 944 (= 26 September 1537). The author is apparently the same as the Malakite theologian Abū ‘Abd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥaṭṭāb al-Malikī al-Ru‘aynī who died in 1547/954. The undated copy appears to have been made during the author’s lifetime and is possibly in his own hand. (Source)

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Prophylactic Medicine

by Mahmoud MisryPublished on: 13th March 2020

Arab physicians preferred the preservation of health to its restoration, arguing that to preserve something present is nobler than to seek something absent. A story reported in a thirteenth-century source illustrates that preserving health is at the heart of medicine...

Most medical encyclopaedias and handbooks contain sections on the preservation of health. For instance, in his Paradise of Wisdom, Ibn Rabban al-Ṭabarī (fl. c. 850) talks about raising children, food and drink, tastes and smells, seasons, and other aspects of environmental medicine. He also touches on questions of psychological health. ʿAlī ibn ʿAbbās al-Majūsī (fl. c. 983), the author of a medical encyclopaedia entitled The Complete Book on the Medical Art (Kitāb Kāmil al-ṣināʿa al-ṭibbīya) also called The Royal Book (al-Kitāb al-Malakī) paid close attention to prophylactics, considering prevention to be better than cure. He devoted the first chapter of the second book to the topic of general health. The great Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna, d. 1037) not only addressed this topic in his Canon of Medicine, but also penned a Poem on the Regimen of Health according to Seasons (Urjūza fī Tadbīr al-ṣiḥḥa fī l-fuṣūl)…

Figure 1. Ibn Jazla’s Almanac of Bodily Parts for the Treatment of People, written in Arabic and Karshūnī, meaning Arabic written in Syriac letters. In it, Ibn Jazlan often arranged the information in the form of diagrams.

Other authors also devoted specific treatises to the regimen of health. For instance, Ibn Buṭlān (d. 1066), author of the Almanac of Health (Kitāb Taqwīm al-ṣiḥḥa), arranged his treatise around the so-called six ‘non-naturals’, that is, factors contributing to health and illness that are not inside the human body; they are: ambient air; food and drink; sleeping and waking; exercise and rest; retention and evacuation (including bathing and sex); and mental states such as anger, sadness, love, joy, etc.). Another native of Baghdad, Ibn Jazla (d. 1100), wrote an Almanac of Bodily Parts for the Treatment of People (Taqwīm al-abdān fī tadbīr al-insān), in which the information is often arranged in form of diagrams…

Figure 2. Arab physicians divided medicine into two areas: ‘the preservation of health which aims to retain the state of a healthy individual and prevent him or her from becoming ill; and ‘the restoration of health which aims to return the sick person to his natural healthy state. This 13th-century manuscript image from al-Ḥarīrī’s Maqāmāt shows doctors visiting a patient.

To keep healthy requires several things. People should develop sound habits in terms of eating, drinking, exercise, sleep, posture, sexual intercourse, and bathing. Physicians must pay special attention to age and seasons, and modify the lifestyle accordingly. Certain parts of the body need special attention, such as eyes, ears, hands, feet and so on. One ought to be particularly careful in case of epidemic diseases and take appropriate protective measures. Then there is the environment, which should be as healthy as possible; here one has to pay particular attention to the ambient air, the water one drinks, and the location where one lives. Finally, there are many psychic factors that affect one’s health…

Figure 3. A physician with a patient about to vomit. Taken from a 13th-century copy of the Arabic version of Dioscorides’ On Medicinal Substances.

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Documenteries on Muslim Civilisation

by Cem NizamogluPublished on: 19th May 2020

We need a visual presentation to understand things better as the saying goes "A picture is worth a thousand words". Some still think Muslim Civilisation did little contribution to science, even there many books and encyclopedias out there to prove this otherwise. Therefore, what better way to prove this with a list of some documentaries.

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Note of the Editor:  This article was first composed by Cem Nizamoglu for 1001 Inventions website and now updated for Muslim Heritage website.

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There are tons of information out there in writings but still, we need a visual presentation to understand things better as the saying goes “A picture is worth a thousand words”. That’s where documentaries come in handy. Some still think Muslim Civilisation did little contribution to science, even there are many books and encyclopedias out there to prove this otherwise. Therefore, what better way to list some documentaries here to prove this with visual presentation.

There is and was always lots of information about Muslim Civilisation out there, but it wasn’t well presented. The knowledge is in big thick books, in huge encyclopedias with lots of long academic footnotes and references. With the movement started by1001 Inventions in early 2000, there were also documentaries started pop-out at the same time. Some 1001 Inventions worked with or some inspired or some just were not aware of each-other but trying to create that awareness together.

Maybe all these inspired by the same message HRH Prince Charles gave at the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, titled “Islam and the West.” when he said:

“If there is much misunderstanding in the West about the nature of Islam, there is also much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilization owe to the Islamic world. It is a failure, which stems, I think, from the straitjacket of history, which we have inherited. The medieval Islamic world, from central Asia to the shores of the Atlantic, was a world where scholars and men of learning flourished. But because we have tended to see Islam as the enemy of the West, as an alien culture, society, and system of belief, we have tended to ignore or erase its great relevance to our own history.” Prince Charles, 1993

Documentaries are more than watching a TV, it is an experience like following a guide in an ancient city or a diver in an ocean or even an astronaut in space. So here is ten guides show you around what was going on in the Muslim Civilisation:

What The Ancients Did For Us
with Dr. Adam John Hart-Davis

A segment from the documentary – https://vimeo.com/288564995

Adam Hart-Davis

“What The Ancients Did For Us – The Islamic World” is part of 2005 BBC documentary series presented by Adam Hart-Davis that examines the impact of ancient civilizations on modern society’. Dr. Adam John Hart-Davis builds and tests some of the most extraordinary discoveries from the early Muslim Civilisation. From soap to torpedoes, and from water pumps to windmills. Presented by Adam Hart-Davis, Hermione Cockburn, and Jamie Darling.

“Series examining the innovations and inventions of ancient civilisations. Adam Hart-Davis builds and tests some of the most extraordinary inventions from the early Islamic World. From soap to torpedoes and from water pumps to windmills Adam shows the lasting effect the Islamic world has left on the technology we use today. Also, reporter Amani Zain tells us the stories behind the golden age of Islamic discovery.” BBC

• The Open University: What The Ancients Did For Us – The Islamic World
• BBC: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0078vf4
• Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_the_Ancients_Did_for_Us
• IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt0447813

Adam Hart-Davis with the editors of 1001 Inventions: Muslim Heritage in our World” book with Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani, Elizabeth Woodcock at 1001 Inventions Manchester Exhibition back in 2006:

“I am absolutely delighted to be involved in this wonderful exhibition of 1001 inventions.” – “It is a super celebration of Islamic brilliance in the Middle Ages…” Adam Hart-Davis

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An Islamic History of Europe
with TV Presenter Rageh Omaar

Figure 6. “The designs are miniature palaces that project from the exterior. Although prevalent throughout Turkish cities long ago, there are only a fraction of them left today.” Photos: Caner Cangül (Source)

Omaar Rageh

The video documentary produced by the BBC in 2005 An Islamic History of Europe, by the famous TV presenter Rageh Omaar (who also covered the American invasion of Iraq), reveals the surprising hidden story of Europe’s Islamic past.

An Islamic History of Europe, produced and broadcasted by BBC 4 in 2005 is a documentary about the Islamic influence on Europe and the effect of the Islamic civilization, learning and sciences on the Western world. In this 90-minute documentary, Rageh Omaar, the presenter of the series, uncovers the hidden story of Europe’s Islamic past and looks back to a Golden Age when European civilisation was enriched by Islamic learning. Rageh travels across medieval Muslim Europe to reveal the vibrant civilisation that Muslims brought to the West.

This excellent travelogue and historical essay will open a few eyes as well as provide the tourist boards responsible for Cordoba, Toledo, Granada and Palermo with plenty to smile about. Strongly ecommended” Sunday Times

Chronicling the Islamic influence on modern Europe, this evocative film brings to life a time when emirs and caliphs dominated Spain and Sicily and Islamic scholarship swept into the major cities of Europe. The journey thus recreated reveals the debt owed to Islam for its vital contribution to the European Renaissance. The film revisits Spain, Sicily and France in search of the story of Islam in Europe, uncovering an incredible tale of scientific advances and rich cultural influences.

• Muslim Heritage: Bringing to Life the Islamic History of Europe
• IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt2229044
• Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rageh_Omaar

BBC Four – An Islamic History of Europe – Episode guide (Source)

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When the Moors Ruled in Europe
with Historian Bettany Hughes

Bettany Hughes

As part of the Channel 4, Hidden Civilisation season exploring Islam’s rich and significant contribution to western art and culture, historian Bettany Hughes traces the story of the mysterious and misunderstood Moors, the Islamic society that ruled in Spain for 700 years, but whose legacy was virtually erased from Western history.

Bettany Hughes is presenting 1001 Inventions mini-documenteries:

• Muslim Heritage in Our Homes
• Muslim Heritage in Our Hospitals
• Muslim Heritage in Our School

1001 Inventions at UK Houses of Parliament with Bettany Hughes:

“I have to say that I am absolutely delighted to support the 1001 Inventions Project.” “…with a project like 1001 Inventions, I think we are going to see a phoenix rise from the ashes.” “…1001 Inventions: How Muslim Civilisation Shaped The World. It reminds us just how the Middle East, North Africa and Al Andalus catalysed many of the trappings of modern life. An immensely useful corrective to our Greco-Roman-Renaissance sense of Western Civilisation ” Bettany Hughes

Bettany Hughes: www.bettanyhughes.co.uk
IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt2162745
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_the_Moors_Ruled_in_Europe

(Left to Right) Dr Rim Turkmani, Ms Bettany Hughes, Prof. Jim Al-Khalili, Prof. Lorna Casselton, Prof. Mohamed El-Gomati, Sir Crispin Tickel and Prof. Salim T S Al-Hassani (Source)

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Science and Islam
with Prof Jim Al-Khalili

Jim Al-Khalili

BBC Four – Science & Islam by Prof. Jim Al-Khalili: British scientist, author and broadcaster Prof. Jim Al-Khalili travels through Syria, Iran, Tunisia, Turkey and Spain to tell the story of the great leap in scientific knowledge that took place in the Islamic world between the 8th and 14th centuries.

• Official homepage of Prof. Jim Al-Khalili
• BBC Four: Science & Islam – Language of Science
• BBC Four: Science & Islam – Empire of Reason
• BBC Four: Science & Islam – Power of Doubt
• Pathfinders: The Golden Age of Arabic Science
• 1001 Inventions Interview with Prof. Jim Al-Khalili
• Statement of Professor Jim Al-Khalili in the Opening Session of 1001 Inventions London Exhibition
• It’s Time to Herald the Arabic Science That Prefigured Darwin and Newton

“This is a wonderful [1001 Inventions] book, beautifully illustrated and very well re-searched. I bought a copy and I read it from cover to cover. I also lent it to my father who also thinks it is great! In its own right, it is a wonderful read that also has a rich background for my own projects. I do recommend it and think it is a fascinating book that is extremely well put together and referenced” Prof Jim Al-Khalili

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After Rome Holy War and Conquest
with Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson

Two-part series, Boris Johnson travels to France, Spain, Egypt, Israel, Syria and Turkey to investigate the early beginnings of what some people now call ‘the clash of civilisations.’ This is the idea that the two historically opposed religious cultures of Christianity and Islam are locked into a never-ending cycle of mutual antipathy, distrust and violence.

Episode 1: This first programme looks at the early history of Islam; the extraordinary series of conquests that gained for it half the territories of the old Roman empire in just 80 years; the rich and sophisticated civilisation Islam produced; the relationships between Muslims, Jews and Christians; and the background to the crusades.

Episode 2: In this programme Boris Johnson also looks at the Sack of Constantinople, when Latin Christians fought eastern Christians, leading eventually to the fall of the city to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. He looks too at the Reconquista in Spain, which culminated in the wholesale expulsion of Jews and Muslims. At every turn of his journey, Boris Johnson finds that the real history is a good deal more subtle and interesting than the fictions that have grown up around it.

• BBC Two: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fy48j
• Independent: The Weekends Television After Rome

“If we don’t have the wit to escape from history, then let’s at least try and relive the good bits…” Boris Johson

Boris Johson & Elizabeth Woodcock, Co-Editor of 1st and 2nd edition of 1001 Inventions Book

***

The Story of Maths: The Genius of the East
with Prof Marcus du Sautoy

Marcus du Sautoy

Four-part series about the history of mathematics, presented by Oxford professor Marcus du Sautoy.

In the Middle East, he looks at the invention of the new language of algebra and the spread of Eastern knowledge to the West through mathematicians such as Leonardo Fibonacci, creator of the Fibonacci Sequence.

They dedicated one part of the episode of “Genius of the East” to the advancement of science in the Muslim civilisation and its impact on Europe and also “House of Wisdom”, algebra, Arabic Numerals, Al-Khawarizmi, Omer Khayyam and many more…

• BBC Four: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dzy91
• The Open University: The Story of Maths
• Netflix: www.netflix.com/gb/title/80093836
• IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt1926910
• Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Maths

“Episode Two “The Genius Of The East” gave me a much more solid working knowledge of each. Basically, I am very intrigued by CONCEPTS of mathematics and this program was able to translate my concepts into factual representations from the real world, in order to help me wrap my unconditioned brain around the ideas.” Zomgpwn

***

Art of Spain: The Moorish South
with Art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon

Andrew Graham-Dixon

Critic and art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon travels from southern to northern Spain to tell the story of some of Europe’s most exciting and vital art. In an exploration of Moorish Spain, he looks at Muslim political and cultural influence as he travels from Cordoba to Granada, seeing classic buildings such as the Great Mosque in Cordoba, the Alcazar in Seville and the Alhambra in Granada. He also shows how the Moors introduced new foods – including citrus fruits, coffee and spices – to Spain.

• Guardian: The Spanish Renaissance by Robert White
• BBC Four: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008vsgz
• IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt3319532
• Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Spain

“Spain has produced some of the most startling and original art ever created… the art we need to know about, because it holds the key to understanding all of Europe and its culture…” Andrew Graham-Dixon

***

The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain

This film takes viewers on an epic journey back into one of the most captivating and important periods of world history, a centuries-long period when Muslims, Christians and Jews inhabited the same far corner of Western Europe and thrived. Here were the very roots of the European Renaissance. But the fragile union dissipated, destroyed by greed, fear and intolerance.

• UPF TV:
  www.islamicspain.tv
  www.upf.tv/films/cities-of-light
  www.islamicity.org
• IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt1047890

“The history of Islamic Spain, as told in Cities of Light, demonstrates that when religious diversity is accommodated within a social and political system, problems and tensions may still exist, but society is able to manage them, generally to the benefit of all. But when governing powers and religious movements reject complexity and insist on a single cultural and religiously centered point of view, then society is likely to see a widespread loss for everyone.” (source)

***

The Man Who Walked Across the World
with Tim Mackintosh-Smith

Tim Mackintosh-Smith

The man who walked across the World: The Adventures of Ibn Battuta. A three-part series of documentary travelogues in which Tim Mackintosh-Smith follows in the footsteps of 14th Century Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta, who is regarded by many to be one of the greatest travelers and explorers the world has ever seen. In fact, he was able to travel over 75,000 miles, in twenty years and through some 44 nations (as defines by modern day borders) and three continents.

Part 1 – Wanderlust: Beginning in north Africa, Tim visits Battutah’s birthplace of Tangier in Morocco, and stumbles on a performance of medieval trance music. In Egypt, he goes to a remote village where Battutah had an astonishing prophetic dream and visits the world’s oldest university in Cairo.

Part 2 – Magicians and Mystics: In Turkey, Tim watches an illegal whirling dervish ceremony, and in the Taurus mountains he meets the last of the Turkoman nomads. He chats to Tatars in Crimea, while in Delhi he watches a Muslim magician performing the Indian rope trick.

Part 3 – Trade Winds: Tim explores the place of Islam in Hindu-dominated India and communist China, and tells the story of the Islamic trade empire of the 14th century. In Cina, he meets a clan who trace their ancestry back to Arabs, and witnesses an illegal Arabic lesson.

• BBC Four: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007zqcn
• Tim Mackintosh-Smith: www.mackintosh-smith.com
• The Global Dispatches: Travels with Ibn Battutah

Ibn Battutah and I are quite similar, inasmuch as we both set off for the East at the age of 21 and we have both spent a lot of time there. Ibn Battutah was certainly an Arab, but he was very much a “westerner” too, being from Morocco which was the edge of the known world at that time.” Tim Mackintosh-Smith

***

Hidden Civilisation: Paradise Found
with art critic Waldemar Januszczak

Waldemar Januszczak

BBC Four: “The Dark Ages have been misunderstood. History has identified the period following the fall of the Roman Empire with a descent into barbarism – a terrible time when civilisation stopped.”

Waldemar Januszczak disagrees. In this four-part series he argues that the Dark Ages were a time of great artistic achievement, with new ideas and religions provoking new artistic adventures. He embarks on a fascinating trip across Europe, Africa and Asia, visits the world’s most famous collections and discovers hidden artistic gems, all to prove that the Dark Ages were actually an ‘Age of Light’.

Along with Christianity, the Dark Ages saw the emergence of another vital religion – Islam. After emerging in the near East it spread across North Africa and into Europe, bringing its unique artistic style with it. Waldemar examines the early artistic explorations of the first people in Muslim Civilisation, the development of their mosques and their scientific achievements” (archived link)

• BBC Four: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01p96fr :
• Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Ages:_An_Age_of_Light
• IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt2576046
• Waldemar Januszczak: www.waldemar.tv

“This is a series about an artistic period that’s looked down on, that never gets the respect it deserves…” Waldemar Januszczak

Also, check Hidden Civilisation: Paradise Found. The art critic and art lover, Waldemar Januszczak, sets out on an epic journey of discovery across the Muslim world from Central Asia, to the heart of the Middle East and beyond to reveal a world of awe-inspiring architecture, spectacular Islamic treasures and a host of artists and craftsmen – to bring the largely unknown and fascinating story of Islamic art and architecture to the attention of the British public. Along the way he meets an array of characters, such as carpet-weavers, calligraphers, potters, jewellers and a supporting cast of local historians and experts. The result is a new and refreshing insight into the world of Islamic art, providing a stimulating introduction to an important culture of great tradition and wondrous beauty:

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Conclusion

There are more documentaries out there such as epic Islam: Empire of Faith documentary narrated by Sir Beng Kingsly, whom also played in 1001 Inventions and The Library of Secrets starring as Al-Jazari or very well know British political commentator Andrew Marr’s “History of the World: Into the Light” or documentaries on Zheng He – the Chinese Muslim Admiral. All these documentaries are very interesting from one another. The information is out there either on the paper or your television, it is up to you now discover more…

We will leave with The Medieval Islamicate World: Crash Course History of Science #7:

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Islamic Glass Image Gallery

by Cem NizamogluPublished on: 8th May 2020

From Ibn Al-Haytam’s optical lenses to a mosque lamp of Amir Qawsun, Muslim Civilisation played a major role in inspiring the growth of the glass industry. Mosques, houses and cities were transformed into centres of rich decoration with glass. Muslim Civilisation turned a craft into an industry, employing large numbers of workers.

1.1 Stained glass windows of Nasīr al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran – (Source)

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Note of the Editor:  This article was first composed by Cem Nizamoglu for 1001 Inventions website and now updated for Muslim Heritage website.

***

From Ibn Al-Haytam’s optical lenses and Ibn Hayyan’s chemistry flasks to a mosque lamp of Amir Qawsun, Muslim Civilisation played a major role in inspiring the growth of glass industry from the 8th century onwards.

Mosques, houses and cities were transformed into beautiful spaces richly decorated with glass. Beauty and functionality were both essential elements of design in Muslim Civilisation. Possibly in an effort to supply the thousands of mosques, and also thanks to the input provided by the thriving scientific activity in fields such as optics and chemistry, glassmakers in Muslim Civilisation turned – what had up till then been – a craft into an industry employing new techniques and large number of workers from different parts of the Muslim Civilisation.

Under Islam, the glass industry witnessed a revival. The old centres flourished and new ones were established. The remarkable, sumptuous Islamic glass treasures which are distributed among museums throughout the world, bear witness to the high artistic and technological level of Islamic glass.”
A. Y. Al-Hassan*

*Al-Hassan, A. Y. “Science and Technology in Islam: Technology and applied sciences” UNESCO, 2001; Page 74.

2.1 Ewer with Molded Inscription, 9th century, Iraq (Abbasid period) (Source)
2.2 Bottle, 7th–early 8th century, Egypt or Syria (Sasanian period?) (Source)
2.3 Bottle with Blue Trails, 12th century, probably Syria (Seljuk Period?) (Source)
“… Similar bottles are in museums in Saint Petersburg, Kiev, and Berlin. That a majority of these examples were reportedly found in the Caucasus region or along the coast of the Black Sea suggests that they were part of the well-established glass trade between Syria, northwestern Asia, and eastern Europe”

Vast Production

Throughout the Muslim Civilisation glassware was produced in vast amounts from the 8th century either by blowing liquid glass into holds or by cutting it from crystal. Glassmakers in Syria and Egypt inherited the Roman glass industry and improved it by developing their own technique perfecting glass decoration and colouring, and expanding the variety of products.

Muslim and non-Muslim glassmakers working in the Islamic areas, however, were extraordinarily creative and, in tune with the general evolution of Islamic art, brought this craft to a new technical, technological, and artistic heights.” Josef W. Meri*

*Meri, J. W. “Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia”; Routledge, 31 Oct 2005; Page 297.

Excavation work in Syria and other parts of the Muslim Civilisation uncovered a huge amount of glassware. Aleppo in Syria was mentioned as a glassmaking and decorating centre by the geographers Yaqut Al-Hamwi (d. 1229) and Al-Qazwini (d. 1283). Damascus, too, was described as a glassmaking centre by Ibn Battuta (d. 1377). Egypt, Iraq and Andalusia were also all producing glass in vast quantities.

Glass from the Muslim Civilisation, and especially that from Syria, was highly prized the world over. Glass objects were discovered in medieval European sites in Sweden, and Souther Russia. Even such fragile objects as Syrian enamelled glass of the 13th century have been found in Sweden.

3.1. From The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA)  exhibition on glass of the Islamic world, 2012 (Source)

4.1 Goblet with Incised Designs, 8th–9th century, probably Iraq or Syria (Abbasid or Ummayd periods)“… Some objects bear inscriptions, such as the kufic calligraphy on this goblet that reads, “Drink! Blessings from God to the owner of the goblet”. Formulas including good wishes were commonly found on eating and drinking vessels in both pottery and glass.” (Source)
4.2 Glass Bowl in Millefiori Technique, late 10th–early 11th century, Probably Iraq ((Abbasid period?)  (Source)

Supporting Scientific Endeavours

Modern chemistry grew, in some measure, out of Islamic alchemy…. There was a great deal of practical experimenting done in the making of glass, leather, and cloth, the working of metals, and in the preparation of drugs...” F. B. Artz*

*F.B. Artz: The Mind; op cit; pp. 165-7.

5.1 Glass chemical flasks, Arabic manuscript held in the British Library showing the distillation process in a treatise of chemistry. © The British Library, London.

6.1 Medical flasks and bottles can be seen in this Ottoman manuscript about Islamic market, medicine and pharmacy.

In the early 14th century, more than 300 years after Ibn Sahl, Maragha astronomer-mathematician Kamal al-Din al-Farisi experimented with a glass sphere filled with water to analyze the way sunlight breaks into the spectrum colors of a rainbow. The rays that produced the colours of the rainbow, he observed:

… were refracted upon entering his glass sphere, underwent a total internal reflection at the back surface of the glass sphere (which sent them back toward the observer), and experienced a second refraction as they exited the sphere. This occurred in each droplet within a mist to produce a rainbow.” Kamal al-Din Al-Farisi (1267-1319)*

*R. Rashed, “Kamal al-Din”; C.B. Boyer, The Rainbow: From Myth to Mathematics,

7.1. Cup, about 800-999 (Source)
“the makers of such objects may have been seeking ways to achieve some freedom of expression within the rules of repetition common in Islamic art. This freedom could be achieved by using different combinations of tongs, which bore patterns different from those of one- or two-part molds. Archeological finds indicate that this type of glass was traded extensively in the Islamic world during the ninth and 10th centuries.”
7.2 Bottle, about 800-899 from Egypt, Syro-Palestine (Source) 

Al-Jazari’s treatise includes water and irrigation devices, machines where robot girls place a drinking glass in the ruler’s hand, mechanical flutes, decorative items such as a monumental door with one of the earliest descriptions of green-sand casting.” Al-Djazairi, S.E*

*Al-Djazairi, S.E.. The Golden Age and Decline of Islamic Civilisation, Volume 2 (Kindle Locations 2759-2760). MSBN Books. Kindle Edition. 

The technique of cutting crystal was said to have been introduced by ‘Abbas ibn Firnas (d. 887), scholar and inventor in the courts of ‘Abd al-Raḥman II and Muḥammad I. It is worth pointing here to the genius of Ibn Firnas, who was not only able to decipher the most complex writing, but also made attempts at flying by building artificial wings. In relation to glass, he was familiar with the scientific properties of glass, and contributed to the early experiment with lenses and the idea of magnifying script by their use. He also lent his skills to the glass making furnaces of Cordoba, and made a representation of the sky in glass, which he was able at will to make clear or cloudy, with lightning and the noise of thunder at the press of a finger.

8.1 Rock Crystal ewer made for the Fatimid caliph al-Aziz. 975-976. Rock Crystal. One of the few surviving Fatimid court objects, carved from a single piece of rock crystal. al-Aziz ruled Egypt from 975 to 996. The crystal was imported from Afria and was velieved to prevent nightmares. Many of these precious artifacts were later melted down and sold for their metals. Treasury of St. Mark’s, Venice. pg 253. (Source)

Decorative Art

“The rise of Islam, and the resulting expansion of Muslim territories through the seventh century A.D., ultimately gave rise to a society that kept alive many of the achievements that were lost in the west. Mosaic glass, cast and cut vessels, and free- and mold-blown wares continued to be made, and starting in the ninth century, new decorative approaches emerged. The principal advance began with the discovery that glass could be painted with metallic stains, resulting in a type of glass known as lustre ware because of its distinctive sheen. This was the first stained glass.”*

9.1 Window in stained glass, 17th century, Egypt or Syria (Ottoman period?) (38.7 x 48.3 cm). A window such as this with brightly coloured panes in blue, orange, green, and red might have been found in a room of an aristocratic home in the Islamic world. Tinted glass was favoured because it filtered the light, but it also complemented the multihued furnishings of the room.

German art historian Otto von Simson explained the origin of the rose window by comparing the idea to the six-sided rosettes and octagon window on the outside wall of the Umayyad palace Khirbat al-Mafjar, built in the Holy Land in about 750 CE. The theory is that Crusaders saw such windows and brought the idea back to Europe, introducing it into churches.”  IslamicSpain.tv

10.1 Mosque Lamp of Amir Qawsun, ca. 1329–35 (Source)
“… Large glass lamps of this type were commissioned by sultans and members of their court for mosques, madrasas (Qur’anic schools), tombs, hospices, and other public buildings in fourteenth-century Mamluk Cairo. This example bears the name of its patron, Qawsun (d. 1342), amir of the Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalaun (r. 1293–1341 with brief interruptions), and was probably intended for one of his two architectural commissions in Cairo—a mosque or a tomb-hospice complex.”
10.2 Glass Bowllate 10th–early 11th century (Source)

Varied Techniques

… The first painters of glass in the Islamic world applied a brownish or yellowish metallic pigment on bowls, dishes, and other objects. The decoration usually consists of animal or vegetal motifs, sometimes accompanied by inscriptions. By applying pigments to both sides of these objects, glassmakers could highlight details or exploit the transparency of the glass to produce subtle shading effects…” Muneneh Michael*

*Michael, Muneneh “An exploration into barriers to use of waste glass in interior spaces in Nairobi” Page 29 (PDF) 

11.1. Animal with Double Cosmetic Tube, 7th– 9th century, possibly Syria (Sasanian period) (Source) 
11.2 The Corning Ewer, about 10th century, possibly Egypt (Fatimid period?) or Western Asia (Source)
11.3 Drinking Horn, 7th– 9th century, probably Egypt (Abbasid period?) (Source)

Some of the most sophisticated Egyptian glass vessels were decorated with lustre. This shiny, sometimes metallic effect was achieved by painting copper or silver oxide on the surface of the object, which was then fired at a temperature of about 600°C (1112°F) in reducing conditions. The same technique, as already noted, was used in the decoration of earthenware, not only in Egypt but also in Iraq and Iran. Until recently, controversy raged over the origin of lustre painting, but the problem appears to have been solved by the discovery at Al-Fustat, of a glass cup of local type, inscribed with the name of ‘Abd al-Hamad, governor of Egypt in 771-772; Egyptian glass painters were therefore using lustre some time before its appearance in Iraq.

12.1. A cut glass beaker, 10th century, Persia (Saffarid period?)  (Source)
12.2 A clear glass inkwell, 12th/13th Century,(Seljuk or Khwarazmian period?) Persia (Source)
12.3 A Free-blown trailed-glass hanging lamp, 7th/8th century, (Umayyad period?) Syria (Source)
 “At once decorative and functional, the delicately applied trailing designs on the present hanging lamp cover almost its entire surface. Composed of deep blue glass, these trailing motifs act as contrasts to the yellowish body of the vessel. Stefano Carboni links this type of decoration to the late Roman period, the production of which was extended into the early Islamic period, and at first limited to: “areas that were once part of the Roman and Byzantine Empires, including Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia” (Carboni 2001, p. 163)

13.1. Beaker, enameled glass vessels, late 13th century, Mamluk period, Syria (Source)
“… Its decoration is probably inspired by contemporary manuscript paintings and depicts courtly figures and scenes of royal pastimes, such as hunting and polo.”

Contact between the Byzantine Empire and the new empire of Islam allowed Islamic glassmakers to add the known Roman and Byzantine glassmaking techniques to their own glassmaking knowledge. As with many chemical arts, this cumulative glassmaking knowledge was then preserved by the world of Islam until the coming of the Renaissance in the West. In Islam glassmaking flowered again for a time, combining Roman knowledge with indigenous traditions...” Seth C Rasmussen*

* Rasmussen, S. C. “How Glass Changed the World: The History and Chemistry of Glass from Antiquity to the 13th Century”; Springer Science & Business Media, 24 Feb 2012. Page 40

14.1 Stock Photo: Stained-glass window in La Giralda, Seville, Spain, Image ID:33481360 Copyright: S.Borisov (Source)

In Al-Andalus, glass vessels were blown in Almeria, Malaga, and Murcia in imitation of eastern wares, such as the irakes –glass goblets– so favoured on the noble tables of 10th-century León. The technique of cutting crystal was said to have been introduced by ‘Abbas ibn Firnas (d. 887), scholar and inventor in the courts of ‘Abd al-Raḥman II and Muḥammad I. It is worth pointing here to the genius of Ibn Firnas, who was not only able to decipher the most complex writing, but also made attempts at flying by building artificial wings. In relation to glass, he was familiar with the scientific properties of glass, and contributed to the early experiment with lenses and the idea of magnifying script by their use. He also lent his skills to the glass making furnaces of Cordova, and made a representation of the sky in glass, which he was able at will to make clear or cloudy, with lightning and the noise of thunder at the press of a finger.

Even if you put burning charcoal on its head The huqqa*, a teacher of etiquette, Will not respond unless drawn upon. Thus one can learn refinement from its manners. (a Persian verse)* *Huqqa: hookah, shisha, narghile, argilah (more names)  A coloured glass and silver-gilt huqqa ,Ottoman, 19th century (Source)

*[Persian verse on its base. In the verse, the huqqa obeys the rules of courtly etiquette, remaining silent until its patron draws it out in “conversation”.]
AramcoWorld.com – Gökçigdem, Elif “Fragile Beauty: Islamic Glass”

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Read More on other industries in Muslim Civilisation
www.muslimheritage.com/article/1000-years-of-missing-islamic-industry

***

More Quotes and Images

15.1. Turkish/Ottoman glass work, 19th Century, Turkey (Source)
15.2 Glass Armband, 8th-9th centur, ex-Barakat Egypt (Source)

There is an excellent passage by al-Farabi (870-950), which proves that Muslims used telescopes and other sighting devices for the observation of the planets at quite an early date. His passage on the science of mechanics and other devices includes:

“The optical devices used in the production of instruments that direct the sight in order to discern the reality of the distant objects, and in the production of mirrors upon which one determines the points that reverse the rays by deflecting them or by reflection or refraction. With this, one can also determine the points that reverse the sun’s rays into other bodies, thus producing the burning mirrors and the devices connected with them.” Al-Farabi*

*Ihsa’ al-Ulum; ed. O. Amin; Al-Maktaaba al-Anglo-Misriya (Cairo; 1968), pp. 108-110; in G. Saliba: The Function of Mechanical Devices in Medieval Islamic Society; in Science and Technology in Medieval Society; edited by P.O. Long; The Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (New York; 1985), pp. 141-51; at pp. 145-6.
Al-Djazairi, S.E.. The Golden Age and Decline of Islamic Civilisation, Volume 1, MSBN Books.

16.1. Glass Dish with Mule and Rider, and Animals, about 901-999 (Source)
“In the ninth and 10th centuries, Islamic glassmakers introduced new shapes, colors, and decorative patterns. This is among the most extraordinary stained glass objects that have survived from the Islamic period…”
16.2 Glass Bowl with pigeon and fish motives, about 900-1099 (Source)

Glass changed the course of the history. For example, it is said that – the inventors of gunpowder, paper, printing, and the compass -Chinese did not make much advances in technology after 14th Century because they simply preferred porcelain tea cup over wine glass:

“The invention of glass meant that we also had the technology of lens grinding, telescopes and microscopes. The invention of spectacles meant that intellectuals and scientists had an extra 15-20 years of a reading and active life. Also came the invention of beakers, flasks and retorts, which was useful because glass is chemically neutral. Between the 14th century and the 19th century, no glass was made in China. It also meant that they had no mirrors and their windows were made out of paper, which meant they had dark houses. So, the point is that since they liked drinking tea from the teacup, they never bothered to try to invent glass.” *Stephan Fry

*Stephan Fry, QI – Season 7 Episode 4: The Chinese, the teacup and glass

17.1 Turkish Glass Prayer-beads (tesbih) (Source)

“… Also the thinness and translucence of Syrian glass are proverbially famous; one says more delicate than Syrian glass, or clearer than Syrian glass.” Al-Tha’libi (961-1038)*

*H.J. Cohen: Early Islamic Scholars as glassmakers; in A. Engle ed: Readings in Glass History; 2; (Phoenix Publications; 1973); pp. 30-5; at p. 33.

18.1 Nasīr al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran (Source)

“The designers Muhammad Hasan-e-Memar and Muhammad Reza Kashi Paz-e-Shirazi used extensively stained glass on the façade and other traditional elements such as panj kāseh-i (five concaves), which create a breath taking effect of the interior like standing in a kaleidoscope. Once the sunlight hits the stained glass, the entire building is flooded by a vibrant rainbow of colours. In popular culture, the mosque is also called Pink Mosque, because its tiles are beautifully decorated with a pre-eminently pinkish rose colour.”

*“Mosque of Whirling Colours: A Mixture of Architecture and Art in Nasīr al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran” by Cem Nizamoglu 

19.1 Turkish Ottoman Savatli Glass Ewer, Pasabahce Glass (Source)

“… Egyptian and Syrian glass and metal-work, as well as many of the products of Mesopotamia and Moorish Spain, were highly prized as being manifestly superior to anything that could be made in western Europe. It was largely by imitation and, in the end, sometimes by improvement of the techniques and models that had come from or through the Near East, that the products of the West ultimately rose to excellence…” C. Singer *

*C. Singer et al edition: A History of Technology; vol II; op cit. pp. 754-6.

 
20.1 “Islamic Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass Vol. 1” by David Whitehouse (Source)
20.2 “Islamic Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass Vol. 2” by David Whitehouse (Source)

“Ibn al-Haytham’s treatise On the Burning Glass exhibits ‘a profound and accurate conception of the nature of focussing, magnifying, and inversion of the image, and of formation of rings and colours by experiments.’ In his treatise ‘The Shape of the Eclypse,’ he tries to explain the crescent image cast by the partially eclipsed sun through a small round aperture. Ibn al-Haytham also wrote on the rainbow, the halo, and spherical and parabolic mirrors, and fixed the height of the atmosphere at the equivalent of about ten English miles.” Al-Djazairi, S.E.*

*Al-Djazairi, S.E. The Golden Age and Decline of Islamic Civilisation, Volume 2 (Kindle Locations 6559-6564). MSBN Books. Kindle Edition. 

21.1 Al-Razi ((Latinized name Rhazes or Rasis) holding a glass flask for the patient treatment – European depiction of Al-Razi in the Latin version of one of his treatises translated by Gerard of Cremona in between 1250-60 (Source)

“Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis in Latin), a 10th-century surgeon in Córdoba, composed Al-Tasrif, a 30-chapter medical encyclopedia describing dozens of operations, complete with graphic illustrations of surgical instruments, including scalpels, cauterizing tools, feeding tubes and cupping glasses.” Ibrahim Shaikh*

*“Abu al-Qasim Al-Zahrawi the Great Surgeon” by Dr Ibrahim Shaikh

22.1 Usage of glass flasks in alchemy – Series of woodcuts of chemical and distilling apparatus from The works of Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber in Latin), the most famous Arabian prince and philosopher, faithfully Englished by Richard Russel (London, 1678).  (e) Calcination, (f) Water bath, (g) Vessels, (h) Fixation and Sublimation

“Eighth century treatise on glass: Kitab al-Durra al-Maknuna (The Book of the Hidden Pearl of Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber in Latin) (c. 721–c. 815) On Coloured Glass, On Lustre, On Gemstones And Pearls: Part 1: The Manufacture of Coloured Glass; Part 2: Lustre Glass; Part 3: The Colouring Of Gemstones, The Purifying and Making of Pearls and Other Useful Recipes; Part 4: Assessment of Kitab al-Durra al-Maknuna.”

More Info: www.history-science-technology.com/articles/articles%2093.html

23.1 Islamic Glass game piece or weight (Source)

“Al-Tusi made his observations without telescopes or even glasses,” says Djebbar, removing his own spectacles and waving them theatrically in the air. “Even though the Arabs possessed the knowledge to make lenses, they probably thought it was an idiotic idea. God made us like this; why hang something on our noses to see better?” he jokes, placing his glasses back on his nose with a flourish. His audience erupts into laughter as Djebbar, who was curator of “The Golden Age of Arabic Sciences”—the Paris exhibition, which ran from October 2005 through March 2006 at the Arab World Institute—tries to quiet them down.” Richard Covington*

*“Rediscovering Arabic Science” by Richard Covington

24.1 Stained Glass – Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque. Photo by chem7 (Source)

“… Of these are several small military departments… such as the department of foundries for iron, copper, glass and others.” Al-Qalqashandi (d. 1418)*

*Al-Qalqashandi: Subhi al-A’sha; Cairo Ministry of Culture; part 4; p. 188. “Al-Qalqashandi (d. 1418) in Subhi al-A’sha, when discussing government departments in Damascus during the period of 1171-1250″.  

25.1 A 14th century glass finger bowl, Mamluk dynasty, Egypt or Syria

“A medieval Islamic glass vessel sold in London yesterday[02/04/2009] for 1.6 million pounds ($2.3 million), more than 20 times as much as it fetched less than a decade ago, when it was dismissed as a fake… The bucket is actually a glass finger bowl, intricately gilded and decorated with colourful enamels, that dates from 14th century Egypt or Syria. It was made during the Mamluk dynasty that ruled the region from 1250 to 1517.”*

*“14th century bucket sells for £1.6m at Sotheby’s” April 3, 2009 / Anakin 

26.1  pair of Iznik-style glass mosque lamps, Europe for the Islamic market, 19th/20th century (Source)

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Introduction to Islamic Art

by Rabah SaoudPublished on: 24th February 2010

One area where the genius of the Muslim civilisation has been recognised worldwide is that of art. The artists of the Islamic world adapted their creativity to evoke their inner beliefs in a series of abstract forms, producing some amazing works of art. Rejecting the depiction of living forms, these artists progressively established a new style substantially deviating from the Roman and Byzantine art of their time. In the mind of these artists, works of art are very much connected to ways of transmitting the message of Islam rather than the material form used in other cultures. This article briefly examines the meaning and character of art in Islamic culture and explores its main decorative forms-floral, geometrical, and calligraphic. Finally, it looks at the influence of the art developed in the world of Islam on the art of other cultures, particularly that of Europe.

Rabah Saoud*

Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Comparison with Byzantine Art
3. Sources of the Islamic Art
4. The Nature and Form in Islamic Art
5. Vegetal and Floral art
6. Geometrical Art
7. Calligraphy
8. Influence of Islamic Art in the West
9. Conclusion
10. References

***

Note of the editor
This article was first published in July 2004. It is edited here in HTML, with revision. © FSTC 2004-2010.

***

1. Introduction

The art of Islam has attracted the attention of a number of Western scholars [1] who gained good reputations because of their contributions to the study and publicising of the field. Despite this positive aspect, their work contained an element of prejudice as they repeatedly applied their Western norms and criteria to their evaluation of the art produced in Islamic history. In their views, far from contributing to the arts of its society, Islam has restricted, diminished and undervalued artistic creativity. Islam is seen as obstructive and limiting to artistic talent and its art is often judged by its incapacity to produce figures and natural and dramatic scenes. Such arguments illustrate a serious misperception of Islam and its attitude to art. The view that Islam promotes harsh and simple living and rejects sophistication and comfort is an accusation often made by orientalist academics. This false claim is rejected by both the Qur’an and the example of Prophet Muhammad. The Qur’an, for example, permits comfortable living if it does not lead the believer astray:

“Say, who is there to forbid the beauty which God has brought forth for his servants, and the good things from among the means of sustenance” (Qur’an 7:32).

This message is emphasised again in another verse:

“O you who believe! Do not deprive yourselves of the good things of life which Allah has permitted you, but do not transgress, for Allah does not love those who transgress.” (Qur’an 5:87).

The authentic saying of Prophet Muhammad which was narrated by Al-Boukhari:

“Allah is beautiful and loves beauty.”

This is perhaps the clearest translation of the position of Islam towards art. Beauty, in Islam, is a quality of the divine. The great scholar Al-Ghazali (1058-1128) considered it to be based on two main criteria involving the prefect proportion and the luminosity, encompassing both outer and inner parts of things, animals and humans.

The other determinant factor influencing Western scholars’ views on Islamic art is connected to the Greek-influenced approach which considers the image of man as the source of artistic creativity. Thus, portraits and sculptures of man were seen as the highest work of art. According to this view, man is nature’s most magnificent and most beautiful creature and should be both the start and destination of human artistic endeavour. Successful works of art are those which explore the inner depth and external physical appearance of the human body. Perhaps the highest position given to man, in this art, is when divine beings are represented in his form, or when he is represented as being created in the image of the Deity. Islamic art, however, has a radically different outlook. Here, man is seen as an instrument of divinity created by a supremely powerful Being, Allah.

2. Comparison with Byzantine Art

Byzantine art was fundamentally based on the incorporation of Christian themes into Greek humanism and naturalism. Together, these concepts symbolised and reflected divinity. Man and nature were seen as the image of the divine. This new figurative art was not seeking the aesthetic per se, as in the Greek tradition, but striving to translate concepts in Christian belief such as salvation and sacrifice.

As they do with many fields, Western scholars often relate Islamic art to Greek and Byzantine origins, claiming that the artists of the Muslim world only imitated or borrowed from these two cultures their art and reproduced it in a Muslim “dress” of Arabesque and calligraphy. Byzantine inspiration started in the early stages of the Muslim Caliphate when the Umayyad Caliphs Abd-al-Malik [2] and Al-Walid I [3] sent for Byzantine artists to decorate the Dome of the Rock (691-92) and the Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus (705-714). Byzantine influence is seen in the iconographic themes in the Dome of the Rock, as reflected in the mosaics of crowns and jewels of that mosque, which Grabar (1973) believed were emulating Byzantine symbols of power. These decorations were symbols of holiness, power and sovereignty in Byzantine art. Pursuing this theme, he says:

“In other words, the decoration of the Dome of the Rock witnesses a conscious use by the decorators of this Islamic sanctuary of representations of symbols belonging to the subdued orto the stillactive enemies of Islam” (Grabar 1973, p. 48).

Yet, Grabar later admits that the Arabs, both before and after Islam, used to offer their precious belongings, including crowns, to the Kaabah and hang them there [4].

In relation to vegetal representations, in Grabar’s view, once again the artists of Islam seem to borrow from Byzantine depictions of heaven as if they lacked any knowledge or literary description of it. He claims that Byzantine art was so complete and superior that the Muslims had to emulate it. Faced with the question of why the Muslims did not adopt figurative art, Grabar argued that they had to give it up due to the superiority of the Byzantine art which they could not compete with. He says that:

“the Umayyads could hardly in one generation acquire the sophisticated practice of imagery which characterised Byzantium. Faced with this dilemma, the Muslims tried both alternatives, but soon discarded imagery, and, as we have seen adopted the techniques of Byzantium without its formulas”.

Grabar clearly disregarded the opposition of Islam to imagery, which is exemplified in a number of the Prophet Muhammad sayings (see below).

Von Grunedaum (1955) provided a more comprehensive view arguing that the lack of imagery was due to the position of man in the Islamic religion. An important aspect of Muslim theology was the prominence of the attributes separating God, the Creator, and man, his favourite creature. Man is guided by and subject to his fate and therefore cannot reach the position of God, which other religions say he can attain. The fundamental principles of art in Islamic culture are the declared truths that there is “no god but God” and “nothing is like unto Him”; His realm is neither space nor time and He is known by ninety nine attributes, including the First and the Last, and the Seen and the Unseen, and the All-Knowing:

Allah! There is no god but He, the Living, the Self-subsisting’ Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there that can intercede in His presence except as He permits? He knows what (appears to His creatures) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He will. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory) (Qur’an2:255).

This is perhaps the main division in the philosophy and approach towards art between the Muslims and non-Muslims. With this approach, Islamic art did not need any figurative representation of these concepts. How can he depict God if he believes that He is the Unseen and nothing is like unto Him? Any artistic expression of these, either in natural or human forms, would undermine the meanings and the essence of the Muslim faith. Consequently, artists engaged in expressing this truth in a sophisticated system of geometric, vegetal and calligraphic patterns (Al-Faruqi, 1973). Islam was the only religion that did not need figurative art and imagery to establish its concepts (Von Grunedaum, 1955).

3. Sources of Islamic Art

Like other aspects of Islamic culture, Islamic art was a result of the accumulated knowledge of local environments [5] and societies, incorporating Arabic, Persian, Mesopotamian and African traditions, in addition to Byzantine inspirations. Islam built on this knowledge and developed its own unique style, inspired by three main elements.

The Qur’an is seen as the first work of art in Islam and its chef-d’oeuvre (Al-Faruqi, 1973). The independence of some verses and the interrelation of others form extraordinary meanings as each verse takes the reader into a unique divine experience feeling its joy and happiness, terror and fearfulness, bliss and anger, and so on. The constant repetition of these experiences in the verses of the Qur’an “winds up consciousness and generates in it a momentum which launches it on a continuation or repetition and infinitum” (Al-Faruqi 1973, p.95). The final outcome of this experience makes the reader feel the presence of God as described in the verse:

“when the verses of the Beneficent are recited unto them, they fall down prostrate in adoration and tears” (Qur’an 19:58).

As a result, artists drew lessons and methods from their experience of the Qur’an, developing a new approach to art characterised by the independence and interdependence of its formative elements. The emphasis was on the presence and attributes of the divine Creator rather than on His creatures, including man. Islam sees all men equal regardless of colour or form (perfect or imperfect). The only distinction between them is made on the basis of their piety. Consequently, Islam sees the white-skinned and fair-haired ideal of man promoted by Western art as racial and misleading.

The second element comes from the Qur’anic verses which criticises poets as:

“As for the poets, the erring follow them. Have you not seen how they wander distracted in every valley? And how they say what they practice not? (Qur’an 26:224-26).

This formula regulates the approach of artists, writers and professionals. Islam only approves work from

“those who believe, do good work, and engage much in the remembrance of Allah” (Qur’an 26:227).

With this background, the artist’s work was guided by this criterion and was always connected to the remembrance of God whether it was in ceramics, textile, leather or iron work or wall decoration. The ways this remembrance was expressed was, of course, many. Artists worked with many different materials, from ceramic to iron, and their artistic style took many forms, such as Arabesque designs, geometrical patterns and calligraphy.

The third decisive factor dictating the nature of art in Islamic culture is the religious rule that discourages the depiction of human or animal forms [6]. The presence of this rule is due to a concern that people would go back to the worship of idols and figures, a practice that is strongly condemned by Islam. In the early days of Islam, sculpture and imagery were seen as reminders of the despised idolatrous past. Today, the majority of Muslims still respect this rule and their attitude extends to dislike the excessive “body worship” practised in the West. The latter can be seen in the revival of Islamic dress among educated Muslim women and in their avoidance of the excessive use of make-up.

Furthermore, Islam is free from metaphysical arguments such as those relating to the trinity, the true nature of Christ, the Holy Spirit and saints hierarchy, as found in Christianity. Consequently, there was no need in the mosque for apses, transepts, crypts as well as images and sculptures of saints, angels and martyrs that played a prominent part in didactic art in Christian churches. Nevertheless, there were some instances where human and animal forms were used in Islamic art, but these were mainly found in secular private buildings of some princes and wealthy patrons. Discoveries made in the Qasre Amra palace, built by the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I (705-715) in the Jordanian desert, revealed large illustrations of hunting scenes, gymnastic exercises, and symbolic figures. The most important of these were illustrations depicting the main enemies of Islam, Kaisar (the Byzantine Emperor), Roderick (the Visigoth King of Spain), and Khosrow (the Emperor of Persia). There was also an illustration of the Negus, the Abyssinian king, who gave the Muslims refuge when they were being prosecuted in Mecca in the early days of Islam [7] (Creswell 1958, p.92).

In relation to the depiction of animal forms, many examples were discovered. Lions and eagles, for example, were found in illustrations of hunting scenes, and carved in sculptures and heraldic emblems. These emblems were transmitted by the Crusaders to Europe where they were widely copied.

4. The Nature and Form in Islamic Art

Islamic art differs from that of other cultures in its form and the materials it uses as well as in its subject and meaning. Philipps (1915), for example, thought that Eastern art, in general, is mainly concerned with colour, unlike that of western art, which is more interested in form. He described Eastern art as feminine, emotional, and a matter of colour, in contrast to Western art which he saw as masculine, intellectual, and based on plastic forms which disregarded colour. Of course this reflected Philipps’ cultural and artistic bias. Art in Islam never lacked intellectualism even in its simplest forms.

The invitation to observe and learn is found in both revealed and hidden messages in all its forms. Bourgoin (1879), on the other hand, compared the art forms of Greek, Japanese and Islamic cultures and classified them into three categories involving animal, vegetal, and mineral respectively. In his view, Greek art emphasised proportion and plastic forms, and the characteristics of human and animal bodies. Japanese art, on the other hand, developed vegetal attributes relating to the principle of growth and the beauty of leaves and branches. However, Islamic art is characterised by an analogy between geometrical design and crystal forms of certain minerals. The main difference between it and the art of other cultures is that it concentrates on pure abstract forms as opposed to the representation of natural objects. These forms take various shapes and patterns. Prisse (1878) classified them into three types, floral, geometrical and calligraphic. Another classification was suggested by Bourgoin (1873) involving ornamental stalactites, geometrical arabesque, and other forms. For our decorative interest, we concentrate on the three forms suggested by Prisse, which appear, either alone or together, in most media, such as ceramics, pottery, stucco or textile.

Figure 1: Detail of a floral decoration in the Dome of the Rock Mosque.

5. Vegetal and Floral art

Although, Muslim art was not, of course, developed independently of influences from nature and the environment, their representation was abstract rather than realistic, as in Western art. This is seen clearly in vegetal forms where plant branches, leaves, and flowers were woven and interlaced into and often not distinguished, from the geometrical lines around them as seen in the arabesque. The use of vegetal forms in Islamic art is also conditioned to some extent by the Islamic prohibition of the imitation of living creatures. However, this interdiction naturally decreases with the descent from human to animal to vegetable forms. Art critics describe the floral depictions and ornaments of the artists of Islam as conventional; lacking the effects of growth and the creation of life (Dobree 1920). In their opinion, the reason behind the absence of growth was due to the natural environment of the Muslim countries, where the experience of spring, the season of plant growth is fleeting. However, the religious prohibition mentioned above was behind the absence of lifelike creation in much of the Islamic floral art.

Figure 2: Illustration of a tree in a landscape decoration in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.

In the Dome of the Rock and the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, which contain the earliest examples of Islamic vegetal art, we find more realistic depictions of plants and trees, but these examples, as noted earlier, are regarded as Byzantine work for the Umayyad patrons. In contrast, the vegetal decoration in Samarra Mosque (Iraq) shows how artists, in contrast, deliberately reproduced the vine leaves and branches in an abstract form. However, by the 13th century a more realistic approach gradually gained ground in Muslim Persia and Turkey, influenced by the Chinese and the Mongols (Al-Ulfi, 1969, p.114).

The Muslims used foliage with great delicacy especially around the arches and windows. The stucco borders used in the mausoleum of the Ayyubid Sultan Qalawun, built in Cairo (Egypt) in 1284/85, consisted of buds and leaves arranged in a continuous scroll pattern. The mausoleum also contained examples of other floral illustrations set in rectangular and circular panels, a feature which became particularly popular in the 15th century (Poole, 1886). The use of this type of art extended to many ornamental objects, such as pottery, and wood and leather carving as well as coloured tiles.

6. Geometrical Art

The second element of Islamic art involves geometrical patterns. The artists used and developed geometrical art for two main reasons. The first reason is that it provided an alternative to the prohibited depiction of living creatures. Abstract geometrical forms were particularly favoured in mosques because they encourage spiritual contemplation, in contrast to portrayals of living creatures, which divert attention to the desires of creatures rather than the will of God. Thus geometry became central to the art of the Muslim World, allowing artists to free their imagination and creativity. A new form of art, based wholly on mathematical shapes and forms, such as circles, squares and triangles, emerged.

The second reason for the evolution of geometrical art was the sophistication and popularity of the science of geometry in the Muslim world. The recently discovered Topkapi Scrolls [8], dating from the 15th century, illustrate the systematic use of geometry by Muslim artists and architects (see Gülru, 1995). They also show that early Muslim craftsmen developed theoretical rules for the use of aesthetic geometry, denying the claims of some Orientalists that Islamic geometrical art was developed by accident (e.g. H. Saladin 1899).

This geometrical art is very much connected to the famous concept of the arabesque, which is defined as “ornamental work used for flat surfaces consisting of interlacing geometrical patterns of polygons, circles, and interlocked lines and curves” (Chambers Science and Technology Dictionary 1991).

Figure 3: Floral Arabesque covering the interior of the dome of Masjid-i Shah Mosque, Isfahan (1611­1616).

The arabesque pattern is composed of many units joined and interlaced together, flowing from each other in all directions. Each unit, although it is independent and complete and can stand alone, forms part of the whole design; a note in the general rhythm of the pattern (Al-Faruqi 1973). The most common use of arabesque is decorative, consisting mainly of a two dimensional pattern, covering surfaces such as ceilings, walls, carpets, furniture, and textiles. From his study of 200 examples, Bourgoin (1879) concluded that this style of art required a considerable knowledge of practical geometry, which its practitioners must have had. In his view, the arabesque design is built up on a system of articulation and orbiculation and is ultimately capable of being reduced to one of nine simple polygonal elements. The pattern may be built up of rectilinear lines, curvilinear lines, or both combined together, producing a cusped or foliated effect. It is reported that Leonardo da Vinci found Arabesque fascinating and used to spend considerable time working out complicated patterns (Briggs, 1924, p.178).

Arabesque can also be floral, using a stalk, leaf, or flower (tawriq) as its artistic medium, or a combination of both floral and geometric patterns. The expression embodied in its interlacing pattern, cohesive movement, gravity, mass, and volume signifies infinity and produces a contemplative feeling in the spectator leading him slowly into the depth of the Divine presence (Al-Alfi 1969). Dobree (1920) explained the impact of Arabesque art as follows:

“Arabesque strives, not to concentrate the attention upon any definite object, to liven and quicken the appreciative faculties, but to diffuse them. It is centrifugal, and leads to a kind of abstraction, a kind of self-hypnotism even, so that the devotee kneeling towards Makkah can bemuse himself in the maze of regular patterning that confront shim, and free his mind from all connection with bodily and earthly things” (quoted in Briggs1924, p.175).

It is clearly evident that much of the credit for the development and the popularity of geometrical art goes to the artists of the Islamic world, although its origins are still debated. Claims have been made that primitive geometrical decoration was used in Ancient Egypt as well as in Mesopotamia, Persia, Syria, and India. The star pattern, for example, was widely used by the Copts of Egypt (Gayet, 1893), but the artists of the world of Islam were its all time masters.

Figure 4: Kufic Lettering (from Al-Jiburi, 1974).

7. Calligraphy

The third decorative form of art developed in Islamic culture was calligraphy, which consists of the use of artistic lettering, sometimes combined with geometrical and natural forms. As in other forms of Islamic art, Western scholars attempted to relate calligraphy to the lettering art of other cultures. The decorative use of letters in both China and Japan seem to be an area of interest to them. Theories claiming that the development of Islamic calligraphy was influenced by the Chinese, dubiously based on the pottery found in old Cairo (Al-Fustat), seem to be absurd (Christie, 1922). The lack of any substantiated proof is clear evidence as are the wide differences between the two languages in the way and the direction they are written. The suggestion of any link between Islamic calligraphy and ancient is also inconceivable. It is true that the ancient Egyptians widely used hieroglyphics on wall paintings, but these had no decorative purpose (Briggs 1924, p.179).

Figure 5: Kufic calligraphy combined with floral and geometrical decoration with intersecting horseshoe arches. Plate on Cordoba Mosque façade.

The development of calligraphy as a decorative art was due to a number of factors. The first of these is the importance which Muslims attach to their Holy Book, the Qur’an, which promises divine blessings to those who read and write it down. The pen, a symbol of knowledge, is given a special significance by the verse:

“Read! Your Lord is the Most Bounteous, Who has taught the use of the pen, taught man what he did not know” (Qur’an 96:3-5).

This indicates that the aim of Islamic calligraphy was not merely to provide decoration but also to worship and remember Allah. The Qur’anic verses mostly used are those which are said in the act of worship [9], or contain supplications, or describe some of the characters of Allah, or his Prophet Muhammad. Calligraphy is also used on dedication stones to record the foundation of some key Islamic buildings. In this case, a man is referred to as the founder, often a Caliph or an Emir, but he was consciously described as poor to Godor Slave of God, a reminder of his position before Allah.

The second factor behind the appearance of Arabic calligraphy is attached to the importance of the Arabic language in Islam. The use of Arabic is compulsory in prayers and it is the language of the Qur’an and the language of Paradise (see Rice, 1979). Furthermore, the Arabs have always attached a considerable importance to writing, emanating from their appreciation of literature and poetry. It is reported that the Prophet Muhammad said:

“Seek nice writing for it is one of the keys of subsistence” and the fourth Caliph, Ali commented on calligraphy as:

“The beautiful writing strengthens the clarity of righteousness”
(both quotes from Al-Jaburi 1974).

In addition, the mystic power attributed to some words, names and sentences as protections against evil also contributed to the development of calligraphy and its popularisation.

Arabic calligraphy was mostly written in two scripts [10]. The first is the Kufic script, whose name is derived from the city of Kufa, where it was invented by scribes engaged in the transcription of the Qur’an who set up a famous school of writing [11]. The letters of this script have a rectangular form, which made them well suited to architectural use.

Figure 6: Transcript of Naskhi calligraphy by Mahmud Yazre.

The other script of Arabic calligraphy is known as Naskhi. This style of Arabic writing is older than Kufic, yet it resembles the characters used by modern Arabic writing and printing. It is characterised by a round and cursive shape to its letters. The Naskhi calligraphy became more popular than Kufic and was substantially developed by the Ottomans (Al-Jaburi 1974).

8. Influence of Islamic Art in the West

In general, the diffusion of the Islamic art motifs to Europe and the rest of the world occurred in three different ways. The first of these was direct imitation through the reproduction of the same theme in the same type of medium. For example, an artistic theme (or themes) in an Islamic ceramic could have been reproduced in a European ceramic. There are a multitude of examples of this kind of imitation. Perhaps the most widely acknowledged ones are the many instances of copying of Kufic inscriptions in Medieval and Renaissance European art. According to Christie (1922), Kufic inscriptions in the Ibn Tulun Mosque, built in Cairo in 879, were reproduced in Gothic art first in France, then in the rest of Europe. Lethaby (1904) also attributed to the carved pattern of wooden doors in a chapel of the Cathedral of Le Puy (France), and of another door in the church of la Vaute Chillac nearby, which were made by the Master carver “Gan Fredus”. This connection is attributed to the special relationship Amalfi had with Fatimid Cairo at that time. Amalfitan traders visiting Cairo were believed to be responsible for the transmission of these motifs to Europe.

Figure 7: Tiles in the Alhambra Palace showing geometrical Decorations and Naskhi Calligraphy, Granada, Spain.

Male (1928) found traces of Islamic influence in many religious buildings of Southern France, in the region known as the Midi. The list of Islamic motifs, which he collated from these buildings, included horseshoe and multifoil arches and polychromy. Male believed they were copied from Andalusia. Islamic influences were also traced in Westminster Abbey in London, in bands of ornaments in the retable as well as in the earlier stained glass windows (Lethaby 1904). This was not all. Motifs such as the eight pointed star, the stalactite, the Ottoman flower (tulip and carnation) and Alhambra geometrical and colour schemes are only a few items that form an essential part of most European works of art (see Fikri 1934) [12]. In addition, it is widely held that Gothic geometrical medallions such as polyfoil, quatrefoil or the foliated square were also of Islamic origin (Marcais, 1945).

The second way Islamic art motifs were transferred to Europe was through the transposition of source or media. In this case, an Islamic theme in a particular medium was reproduced in a European work of art in a different type of medium. For example, a theme in an Islamic ceramic work could have been reproduced in European furniture, textile, sculpture and so on. Examples of this type of transfer are once again very extensive, and we cannot cover them all here. The example of arabesque must suffice. According to Ward (1967), the fertilisation of European ornamental art during the Renaissance (16th century) was at the hands of arabesque. Arabesque and other Islamic geometrical patterns invaded European salons, living rooms, and public reception halls.

Figure 8: View of Al-Azhar mosque courtyard in Cairo.

The third way of transfer is the most difficult to explain. Here, the motif was not copied or reproduced but gradually inspired the development of a particular style or fashion of art. There is increasing evidence that Islamic art, and the arabesque in particular, was the inspiration for both the European Rococo and Baroque styles which were popular in Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries (Jairazbhoy, 1965). The Rococo style consisted of light curvilinear decoration composed of abstract sinuosities such as scrolls, interlacing lines and arabesque designs. It was developed in France in the 18th century, and later spread to Germany and Austria. The germ of this style is found in the Islamic Aljaferia Palace (also known as Hudid Palace), built in northern Spain in the 11th century, where a number of blind arches and squinches in a style very similar to Rococo decorate its small mosque (Jairazbhoy, 1973). Other examples of this early “Islamic Rococo” are found in the Great Mosque of Tlemcen, Algeria, which was built in 1136.

Baroque architecture has also been traced back to an Islamic origin. According to some sources (for example Jairazbhoy 1965), the word “baroque” is ultimately derived from the Arabic word of burga, meaning “uneven surface”, which was the source of the word barrocco in Portuguese, which meant “irregularly shaped pearl”.

Figure 9: Decorative arcade in Aljaferia showing elements that later inspired the Baroque style.

Muslims used motifs such as curviangular arches and squinches, which characterise the Baroque style, in their decorative art as early as the 12th century. They became especially popular under the Almoravid rulers (al-Murabitunin Arabic) who ruled North Africa and Andalusia between 1062 and 1150.

Figure 10: Northern entrance of the Ulu Cami Hospital (13th century) showing a close up view of “Baroque” features.

In addition to the above, a more complicated decorative style, consisting of a combination of multifoil arches intersecting with one another like a screen mesh, is found in the Aljaferia Palace as well as in mosques of Tlemcen (1136) and Qarawiyyin, built in Morocco between 1135 and 1143. Another example is the Ulu Cami Hospital in Divrighi, Turkey, completed in 1229, which shows a remarkable resemblance to Baroque in its ornamentation and décor, even though it predates it by four hundred years.

9. Conclusion

The main objective of this paper has been to emphasise the uniqueness of Islamic art, which was defined by religious beliefs and cultural values prohibiting the depiction of living creatures including humans. The other most important feature is the absence of religious representation. In Islam, worship is due only to God, a feature common to many cultures, although they approach it in different manners. Art critics propound the neutrality of Islamic art, which made it easily adaptable to these cultures. Due perhaps due to its geographic proximity and religious “common ground”, no other culture was more exposed to the themes and motifs of Islamic art than the European. Despite their differences, Islam and Christianity share most of their fundamental beliefs which are connected to the same God, the same origin (of the message), and sometimes the same moral message. It is not surprising that vestiges of Islamic art were repeatedly traced in major European artworks, a fact which denotes its significance in the historical development of European art.

10. References

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• Gulru, Necipoglu, et.al. (1995). The Topkapi Scroll: Geometry and Ornament in Islamic Architecture. Geny Research Institute.
• Poole, L. (1886). Saracenic Art. London.
• Prisse d’Avennes (1878). L’Art Arabe d’après les monuments du Caire. Morel, Paris.
• Read, R. (1937). Art and Society. Heinemann, London.
• Read, H. (I 949). The Meaning of Art. Penguin Books, London.
• Saladin, H. (1899). La Grande Mosquée de Kairawan. Paris.
• Rice, D.T. (1979). Islamic Art. Tharnes & Hudson, Norwich.
• Von Grünebaum, G. E. (1955). “Idéologie musulmane et esthétique arabe”, Studia Islamica, vol. 3, Larose, Paris, pp. 5-23.
• Walker, P. M. B. (editor), (1990), Chambers Science and Technology Dictionary. Chambers Harrap Publishers, Hardcover.

Footnotes

[1] Notably R. Ettinghaussen, E. Herzfeld, K. A. C. Creswell, and A. Grabar.

[2] Reigned between (685-705).

[3] Reigned between (705-715).

[4] Until the time of Ibn Zubayr, who ruled Makkah between 678-693, The Kaabah was adorned with the horns of the ram sacrificed by the Prophet Ibrahim, in place of his son Ismail. The Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Kahttab also hung there two crescent shaped ornaments from the Persian Capital, Al-Madain. Most of the successive Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphs also sent precious items to the Kaabah as gifts, to decorate the House of Allah.

[5] Read (1937), for example, talked about environmental determinism in art. He argued that there are two main approaches to artistic expression: organic and geometric. The former appears mainly in areas of natural beauty and favourable environment. In this case, the artist is more attracted to depicting beautiful landscapes, seashores, plants, animals and humans. Geometric art, on the other hand, appears in societies of harsh natural and environmental conditions such as deserts or tundra.

[6] Although no reference to their prohibition is found in the Qur’an, a number of authentic sayings of the Prophet Muhammad did forbid them. An example of this is the Hadith reported by Muslim who narrated that Ibn Abbas: “I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: ‘All those who paint pictures will be in the Fire of Hell. The soul will be breathed in every picture prepared by the man and it punishes them in Hell” (Narrated by Muslim, 3945). Muslim scholars have different views on this matter. Some of them, especially those from the Shia school of thought permit the imaging of living beings. Others, such as Mohammed Abdu, allow imagery and photography as long they do not conflict with one’s beliefs or worship. Al-Ulfi (1969) reported that he said of photography: “In general I am inclined to think that Islamic law (Shariah) does not forbid one of the best means of learning, especially if it does not conflict with the Islamic beliefs and worship” (see Al-Ulfi, 1969, p.84).

[7] It is believed that he converted to Islam. It was reported that on hearing about his death, the Prophet Muhammad performed prayers for his soul.

[8] The scrolls, thought to be a Timurid manuscript, contain 114 individual geometric patterns for wall surfaces and vaulting.

[9] Surah Al-Fatiha, for example, is particularly favoured since it is the opening of the Qur’an and is said in all prayers.

[10] From these two main styles, a number of other sub-styles emerged as calligraphers introduced new modifications to the original style. The most familiar ones are Thuluth, Al-Rakaa, Al-Diwany, Jali Diwany, and Persain.

[11] According to Al-Jaburi (1974), after the establishment of Kufa, some Yemeni tribes who knew an early form of this lettering style settled there. This style attained its complete shape under the reign of the fourth Caliph (Ali), between 657 and 661, who was a calligrapher himself.

[12] This excellent PhD thesis published by A.Fikri was devoted to the influence of Islamic art and architecture on southern France, particularly in the Auvergne region.

*Dr Rabah Saud wrote this article for www.MuslimHeritage.com when he was a researcher at FSTC in Manchester. He is now Assistant Professor at the University of Ajman, Ajman, UAE.

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New Discoveries in the Islamic Complex of Mathematics, Architecture and Art

by Salim Al-HassaniPublished on: 13th August 2009

The complex of disciplines composed of mathematics, architecture and art in Islamic civilisation has been an important field of recent research. The scholars showed the interaction between mathematical reflexion and procedures and their implementation in designing concrete and symbolic forms in buildings, decoration and design. Furthermore, recent scholarship pointed out the amazing progress that this marriage brought about in prefiguring outstanding mathematical results that scientists proved only in late 20th century. In the following survey, Professor Salim Al-Hassani explores the various facets of this exciting subject that is still full of discoveries to come. By drawing attention to the ongoing debates in scholarly circles among physicicts, mathematicians and historians of science, art and architecture, he shows how the connection between theoretical and applied mathematics was fruitful and creative in the Islamic tradition

Note of the editor

This essay is a revised and expanded version of a lecture presented at the 28th Annual Conference on the History of Arabic Sciences organised by the Institute for the History of Arabic Sciences, Aleppo University, Aleppo, Syria, in 25-27 April 2007. It was submitted for publication in the proceedings of the conference.

***

Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Geometry at the basis of Islamic architectural decoration
3. The ‘Muqarnas’ Project
4. Conflicting Views on Mathematical Islamic Art
4.1. Dr Zohor Idrisi’s View
4.2. Professor George Saliba’s View
5. The Work of Alpay Özdural
6. Combination of Mathematics, Astronomy, Art and Architecture
7. Conclusion
8. Bibliography and Resources

***

1. Introduction

“Sophisticated geometry in Islamic architecture”, “Geometry meets artistry in medieval tile work”, “Geometry meets Arts in Islamic tiles”. These were some of the headlines we saw in February 2007 in the main news agencies and science dispatches giving coverage to an exciting discovery published by two American scholars, Peter J. Lu and Paul J. Steinhardt (respectively from the Department of Physics at Princeton and Harvard universities).[1] The discovery is “that medieval Islamic artists produced intricate decorative patterns using geometrical techniques that were not understood by Western mathematics until the second half of the 20th century”. The combinations of ornate stars and polygons that have adorned mosques and palaces since the 15th century were created using a set of just five template tiles, which could generate patterns with a kind of symmetry that eluded formal mathematical description for another 500 years. The authors suggest that the Islamic artisans who created these typical girih[2] designs had an intuitive understanding of highly complex mathematical concepts. They also suggest that these could be proof of a major role of mathematics in medieval Islamic art or it could have been just a way for artisans to construct their art more easily.

Girih designs feature arrays of tessellating polygons of multiple shapes, and are often overlaid with a zigzag network of lines. It had been assumed that straightedge rulers and compasses were used to create them — an exceptionally difficult process as each shape must be precisely drawn. From the 15th century, however, some of these designs are symmetrical in a way known today as “quasi-crystalline”. Such forms have either fivefold or tenfold rotational symmetry — meaning they can be rotated to either five or ten positions that look the same — and their patterns can be infinitely extended without repetition. The principles behind quasi-crystalline symmetry were calculated by the Oxford mathematician Roger Penrose in the 1970s, but it is now clear that Islamic artists were creating them more than five centuries earlier.

The present paper reviews this discovery and discusses related literature on the subject of mathematics and arts in Muslim heritage. In particular, it accounts the related works of:

1. Alpay Özdural who showed how such geometrical patterns were used to solve cubic algebraic equations and also used the manuscript of Abu’l-Wafa and other mathematical Islamic mathematical treatises as evidence that mathematicians instructed artisans,

2. Gülru Necipoglu who discussed geometry, muqarnas and the contribution of the mathematical sciences and

3. George Saliba who presented critical arguments against some of the derived conclusions.

4. Zohor Idrisi who belives that ongoing work on Islamic tiles lacks the essential historical context that is required to inform the reader of how and when these mathematical techniques developed.

It is hoped that this review paper will bring to life the debate on the subject of Mathematics and Islamic Art and Architecture.

2. Geometry at the basis of Islamic architectural decoration

A study of medieval Islamic art has shown that some of its geometric patterns use principles established only centuries later by modern mathematicians. In particular, recent research has provided the ground for the astonishing claim that 15th century Muslim architects and artists used techniques inspired by what mathematicians nowadays call “quasicrystalline geometry”. This indicates intuitive understanding of complex mathematical formulae, even if the artisans had not worked out the underlying theory.

Figure 1: A computer reconstruction of the quasicrystalline patterns of the Darb-i Imam shrine (Isfahan, Iran), which was built in 1453 (Science Magazine, vol. 315, n° 1106, 2007).

The discovery was published in the journal Science in February 2007 by Paul J. Steinhardt and Peter J. Lu.[3] The research shows that an important breakthrough had occurred in Islamic mathematics and design by 1200. The core of the discovery claims that Muslim architects of central Asia made tilings that reflected mathematics, they were so sophisticated that they were only figured out in the last decades of our age.

The similarity between ancient Islamic designs and contemporary quasicrystalline geometry lies in the fact that both use symmetrical polygonal shapes to create patterns that can be extended indefinitely. Until now, the conventional view was that the complicated star-and-polygon patterns of Islamic design were conceived as zigzagging lines drafted using straightedge rulers and compasses.

With this discovery, one can conclude that the combinations of ornate stars and polygons that have adorned mosques and palaces since the 15th century were created using a set of just five template tiles, which could generate patterns with a kind of symmetry that eluded formal mathematical description for another 500 years.

The discovery suggests that the Islamic artisans who created these typical girih designs had an intuitive understanding of highly complex mathematical concepts. “We can’t say for sure what it means,” says Lu, a graduate student in physics at Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. “It could be proof of a major role of mathematics in medieval Islamic art or it could have been just a way for artisans to construct their art more easily. It would be incredible if it were all coincidence, though. At the very least, it shows us a culture that we often don’t credit enough was far more advanced than we ever thought before.” [4]

  
Figure 2A & 2B: Girih tile reconstruction of the strapwork pattern on an interior archway in the Sultan’s Lodge in the Green Mosque in Bursa, Turkey. Adapted from Science Magazine, vol. 315, n° 1106, 2007) and Hamish Johnston, “Islamic quasicrystals’ predate Penrose tiles“, Physicsworld.com, Feb 22, 2007

Girih designs feature arrays of tessellating polygons of multiple shapes, and are often overlaid with a zigzag network of lines. It had been assumed that straightedge rulers and compasses were used to create them — an exceptionally difficult process as each shape must be precisely drawn. From the 15th century, however, some of these designs are symmetrical in a way known today as “quasi-crystalline”. Such forms have either fivefold or tenfold rotational symmetry — meaning they can be rotated to either five or ten positions that look the same — and their patterns can be infinitely extended without repetition. The principles behind quasi-crystalline symmetry were calculated by the Oxford mathematician Roger Penrose in the 1970s, but it is now clear that Islamic artists were creating them more than 500 years earlier.

Peter Lu, one of the authors of this discovery, began wondering whether there were quasi-crystalline forms in Islamic art after seeing decagonal artworks in Uzbekistan, while he was there for professional reasons. On returning to Harvard, he started searching the university’s vast library of Islamic art for quasi-crystalline designs. He found several, as well as architectural scrolls that contained the outlines of five polygon templates — a ten-sided decagon, a hexagon, a pentagon, a rhombus and a bow-tie shape — that can be combined and overlaid to create such patterns.

In keeping with the Islamic tradition of not depicting images of people or animals, many religious buildings were decorated with geometric star-and-polygon patterns, often overlaid with a zigzag network of lines. Lu and Steinhardt show in their study published in the journal Science that by the 13th century Islamic artisans had begun producing patterns using a small set of decorated, polygonal tiles which they call “girih” tiles.

Figure 3: Periodicgirih pattern from the Seljuk Mama Hatun Mausoleum in Tercan, Turkey (~1200 CE), with girih-tile reconstruction overlaid at bottom.

Art historians have until now assumed that the intricate tile work had been created using straight edges and compasses, but the study suggests that Muslim artisans were using a basic toolkit of girih tiles made up of shapes such as the decagon, pentagon, diamond and hexagon.

“Straight edges and compasses work fine for the recurring symmetries of the simplest patterns we see, but it probably required far more powerful tools to fully explain the elaborate tiling with decagonal [10-sided] symmetry,” P. J. Lu said, quoted by the journal The Independent on 25 February 2007. He adds that “individually placing and drafting hundreds of decagons with a straight edge would have been exceedingly cumbersome. It’s more likely these artisans used particular tiles that we’ve found by decomposing the artwork”.[5]

The scientists found that by 1453, Islamic architects had created overlapping patterns with girih tiles at two sites to produce near-perfect quasi-crystalline patterns that did not repeat themselves. “The fact that we can explain so many sets of tiling, from such a wide range of architectural structures throughout the Islamic world with the same set of tiles, makes this an incredibly interesting universal picture,” P. J. Lu said.[6]

With this result, despite the debate that surrounded it in scholarly circles, we can see that very important discoveries in the Islamic scientific tradition are still to come, and that with the continuing research in different sources, including those of material remains of Muslim civilisation, the picture of our knowledge may be enriched and even changed dramatically.

3. The ‘Muqarnas’ Project

As a background to the present day research on Islamic architecture as a conjunction of mathematics, arts and practical knowledge, we can mention the ongoing work on the Muqarnas. A Muqarnas is a type of corbel used as a decorative device in traditional Islamic architecture. The term is the Arabic word for stalactite vault, an architectural ornament developed around the middle of the 10th century in north eastern Iran and almost simultaneously, but apparently independently, in central North Africa. A Muqarnas is a three-dimensional architectural decoration composed of niche like elements arranged in tiers. The two-dimensional projection of a Muqarnas vault consists of a small variety of simple geometrical elements. Excellent examples can be found in the Alhambra in Granada, and in the mausoleum of Sultan Qaitbay in Cairo.[7]

        
Figures 4: The iwans that surround the courtyard of Masjid-i-Jame in Isfahan consist of three Muqarnas, each giving different impressions: (4A) the southern Muqarnas, occupying a frontal position facing the courtyard, has an apex made up of 8 segments, suggesting a primitive strength; (4B)the eastern Muqarnas, with its 11-segmented apex, is complex and not aesthetically pleasing. 

(4C) the western Muqarnas has a 5-segment apex, and displays an elegant form such as that seen in Hakuho sculptures.(Source).

The singular beauty of the Muqarnas has been reported by travellers throughout history. Their descriptions, however, are no more than brief introductions, and many details remain unclear. In his work on such architectural ornaments, Shiro Takahashi created exact drawings of many varieties of Muqarnas, classifying them into types in an attempt to clarify the formative styles of Muqarnas.[8]

On the other hand, scholars from Heidelberg University in Germany, led by Yvonne Dold-Samplonius, designed The Muqaras Project aimed at the study of Muqarnas tradition in Islamic architecture. The project is entitled: Mathematical Concepts and Computer Graphics for the Reconstruction of Stalactite Vaults – Muqarnas – in Islamic Architecture.[9]

The focus in this project is laid on two main points. One is that, from the late 11th century on, all Muslim lands adopted and developed the Muqarnas, which was widely used in constructions. The second and far more important point is that, from the moment of its first appearance, the Muqarnas acquired four characteristic attributes, whose evolution and characteristics form its history: it was three-dimensional and therefore provided volume wherever it was used, the nature and depth of the volume being left to the discretion of the maker; it could be used both as an architectonic form, because of its relationship to vaults, and as an applied ornament, because its depth could be controlled; it had no intrinsic limits, since not one of its elements is a finite unit of composition and there is no logical or mathematical limitation to the scale of any one composition; and it was a three-dimensional unit which could be resolved into a two-dimensional outline.

    
Figures 5: Muqarnas drawings in The Topkapi Scroll, the best preserved example of its kind, displaying geometry and ornament of Islamic architecture: (5A) Vault fragment with black-dotted polygonal grid lines, triangular one-twentieth repeat unit of a decagonal vault, and fan-shaped radial Muqarnas quarter vault; (5B) Fan-shaped radial muqarnas quarter vault, and shell-shaped radial muqarnas quarter vault; (5C) Fan-shaped radial muqarnas quarter vault, rhombodial one-eight repeat unit of an octagonal fan-shaped radial muqarnas quarter vault, fan-shaped radial muqarnas quarter vault, and rectangular repeat unit of stellate Muqarnas fragment. (Source). 

“The muqarnas is a ceiling like a staircase with facets and a flat roof. Every facet intersects the adjacent one at either a right angle, or half a right angle, or their sum, or another combination of these two. The two facets can be thought of as standing on a plane parallel to the horizon. Above them is built either a flat surface, not parallel to the horizon, or two surfaces, either flat or curved, that constitute their roof. Both facets together with their roof are called one cell. Adjacent cells, which have their bases on one and the same surface parallel to the horizon, are called one tier.” [10]The work of the group is based on the analysis made by Yvonne Dold-Samplonius of the mathematical work of the 15th century Timurid mathematician Ghiyath al-Din Mas’ud al-Kashi (ca. 1380-1429). Al-Kashi defines the Muqarnas as:

Building on the classification of different varieties of Muqarnas by al-Kashi, the project analyses the intermediate elements which connect the roofs of adjacent cells. In this sense, al-Kashi distinguishes four types of Muqarnas: The Simple Muqarnas and the Clay-plastered Muqarnas, both with plane facets and roofs, as well as the Curved Muqarnas, or Arch, and the Shirazi, in which the roofs of the cells and the intermediate elements are curved. The plane projection of a simple element (either cell or intermediate element) is a basic geometrical form , namely a square, half-square (cut along the diagonal), rhombus, half-rhombus (isosceles triangle with as base the shorter diagonal of the rhombus), almond (deltoid), jug (quarter octagon), and large biped (complement to a jug), and small biped (complement to an almond). Also rectangles occur.

The elements are constructed according to the same unit of measure, so they fit together in a wide variety of combinations. Al-Kashi uses in his computation the module of the Muqarnas, defined as the base of the largest facet (the side of the square) as a basis for all proportions.

The Muqarnas is used in large domes, in smaller cupola, in niches, on arches, and as an almost flat decorative frieze. In each instance the module as well as the depth of the composition is different and adapts to the size of the area involved or to the required purpose. The Muqarnas is at the same time a linear system and an organization of masses.[11]

   
Figures 6: South octagon vault of the Takht-i Suleyman (Throne of Salomon), the ruins of which are situated ca. 30 km North of Takab, N.W. of Tehran. Takht-i Suleyman was a palace built in the 13th century by the Ilkhanid ruler Abaqa (1265-1281). In the ruins of the western part of the palace a plate has been found, which was recognized as a construction plan for a Muqarnas vault. In analogy to this plan, the scholars of The Muqarnas Project at Heidelberg University in Germany proposed a possible plan to reconstruct the much simpler south octagon vault. (Source).

Departing from the existence of a lot of ground plans of existing Muqarnas, some of these 3D-vaults are still in good shape, others broke down and have to be reconstructed from their plans; but even in many cases such plans do not exist any more. The Muqarnas Project mentioned above intends to convert existing Muqarnas plans into the computer in such a way that their properties can be analyzed (what kind of elements occur, which elements can be connected and how, what are the possible heights of the succeeding tiers, what about regional differences, cultural differences, differences in time, and so forth). In addition, the inherent aim to such an investigation is to build a computer program that is able to answer these questions on Muqarnas plans automatically. The obvious material to start with, according to the scholars of this project, are the Illkhanid Muqarnas plans.[12] These plans can be compared with existing architecture and thus show limitations in computer possibilities.

In the second stage, the scholars are inclined to apply these methods on plans which are not known to have been realized, such as those recorded in the Topkapi Scroll. With all this knowledge in hand, it will be possible to apply these methods for different purposes, such as reconstructing Muqarnas vaults in ruins (like for instance in Varamin, Iran), or to produce short videos tapes on Muqarnas to be used for teaching.[13]

4. Conflicting Views on Mathematical Islamic Art

The subject of the influence of mathematicians on the artisans is a hotly debated subject which requires scholarly resolution. Recently, the author of this article consulted colleagues on this subject and in particular asked their views on the recent discoveries of Lu and Steinhardt. I give below the views of two contemporary scholars, Dr Zohor Idrisi and Prof. George Saliba. In addition, I account briefly of the tantalizing work achieved by the late Alpay Özdural.

4.1. Dr Zohor Idrisi’s View

Dr. Idrisi considers that we should not jump too quickly into claiming the ground breaking character of the ongoing work on tiling, tessellating and crystallography. This subject is far removed from Greek style elementary geometry. For mathematicians, the work on tiling is a real nightmare as it is a highly specialised field that industry has been researching ever since the 1970s with the work of Penrose.[14]

Scholars, such as Branko Grünbau[15] (from the University of Washington in Seattle), had worked intensively on the subject of tiling before P. J. Lu and P. J. Setinheardt published their article recently. Surprisingly though, Grünbaum’s work is coloured by the view point he expresses being that the Muslims did not understand the mathematics of their artistic work. It is interesting to note that several of the press reviews accounting of P. J. Lu and P. J. Setinheardt’s discovery are similar to those expressed by Grünbaum.

This is why Dr. Idrisi stresses that without doubt this discovery is a fascinating one for a mathematician, but the ongoing work on Islamic tiles lacks the essential historical context that is required to inform the reader of how and when these mathematical techniques developed.

4.2. Professor George Saliba’s View

Referring to the breakthrough the Harvard/Princeton scientists that already stormed the public media, Professor Saliba[16] wrote:

“I have seen several references to that, and of course in all instances the question of the relationship between the artisans and the mathematicians is brought up.

Thanks for looking into this relationship a little closer, and for finding out that I had already written something about it quite some time ago, and for referring to the article in which I discuss this relationship in Islamic civilization.[17] I hope this article is read carefully as it should constitute a good warning to those who jump to conclusions way too quickly. History does not work in that fashion, and I for one do not believe, nor can I defend a statement that says that artisans have achieved a breakthrough in the 15th century, or even earlier as some accounts now speculate, that bespoke of quasi-crystalline symmetries when the very concept of crystalline structures and their geometry was not known as far as I can tell. In my article… I warn that we should stick to the exhibitable evidence, preferably textual, before we jump to conclusions on how to interpret artistic designs, no matter how tempting the process of “discovering” breakthroughs is. The warning should be heeded especially when we are always accused of tooting our own horns way too loudly, and thus loosing credibility in the process. And that is why I stick to exhibitable evidence. Not speculation.

Of what I have read so far, the authors of the “discovery” of the breakthrough do not even claim that there was an exhibitable connection between the artisans’ work and the geometry of quasi-crystalline symmetries, and admit that they are speculating, and I agree with them that Islamic civilization never received its fair share of credit. But that does not mean that artisans achieved a breakthrough, the description that gets repeated in the press all over the place, when the very concept of the structures of crystalline symmetries had not even been conceived.

One of the participants in the discussion that I have read is a physicist down at Duke, and he even uses such terms as “almost” got it, but never says that the said symmetries were actually or precisely duplicated. I pay a much closer attention to this innocuous “almost”, just as much as Abu al-Wafa’ al-Buzjani did when he evaluated the artisans’ work of his time. They also “almost” got it.

I withhold comments on the subject until I find the textual evidence I argued for in my article.”

5. The Work of Alpay Özdural

In the work of another scholar, the research on the Islamic complex of mathematics, architecture and art was conducted in another direction. Indeed, recently, Alpay Özdural, a scholar from the Eastern Mediterranean University in North Cyprus, carried on investigations the results of which he published in a series of articles.[18] Unfortunately, the early passing away on 22 February 2003 of this brilliant scholar has put an end to this wave of promising research.

Figure 7: Constructions 37 (left) and 42 (right) reconstructed by Alpay Özdural from the anonymous work On Interlocks of Similar or Corresponding Figures (Fi tadakhul al-ashkal al-mutashabiha aw al-mutawafiqa) (ca. 1300).

In one of his articles, Özdural draws conclusions from the analysis of two mathematical sources, On the Geometric Constructions Necessary for the Artisan (Kitab fima yahtaju ilayhi al-saani’ min al-a’mal al-handasiya) by Abu ‘l-Waf al-Buzjani (ca. 940-998), and an anonymous work, On Interlocks of Similar or Corresponding Figures (Fi tadakhul al-ashkal al-mutashabiha aw al-mutawafiqa) (ca. 1300).[19] These sources provide us with insight into the collaboration between mathematicians and artisans in the Islamic world. Studying this connection, the author presents a series of quotations from these two sources, which show that mathematicians taught geometry to artisans by means of cut-and-paste methods and of geometrical figures that had the potential of being used for ornamental purposes.

Figure 8: Decorative brickwork on the northern iwan of the Esfahan’s Great Mosque showing clockwise and counterclockwise swastikas in one of the circumferential bands. (Source).

Alpay Özdural points out in particular that the anonymous work on ornamental geometry, On interlocks of similar or complementary figures, appears to be compiled by a scribe at a series of meetings between mathematicians and artisans. Some of those constructions display the highest advancements attained by Muslim mathematicians thus represent the intimate link between theory and praxis that created the intriguing and awe-inspiring ornamental patterns. For instance, three of these are in fact the solutions to problems that require cubic equations. In those times mathematicians solved the cubic equations by means of conic sections; but such solutions were only for demonstration purposes with no practical application. These three constructions in Interlocks of Figures, which records the collaboration of mathematicians and artisans, are the cases of “moving geometry,” that is to say, mechanical procedures that are equivalent to the solutions for cubic equations.[20]

The first construction is about “a right-angled triangle such that if [a length equal to the shortest side] is cut from the hypotenuse of the triangle towards the shortest side and a perpendicular is erected at the point of cutting, it cuts off the intermediate side at a point where [the distance] from it to the right angle is equal to the perpendicular itself”. The solution is achieved by trial-and-error, i.e., by moving a straightedge around a pivotal point until the required position is reached. It actually corresponds to solving the cubic equationx³ + 2x² – 2x – 2 = 0 giving a real positive value of x=1.17 approximately.

The second construction concerns again the same right triangle; but in this case joining two such triangles facing opposite directions completes the rectangular repeat unit of the ornamental pattern in question. This time the moving instrument was a prototype of the T-square. It revolves around the centre of a circle so that the solution is achieved by the intersection of two implied hyperbolas, which is equivalent to equation x³ – 3x² – x + 1 = 0. The T-square, which appears to be introduced at that particular meeting, was meant to facilitate drawing patterns that involve conic sections. After the invention of this simple drafting instrument, we can interpret by hindsight that transmission of knowledge by way of architectural drawings-mostly ground plans based on square grids-gained impetus.

The third construction consists of four right-angled triangles rotating around a central square so as to form an ornamental pattern. The special property of this triangle is that “the altitude plus the shortest side is equal to the hypotenuse.” Omar Khayyam (1048-1122), the celebrated poet-mathematician, had written a treatise on this triangle and offered the solution of equation x³ – 20x² + 20x – 2000 = 0 by means of conic sections. The solution in Interlocks of Figures was achieved again with the aid of the T-square. In this case, its sliding movement translates the solution of equation x³ – 4x² + 6x – 2 = 0 into the intersection of a circle and a parabola, by way of focus-directrix property. The triangle that Omar Khayyam had discovered has other properties; it embodies what the Greeks called “the musical proportion.” A mathematical analysis of the North Dome Chamber (constructed in 1088-89 CE) of the Great Mosque of Isfahan, reveals that its proportions were generated wholly by Omar Khayyam’s triangle, thus exemplifying the active involvement of prominent mathematicians in the great accomplishments of Islamic architecture.

6. Combination of Mathematics, Astronomy, Art and Architecture

One recent discovery reveals that Muslim architects and scientists used mathematics far beyond producing decorative patterns. This is revealed in the Divrigi Ulu mosque, one of the masterpieces of Selçuk architecture located in Sivas, Turkey. It is known for its outstanding geometric styles and botanic designs. This astonishing mosque was founded in 1228 by the Mengücekid emir, Ahmet Shah. It was built by the architect Hürremsah from Ahlat. The UNESCO recognised, is cultural significance and it placed in the World Heritage List in 1985.

Recent discoveries show that there shadows of different silhouettes appear on the carvings of the outside walls of the mosque.During the different hours of a day, four shadows appear on the walls facing different directions: the first three are the silhouettes of a man looking straight, reading a book and praying, respectively, and the last one is the silhouette of a praying woman. These remarkable features could not have been designed without the combination of mathematics, astronomy and art. Actually, before the construction of the mosque had started, the scientists observed the positions of the sun and stars for two years. After very careful calculations had been done, the results were applied in the construction of the walls and the carving of the outside doors.

  
Figure 9: Divrigi Mosque praying man shadow.

7. Conclusion

In this short paper, our aim was to review some important results of the ongoing research on the connections of mathematics, architecture and art in Muslim heritage. It is obvious that this survey is far from covering the subject as it deserves. Our hope is that, by drawing the attention to these ongoing debates in scholarly circles, in particular Arab scholars, artists, mathematicians and architects will take a serious interest in this very exciting subject.

8. Bibliography and Resources

• Ball, Philip, “Islamic tiles reveal sophisticated maths“. Published online 22 February 2007 | Nature| doi:10.1038/news070219-9.
• Baron, David,”Medieval Islamic Architecture Presages 20th-Century Mathematics“, Harvard University Gazette, February 22, 2007.
• Degeorge, Gerard, and Porter, Yves, The Art of the Islamic Tile. Paris: Flammarion, 2002.
• Hecht, Jeff,”Medieval Islamic tiling reveals mathematical savvy“, NewScientist.com, 22 February 2007.
• Henderson, Mark, “Amazing maths of the mosaic makers“, The Times (London), 23 February 2007.
• Highfield, Roger,”Islamic tilers may have led scientific field“, The Telegraph (London), 23/02/2007.
• Johnston, Hamish, “Islamic ‘Quasicrystals’ Predate Penrose tiles“, PhysicsWeb.org, 22 February 2007.
• Lu, Peter J., and Steinhardt, Paul J., “Decagonal and Quasi-crystalline Tilings in Medieval Islamic Architecture,” Science vol. 315, n° 1106 (2007): click here to download the article (in PDF); updated information and services, including high-resolution figures, can be found here.
• Lu, Peter J., and Steinhardt, Paul J., “Supporting Online Material for Decagonal and Quasi-Crystalline Tilings in Medieval Islamic Architecture”: PDF version and further materials.
• Necipoglu, Gülru 1995. The Topkapi Scroll. Geometry and Ornament in Islamic Architecture. Santa Monica CA: The Getty Center for the History of Arts and the Humanities.
• Minkel, J. R., “Islamic Artisans Constructed Exotic Non-repeating Pattern 500 Years Before Mathematicians“, Scientific American online , February 22, 2007.
• Özdural, Alpay, “Omar Khayyam, Mathematicians and Conversazioni with Artisans.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians vol 54 (1995): pp. 54-71
• Özdural, Alpay, “On Interlocking Similar or Corresponding Figures and Ornamental Patterns of Cubic Equations.” Muqarnas vol. 13 (1996): pp. 191-211
• Özdural, Alpay, “A Mathematical Sonata for Architecture: Omar Khayyam and the Friday Mosque of Isfahan.” Technology and Culture vol. 39 (1998): pp. 699-715;
• Özdural, Alpay, “Mathematics and Arts: Connections between Theory and Practice in the Medieval Islamic World.” Historia Mathematica vol. 27 (2000): pp. 171–201.
• Özdural, Alpay “The Use of Cubic Equations in Islamic Art and Architecture”, in Nexus IV: Architecture and Mathematics, edited by José Francisco Rodrigues and Kim Williams. Turin, Italy: Kim Williams Books, 2002.
• Rehmeyer, Julie J., “Ancient Islamic Penrose Tiles“, Sciencenews Online, February 24, 2007, vol. 171, No. 8.
• Saliba, George “Artisans and Mathematicians in Medieval Islam”, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Oct-Dec 1999, vol. 119, pp. 637-645
• Whipps, Heather, “Medieval Islamic Mosaics Used Modern Math“, LiveScience.com, 22 February 2007.

References

[1.] Peter J. Lu and Paul J. Steinhardt, “Decagonal and Quasi-crystalline Tilings in Medieval Islamic Architecture,” Science vol. 315, n° 1106 (2007). See the review FSTC, A Discovery in Architecture: 15th-Century Islamic Architecture Presages 20th-Century Mathematics (published online on www.MuslimHeritage.com in 26 February, 2007) where numerous links to the article published in Science and to supporting online material, as well as links to media coverage resources for interested readers, are provided.
[2.] Girih as defined by Gülrun Necipoglu The Topkapi Scroll: Geometry and Ornament in Islamic Architecture:, Santa Monica, 1995, pp. 92-93): “The girih [is] a highly codified mode of geometric patterning with a distinctive repertoire of algebraically definable elements… The girih mode, with its two- and three-dimensional formulations compiled in surveying examples of pattern scrolls, is characterized by its self-consciously limited vocabulary of familiar, almost emblematic, star-and-polygon compositions generated by invisible grid systems that eliminated a broad spectrum of alternative geometric designs”.
[3.] Ibid
[4.] David Baron, “Medieval Islamic Architecture Presages 20th-Century Mathematics“, Harvard University Gazette, February 22, 2007.
[5.] Steve Connor, “Islamic artists were 500 years ahead of Western scientists”, The Independent (London), Friday, February 23, 2007.
[6.] Ibid
[7.] See on Muqarnas Doris Behrens-Abouseif, “Mukarnas”, Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol. VII, Leiden-New York: E.J.Brill, 1993; Naoko Fukami, “Studies on Muqarnas-vaulting in the Islamic Architecture: 1) the Area of central Asia: Khorasan, Khoarzum and Turan, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Japan No. 22 (1994): pp. 2-36; Naoko Fukami, “Studies on Muqarnas-vaulting in the Islamic Architecture: 2) the Area of Iran: Mazandaran, Azerbaijan, Tehran, Isfahan and Yazd-Fars-kerman”, Journal of the society of Architectural Historians of Japan No. 25 (1996): pp. 23-61; Naoko Fukami, “Studies on Muqarnas-vaulting in the Islamic Architecture: 3) the Areas of Anatolia, Syria and Iraq”, Journal of the society of Architectural Historians of Japan No. 27 (1997): pp. 2-46; Kamil Haydar, Al-‘Amarah al-‘Arabiyya al-Islamiyyah: al-Khasa’is al-takhtitiyya li-‘l-muqarnasat [Arabic Islamic Architecture: Characteristics of Muqarnas], Beirut: Dar al-Fikr al-Lubnani, 1994. For a general bibliography and links, click here.
[8.] Shiro Takahashi, “Muqarnas: A Three-Dimentional Decoration of Islam Architecture“. See especially the “Muqarnas Database” comprising 617 ceiling plans and 1645 examples by Shiro Takahashi): for access, click here.
[9.] The group includes Silvia Harmsen, Susanne Krömker and Michael Winckler (Heidelberg University) and several international cooperation partners: Gülru Necipoglu Sackler (Museum Aga Khan Chair for the History of Architecture, Harvard), Mohammad Al-Assad (Center for the Study of the Built Environment, Amman), and Jan P. Hogendijk (Mathematical Institute, University of Utrecht): click here for more information. An important outcome of the research conducted by this group of scholars concerning al-Kashi’s contribution to architecture was issued as a video tape distributed by The American Mathematical Society: Qubba for al-Kâshî. Video Tape (Heidelberg: Institut für Wissenschaftliches Rechnen, Universität Heidelberg), 1996. Another video tape was produced later on by the same group: Yvonne Dold-Samplonius et al., Magic of Muqarnas: Stalactite Vaults in Islamic Architecture, Video, Duration 18 min, Format PAL or NTSC, May 2005.
[10.] Quoted in Yvonne Dold-Samplonius, “Practical Arabic Mathematics: Measuring the Muqarnas by al-Kashi”, Centaurus vol. 35 (1992), pp. 193-242; idem, “How al-Kashi Measures the Muqarnas: A Second Look”, in Mathematische Probleme im Mittelalter: Der lateinische und arabische Sprachbereich. Edited by Menso Folkerts (Wolfenbütteler Mittelalter-Studien, vol. 10), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1996, pp. 56-90.
[11.] On all these varieties of Muqarnas, click here to visit the survey provided by Shiro Takahashi on a large array of plans of, ordered by their geographic and historic relations.
[12.] These plans are reproduced in Ulrich Harb’s book: Ilkhanidische Stalaktitengewolbe Beitrage zu Entwurf und Bautechnik, Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag, 1978.
[13.] See the Project website at Heidelberg University: Muqarnas Visualization in the Numerical Geometry Group.
[14.] Private communication on 25 February 2007.
[15.] See in particular for a first view on the work of this scholar: Branko Grünbaum, Zdenka Grünbaum, G. C. Shephard, “Symmetry in Moorish and Other Ornaments”, in Computers & Mathematics with Applications, Part B 12 (1986), no. 3-4, pp. 641-653; Branko Grünbaum, G. C. Shephard, “Interlace Patterns in Islamic and Moorish Art,” The Visual Mind, Leonardo Book Series, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1993, pp. 147-155.
[16.] Private communication on 7 March 2007.
[17.] George Saliba, “Artisans and Mathematicians in Medieval Islam”, Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 119 (1999), pp. 637-645. In this article, George Saliba reviews the book by Gülru Necipoglu, The Topkapi Scroll: Geometry and Ornament in Islamic Architecture. Getty’s Sketchbooks and Albums, vol. 1. Santa Monica, The Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, 1995.
[18.] Alpay Özdural 1995. “Omar Khayyâm, Mathematicians and Conversazioni with Artisans” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians vol 54: pp. 54-71 (establishes a connection between a triangle constructed by al-Khayyâm in his treatise of algebra and mosaic drawings); Alpay Özdural, “On Interlocking Similar or Corresponding Figures and Ornamental Patterns of Cubic Equations” Muqarnas (Leiden) vol. 13 (1996): pp. 191-211 (a partial analysis of an Iranian manuscript from the 13th-14th centuries including mosaic drawings that could not be drawn by compass and ruler); Alpay Özdural, “A Mathematical Sonata for Architecture: Omar Khayyam and the Friday Mosque of Isfahan.” Technology and Culture vol. 39 (1998): pp. 699-715; Alpay Özdural, “Mathematics and Arts: Connections between Theory and Practice in the Medieval Islamic World.” Historia Mathematica vol. 27 (2000): pp. 171–201
[19.] This work can be dated to around 1300 because the mathematician, Abu Bakr al-Khalil al-Tajir al-Rasadi (ca. 1300), is cited twice as one of the participants of the discussions, and the text probably came from Tabr¯iz he capital city of the Ilkhanids, which was the scene of huge construction campaigns under the sponsorship of Gazan Khan and his vizier Rashid al-Din at the turn of the fourteenth century.
[20.] Özdural, Alpay “The Use of Cubic Equations in Islamic Art and Architecture”, in Nexus IV: Architecture and Mathematics, edited by José Francisco Rodrigues and Kim Williams. Turin, Italy: Kim Williams Books, 2002. Click here to read the online abstract.

~ End ~

Back to the table of Context

*Professor Salim T S Al-Hassani, Professorial Fellow, Faculty of Humanities and Arts, University of Manchester; Chairman of Foundation for Science, Technology & Civilisation, (FSTC),UK.

Stunning Ceilings from the Wonders of Islamic Architecture - Muslim HeritageMuslim Heritage

May 31, 2020, 10:58 am

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Stunning Ceilings from the Wonders of Islamic Architecture - Muslim HeritageMuslim Heritage

Stunning Ceilings from the Wonders of Islamic Architecture

by Cem NizamogluPublished on: 5th December 2019

Discover ceilings from buildings inspired by Islamic architecture where looking up is a spellbinding experience! Each has a design and a story of its own. Most of them are distinctive and unique in respect of their architecture and hold outstanding features.

***

Note of the Editor:  This article was first composed by Cem Nizamoglu for 1001 Inventions website and now updated for Muslim Heritage website.

***

“Keep looking up… that’s the secret of life.” Snoopy

Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the early period of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture and beyond. The principal Islamic architectural types are the Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace, the Fort, the School, and urban buildings. For all these types of constructions, Islamic architecture developed a rich vocabulary that was also used for buildings of lesser importance such as public baths, fountains and domestic architecture.(*)

These numerous structures: mosques, palaces, mausoleums and shrines all around the world have breathtaking ceilings. Each has a design and a story of its own. Most of them are distinctive and unique in respect to their architecture and they all hold outstanding features. Thus it will not be fair to come up with a list of examples. However, to introduce some of these marvellous monuments, we have chosen ceilings that we found spellbinding. We have arranged them in alphabetical order according to the modern-day country they reside in:

Discover ceilings from buildings inspired by Islamic architecture where looking up is a spellbinding experience! Each has a design and a story of its own. Most of them are distinctive and unique for their architecture and hold outstanding features:

***

Egypt: Masjid al-Sultan Barquq, Cairo

(Photo by Abdelrahman Assem)

On the internet, it is mostly shared as Al Soltan Qalawoon Mosque(*) but some Egyptians claim this is Sultan Barquq Mosque and Madrasa (*).

Opened in 1386. Architect’s name is Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad al Tuluni. The architectural style is Bahri Mamluk. The Madrasa-Khanqah of Sultan Barquq lies in El Muiz Li Din Allah Street next to the Mosque and Madrasa of Kamil Ayyub and the Madrasa of El Nasir. This complex was consisting of a Khanqah or hospice for the Sufi students, a Madrasa or a school that was a place for worship and study of Quran and prophetic instructions, and a mausoleum standing in one of the corners of the Madrasa. It was established by Sultan Barquq who was the first Bahri Mamluk to ascend the throne of Egypt in 1382 and the husband of the widow of Sultan Shaban. The historians expound that he managed to assume power after killing many people and plotting against others. After holding power he worked hard to defend his throne and protect it from the plots of the Syrian Mamluk Emirs. (*)

Read More: archnet.org/sites/2217

***

India: The Taj Mahal, Agra

(Photo by Eburgh)

Opened in 1648, Architects’ names are Ustad Ahmad Lahouri and Ustad Isa. Architectural styles are Mughal Persian. The Taj Mahal is a white marble mausoleum located on the southern bank of the Yamuna River in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favorite wife of three, Mumtaz Mahal.(*)

Homepage: tajmahal.gov.in

***

Iran: Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Isfahan

(Photo by Phillip Maiwald)

Opened in1619. Architects’ names are Bahāʾ al-dīn al-ʿĀmilī and Ustad Mohammad Reza Isfahani. The architectural style is Isfahani. Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque is one of the architectural masterpieces of Safavid Iranian architecture, standing on the eastern side of Naghsh-i Jahan Square, Isfahan, Iran. Construction of the mosque started in 1603 and was finished in 1619. It was built by the chief architect Shaykh Bahai, during the reign of Shah Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty. (*)

Read More: Stanford.edu – Sheikh-Lotfallah-Mosque.pdf
Also see the story about Nasir al-Mulk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran

***

Iraq: Jalil Khayat Mosque, Erbil (Arbil) 

(Photo by Karam)

Opened in 2007. Built by Jalil Hayat. Architectural styles are Egyptian and Ottoman. Jalil Khayat mosque, which resembles in style the Muhammad Ali mosque in Cairo and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, was inaugurated in Erbil on January 19, 2007, after being under construction for many years. Jalil Khayat, one of the better-known, wealthier people in Erbil, had the mosque built. His sons proudly took over the project after Khayat passed away in 2005. Haji Dara, one of Khayat’s sons, expressed happiness that they could complete this “charity project” and witness the first Mawlood in their new mosque.

Read More: beautifulmosque.com

***

Jordan: Jabal al-Qal’a (Amman Citadel), Amman

(Photo by Erik Coenjaerts)

The Hill of the Citadel (Jabal al-Qal’a) in the middle of Amman was occupied as early as the Neolithic period, and fortified during the Bronze Age (1800 BC). The ruins on the hill today are Roman through early Islamic. The name “Amman” comes from “Rabbath Ammon,” or “Great City of the Ammonites,” who settled in the region sometime after 1200 BC. The Bible records that King David captured the city in the early 10th century BC; Uriah the Hittite, husband of King David’s paramour Bathsheba, was killed here after the king ordered him to the front line of battle.

In ancient times, Amman with its surrounding region was successively ruled by the then-superpowers of the Middle East: Assyria (8th century BC), Babylonia (6th century), the Ptolemies, the Seleucids (third century BC), Rome (1st century BC), and the Umayyads (7th century AD). Renamed “Philadelphia” after himself by Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the city was incorporated into Pompey the Great’s province of Syria, and later into the province of Arabia created by Trajan (106 AD). As the southernmost city of the Decapolis, Philadelphia prospered during Imperial times due to its advantageous location alongside Trajan’s new trade and administrative road, the Via Nova Traiana.

When Transjordan passed into Arab rule in the 7th century AD, its Umayyad rulers restored the city’s original name of Amman. Neglected under the Abbasids and abandoned by the Mamlukes, the city’s fortunes did not revive until the late 19th century, under the Ottoman empire. Amman became the capital of the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921, and the newly-created Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1947. Greater Amman (the core city plus suburbs) today remains by far the most important urban area in Jordan, containing over half of the country’s population of about 3 million out of 5 million people.

Text Source: www.art-and-archaeology.com

***

Morocco: Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca

(Photo – possibly – by Souad El-Ouafi)

Opened in 1993, the historical context of the mosque began with the death of King Mohammed V in 1961. King Hassan II had requested for the best of the country’s artisans to come forward and submit plans for a mausoleum to honor the departed king; it should “reflect the fervor and veneration with which this illustrious man was regarded.” In 1980, during his birthday celebrations, Hassan II had made his ambitions very clear for creating a single landmark monument in Casablanca by stating:

“I wish Casablanca to be endowed with a large, fine building of which it can be proud until the end of time … I want to build this mosque on the water, because God’s throne is on the water. Therefore, the faithful who go there to pray, to praise the creator on firm soil, can contemplate God’s sky and ocean.”

The building was commissioned by King Hassan II to be the most ambitious structure ever built in Morocco. It was designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau who had lived in Morocco and was constructed by the civil engineering group Bouygues.

Work commenced on July 12, 1986, and was conducted over seven years. Construction was scheduled to be completed in 1989 ready for Hassan II’s 60th birthday. During the most intense period of construction, 1400 men worked during the day and another 1100 during the night. 10,000 artists and craftsmen participated in building and beautifying the mosque.[2] However, the building was not completed on schedule which delayed inauguration. The formal inauguration was subsequently chosen to be the 11th Rabi’ al-Awwal of the year 1414 of the Hijra, corresponding to 30 August 1993, which also marked the eve of the anniversary of Prophet Muhammad’s birth. It was dedicated to the Sovereign of Morocco.(*)

Homepage: fmh2.ma/en

***

Oman: Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muskat, Matrah

(Photo by Werner_B)

Opened 2011, Qaboos bin Said al Said, Sultan of Oman, directed that his country should have a Grand Mosque in 1992. A competition for its design took place in 1993 and after a site was chosen at Bausher construction commenced in December 1994. Building work, which was undertaken by Carillion Alawi LLC, took six years and seven months.(*)

Close to the road leading to the heart of the capital Muscat stands the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Wilayat (district) Bawshar, like a radiant lighthouse attracting its visitors to interact with the spirit of Islam as a religion, science, and civilisation. This mosque highlights its role as a scientific and intellectual source of knowledge across the Islamic world… The dome is made up of spherical triangles within a structure of sides and marble columns, crossed with pointed arches and decorated with porcelain panels. Timber panels stretch in a fashion that reflects the architectural development of Omani ceilings.(*)

Homepage: sultanqaboosgrandmosque.com 

***

Pakistan: Wazir Khan Mosque, Lahore

(Photo by Salman Arif)

Opened in 1642.  Restored by Muhammad Wali Ullah Khan. Architectural styles are Indo-Islamic and Mughal. The Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, is famous for its extensive faience tile work. It has been described as ‘a mole on the cheek of Lahore’. The mosque was built during the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. The construction started in 1634 and lasted for 7 years. The mosque was named after Hakim Shaikh Ilm-ud-din Ansari, widely known as Wazir (translated from Farsi – minister) Khan, who was the governor of Lahore and the initiator of the mosque’s construction. (*)

Read More: lahoretourism.net

***

Palestine: Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

Opened in 691.  Architects’ names are Raja ibn Haywah and Yazid Ibn Salam. Architectural styles are Islamic and  Byzantine. The Dome of the Rock (Arabic: قبة الصخرة‎, translit.: Qubbat Al-Sakhrah, Hebrew: כיפת הסלע‎, translit.: Kipat Hasela) is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. It was initially completed in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik during the Second Fitna. The Dome of the Rock is now one of the oldest works of Islamic architecture. It has been called “Jerusalem’s most recognizable landmark”. Its architecture and mosaics were patterned after nearby Byzantine churches and palaces. The octagonal plan of the structure may also have been influenced by the Byzantine Chapel of St Mary (also known as Kathisma and al-Qadismu) built between 451 and 458 on the road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The site’s significance stems from religious traditions regarding the rock, known as the Foundation Stone, at its heart, which bears great significance for Jews and Muslims.(*)

Homepage: domeoftherock.net

***

Spain: Alhambra Palace, Granada 

The above photo shows the Honey Comb Dome in Hall of the Abencerages. One cannot discuss Muslim Spain without referring to the famous Al-Hambra Palace in Granada. Its origins are still under debate as most scholars dated it to 13th century Granada, but some indications suggest it was first built in the 11th century – a significant time for both Muslim and European architecture. (Also “the first historical documents known about the Alhambra date from the 9th century and they refer to Sawwar ben Hamdun who, in the year 889, had to seek refuge in the Alcazaba, a fortress, and had to repair it due to the civil rights that were destroying the Caliphate of Cordoba, to which Granada then belonged…”*). The palace complex briefly consists of a series of apartments, halls, and courts organised in a delightful interconnected setting of hierarchy. The palace is an architectural masterpiece in every term. The successions of spaces are clearly defined by boundaries and each space contains identical features enhancing its identity as well as its function.

Read More: muslimheritage.com

***

Turkey: Selimiye Mosque, Edirne

(Photo by sugraphic.com)

Opened in 1574.  The architect’s name was was Mimar Sinan. Architectural styles are Islamic and Byzantine. The Selimiye Mosque is an Ottoman imperial mosque, which is located in the city of Edirne, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Sultan Selim II and was built by architect Mimar Sinan between 1569 and 1575. The interior of the mosque received great recognitions from its clean, spare lines in the structure itself. With the monumental exteriors proclaiming the wealth and power of the Ottoman Empire, the plain symmetrical interiors reminded the sultans should always provide a humble and faithful heart to connect and communicate with God. To enter, it was to forget the power, determination, wealth and technical mastery of the Ottoman Empire. Lights have seeped through a multitude of tiny windows, and the interchanging of the weak light and dark was interpreted as the insignificance of humans. The Selimiye did not only amaze the public with the extravagant symmetrical exterior, but it had also astonished the people with the plain symmetrical interior for it had summarized all Ottoman architectural thinking in one simple pure form. (*)

Homepage: selimiyemosque.org

***

UAE: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

(Photo by Habib Q) 

Opened in 2007, Architect’s name is Yusef Abdelki. The architectural style is both Mughal and Moorish. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates and is considered to be one of the key mosques for worship in the country but is also the number one mosque destination for tourists to the country. It boasts Mughal and Moorish architectural styles.

Homepage: szgmc.ae/en

***

Uzbekistan: Bahaud-Din Naqshband Mausoleum, Bukhara

(Photo by Zak Whiteman)

Opened in 1544. Built by Khan Abd al-Aziz. Architectural styles are Islamic and Ottoman. “Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari (1318–1389) was the founder of what would become one of the largest and most influential Sufi Muslim orders, the Naqshbandi.”(*)  “Memorial complex of Bahauddin Naqshbandi is located 12 kilometers from Bukhara. Once it was the place of settlement of Kasri Arifon, which was famous for its pagan customs and holidays.”(*) Memorial complex Bahauddin Naqshbandi is a rectangular courtyard where the tomb of Sheikh Bukhari. The modern aivan with wooden columns is decored the central courtyard and near built the great building Khanaka. Later here was formed a vast necropolis – the tomb of Bukhara emirs. Decorated mosques Muzaffarkhan and Hakim Kushbegi are struck by its beauty, which formed the courtyard with a creek around the mausoleum. At the beginning of our century, the Memorial complex Bahauddin Naqshbandi was restored. The arches in national style, blue domes, different gates, and columns were built here. One of the most beautiful of the architectural ensemble of Bukhara, the complex Bahauddin Naqshbandi meets pilgrims with silence and solitude…(*)

Read More: sufiwiki.com

***

Samarqand UZ – Registan Ulugbek-Madrasa 03 by Daniel Mennerich (flickr.com)

Nasir Al-Mulk Mosque, Shiraz, Iran (Photo by Mohammad Reza Domiri Ganji)

Fatima Masumeh Shrine, Qom, Iran (Photo from imgur.com)

Badshahi Mosque, Lahore, Pakistan (Photo from www.friendskorner.com)

Real Alcázar, Sevilla, Spain

Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi, Uae

Bajram Pasha Isa Beg Mosque, Mitrovice, Kosove

Royal Graves At Cairo , Egypt

Al Saleh Mosque – Sana’a – Yemen

Suleymaniye, Istanbul, Turkey

Shah Jahan Mosque, Thatha, Pakistan. (Photo from www.flickr.com)

Cairo, Egypt (Photo by Faisal Almalki)

Ruhobod Mosque, Samarkand (Photo by Komila Rakhimova)

Temur’s Mausoleum In Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Blue Mosque, Turkey

Registan, Uzbekistan (Photo from shanghaiamsterdam.com)

Mihrab Dome, Mezquita, Cordoba, Spain (Photo by Aidan McRae Thomson)

Ali Ibn (ebne) Hazem Holly Shrine. Shiraz, Iran

Grand Mosque of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran (Photo by Ali Kordzadeh)

Fatima Masumeh Shrine, Qom, Iran (from imgur.com)

The Whittier Mosque Ceiling (scalar.usc.edu)

Ceiling of Main Hall- Badshahi Mosque, Pakistan. Photo by Ahmed saad (Wikipedia)

Tillakari madrassa mosque ceiling, Samarkand, Uzbekistan (eastwestquest.com)

Interior of a mosque in Belgium. A monumental chandelier hangs from the center of the ceiling. Photo by Manitoba (shutterstock.com)

Bahrain Mosque by Mustafa Bastaki (500px)

The main entrance of The Al-Fateh Mosque in Bahrain. Photo by Ahmed Sadoon (Wikipedia)

Main Prayer Hall of Al-Fateh Grand Mosque in Bahrain Photo by Ahmed Sadoon (Wikipedia)

Nasir Al-Mulk Mosque, Shiraz, Iran (Photo by Ramin Rahmani Nejad)

Niksar Yagibasan Medresesi Foto by Alpaslan ALTINTAS

Yıldız Hαmidiye Cαmii, Turkey by gLy SuNfLoWeR (flickr.com)

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Lighthouse of Alexandria in the sources from Islamic Civilisation - Muslim HeritageMuslim Heritage

May 31, 2020, 11:01 am

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Lighthouse of Alexandria in the sources from Islamic Civilisation

by Cem NizamogluPublished on: 16th October 2015

The Lighthouse of Alexandria is one of the wonders of the Ancient World. It was still a great tourist attraction well into the medieval period, and was visited by many travellers to the city that were impressed by its magnitude.

Note: Composed by Cem Nizamoglu and first published in 1001 Inventions website

***

The Lighthouse of Alexandria is one of the classic “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” [1], [2], [3]. It was still a great tourist attraction well into the medieval period, and was visited by many travellers to the city that were impressed by its magnitude.

Lighthouse on an old map, shows once where it stood (Source)

1. Who, Where and When

The lighthouse was constructed in the 3rd century BC.[4], [5], [6] “During the reigns of Ptolemy I [Soter 367-283 BCE] and his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus [285 -246 BCE (Ptolemaic)], Alexandria developed into a great city”.[7] The height, form and multifunction of the lighthouse never failed to impress its visitors as it was located on the small Island of Faros, off the city coast.

The lighthouse was particularly admired and often visited and described by people from Islamic civilisation. This could be due to partly of mighty size, but perhaps also because of the interest in its technology as seen in the function of its mirrors. “Whereas pre-Islamic literary descriptions of the lighthouse are scarce, Muslim authors provide, along with various legends, valuable accounts of its configuration throughout the medieval period.”[8]

A number of 12th-century Andalusian travelers left remarkable accounts of the lighthouse such as Ibn Jubair, Abu Hamid Al-Gharnati and Yousif Ibn al-Shaikh Al-Balawi shortly before “destroyed by series of earthquakes between 956 and 1323”[9], [10]. According to “Alexandria: City of the Western Mind” by Theodore Vrettos “Pharos Lighthouse most likely met its fate in the earthquake of A.D. 1365. The magnificent blocks of granite and marble toppled into the harbor and interfered with shipping for almost a hundred years before a channel was cleared of the biggest pieces. As late as A.D. 1480, the stump of the tower still jutted from the Heptastadion. Shortly after that, the sultan of Egypt, Kait Bey [Qaitbay] built a fortress and castle there, using the marble base of the fallen Pharos for walls.”[11]

A size comparison of the Ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria (PHAROS) between a 1909 study (Thiersch) and a 2006 study of the building (Shenouda) (Source)

2. Height and Description

There are very different opinions on the height of the lighthouse (eg. See the figure on the right).  Because of different views, its size varies dramatically, to an extent the number roughly changes between 100 and 200 meters high. Size calculations were mostly based on the witness records of travelers from the Muslim World.

For example according to 10th-century travelers al-Idrisi and Yusuf Ibn al-Shaikh[12] “the building was 300 cubits high. Because the cubit measurement varied from place to place, however, this could mean that the Pharos [Lighthouse of Alexandria] stood anywhere from 450 (140m) to 600 (183m) feet in height…”[13]

Another example “The Arab descriptions of the lighthouse are remarkably consistent, although it was repaired several times especially after earthquake damage. The height they give varies only fifteen percent from c 103 to 118 m [338 to 387 ft], on a base c. 30 by 30 m [98 by 98 ft] square… the Arab authors indicate a tower with three tapering tiers, which they describe as square, octagonal and circular, with a substantial ramp”.[14]

Overall it seems enormous in the eyes of the travelers of those times. As Ibn Jubayr witnessed it “competes with the skies in height…”[15]

3. Arabic Sources

There are other interpretations of its description from the Islamic World such as:

• Al-Mas’udi (9-10 Century) mentions the founder of the Tulunid dynasty Ahmed Ibn Tulun’s additions to the light-house (9th Century).[16]
• Full description of the lighthouse by an Arabic writer Abou Haggag Youssef Ibn Mohammed el-Balawi el-Andaloussi in 12th Century.[17], [18]
• Muhammad ibn Iyas (15th Century) mentions an earthquake damaging the lighthouse. around the reign of Caliph Harun al-Rashid time (9th Century).[19] 
• There are also al-Bakri and Nasir-i Khusraw in 11th Century;  Muqaddasi in late 10th Century and many more…

It has been said that it was seriously impaired by number of natural disasters, eventually collapsed completely and last of it remains castoff in the construction of the Citadel of Qaitbay dated back to late 15th Century[20], [21]. It lasted for a long time as one of the ancient wonders, alongside with the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the present Great Pyramid of Giza.

  
(Left) We do not know the author(s) of this manuscript but the image is the Light House of Alexandria, can also be found on a page from a 14th and 15th century Arabic manuscript known as Kitab al-bulhan which means “Book of Wonders” (Source)
(Right) From Mojmal al-tavariḵ va al-qesas, which is “an anonymous chronicle from the 12th century in the Persian tradition of literary historiography” (Source) (Image Source)

For Ibn Jubayr, the traveller and geographer from Muslim civilisation, Alexandria in Egypt was one of the first places he visited in the spring of 1183[22]. This trip left strong impressions on him, especially Alexandria’s famed giant lighthouse, of which he had this to say:

One of the greatest wonders that we saw in this city was the lighthouse which Great and Glorious God had erected by the hands of those who were forced to such labour as ‘a sign to those who take warning from examining the fate of others’ [Quran: 15:75] and as a guide to voyagers, for without it they could not find the true course to Alexandria. It can be seen for more than seventy miles, and is of great antiquity. It is most strongly built in all directions and competes with the skies in height. Description of it falls short, the eyes fail to comprehend it, and words are inadequate, so vast is the spectacle.”[23]

Original (Arabic) Version of above account [24]:

There is also the famous drawing of the ancient Light House of Alexandria by Abu Hamid Al-Gharnati, who left an accurate drawing based on personal observation of the lighthouse.[25]

…drawing of the ancient Light House of Alexandria by Abu Hamid Al-Gharnati (Source)

4.  Arabic Connection

Below are relevant extracts from “Egyptology: The Missing Millennium : Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings” by Okasha El Daly, Psychology Press, 2005:

– THE LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA (Page 53-54)

A good example of an apparently accurate drawing based on personal observation is the sketch of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria by the Andalusian traveller, Abu Hamid Al-Gharnati . He visited Alexandria first in 1110 and again in 1117. He described the lighthouse as having three tiers:

“The first tier is a square built on a platform. The second is octagonal and the third is round. All are built of hewn stone. On the top was a mirror of Chinese iron of seven cubits wide (364 cm) used to watch the movement of ships on the other side of the Mediterranean. If the ships were those of enemies, then watchmen in the Lighthouse waited until they came close to Alexandria, and when the sun started to set, they moved the mirror to face the sun and directed it onto the enemy ships to burn them in the sea. In the lower part of the Lighthouse is a gate about 20 cubits above the ground level; one climbs to it through an archway ramp of hewn stone”.

Here Al-Gharnati refers the reader to a sketch he made [Figure above and left] (Al-Gharnati Tuhfat: 99-100; cf Hamarneh 1971: 86, 87. For other detailed medieval Arabic accounts of the Lighthouse with various measurements and other monuments of Alexandria see Toussoun 1936; Hamarneh 1971). This drawing of Al-Gharnati can be shown to be reliable in the light of recent research (compare this with a modern reconstruction in Empereur 1998: 83).

The Lighthouse was particularly admired and was often visited and described by Arab writers, much more so than by their Greek/Roman predecessors, partly because of its mighty size but perhaps also because of their interest in its technology as seen in the function of its mirrors (see Science, page 117 and 118 below). The reference to a mirror of Chinese iron is not a fantasy but reflects the fact that medieval Arab authors were familiar with Chinese sciences and the popularity of Chinese products, in particular the so-called ‘kharsini’ in Arabic which means ‘Chinese iron’, or perhaps ‘steel’ from which mirrors were made (Needham 198th 429-30). As for the military use of these mirrors to burn attacking enemies, stories about this are also known from pre-Islamic literature (Temple 2000: 218ff) and may have played a part in the Arab perceptions of the function of the Lighthouse mirror.

– [Toussoun] Page 7

Toussoun (1922-23; 1936) used a number of Arabic sources in his study of the branches of the Nile and of the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

– [before the Flood] Page 45

AI-Mas’udi, Al-Suyuti and Al-Maqrizi are examples of writers presenting comprehensive coverage of Egypt from ‘before the Flood’ to their own time. The writings show a broad interest in all the buildings and artefacts that they saw around them dating from ancient Egypt. Their descriptions of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, of which few are known to current archaeologists, are in fact closely matched by recent reconstructions. There is a large volume of works on temples, some of which give us a clear contemporary picture of buildings now totally or partially destroyed. Medieval Arab interest in history and archaeology was not limited to Egypt but also covered other ancient cultures, where much evidence can be verified.

– [From Chapter 8, Science] Page 117

• The Burning Mirror on the top of the Alexandria Lighthouse which, in addition to guiding ships into harbour, had two other functions: the first being an early-warning system enabling watchers to see ships long before arrival at the Egyptian coast; the second being in cases where ships turned out to be hostile – by directing the mirror at a certain angle to reflect and intensify the sun’s rays and focusing it on incoming enemy ships, the ships would be set alight at sea (Akhbar Al- Zaman: 154; Al-Harawi Al-Isharat: 48; Yaqut Mu’jam 1: 188; Al-Qalqashandi Subh 3: 356). Ibn Hawqal (Surat: 142) disagreed that those were the functions of the mirror, believing the whole structure to be an observatory to study astronomy (on the Burning Minors see Toomer 1976).

• A city lighthouse with a dome on top, painted with a special chemical which, when the sun set, illuminated most of the city. Neither wind nor rain affected this light, which faded only when the sun shone (ibid: 145).

– [From Chapter 8, Science] – Page 118

• A lighthouse that flooded the city with a different coloured light each day of the week. The lighthouse was in the middle of a pond with coloured fish. The city was protected by talismans with human bodies and baboon heads. Nearby, a special new city had in its centre a dome, above which a permanent cloud always rained lightly. At this city’s gates were statues of priests holding scrolls of scientific works, and whoever wanted to learn a science went to its particular statue, stroked it with his hand and then stroked his own breast, thus transferring knowledge of the science to himself. These two cities were named after Hermes (ibid: 175-76). This is clearly a description of what was left of Ashmunein, the centre of Thoth/Hermes, and an attempt to explain the remaining monuments based on the ancient fame of this centre.

– [Cleopatra Connection] – Page 133

The first known reference to Cleopatra by an Arab historian is found in Ibn ‘Abd Al-Hakam (Futuh: 40-41), who wrote his history of the Moslem annexation of Egypt in the early 9th century CE. There he refers to the Lighthouse of Alexandria, saying that:

“It was built by Daluka … It is also said that the builder of the Lighthouse of Alexandria was Qulpatra, the queen who dug the canal/gulf into Alexandria and paved its bottom.”

In these words we encounter an early possible confusion between two queens: Daluka (also called Zulaikha) and Cleopatra. We do not know the historicity of Queen Daluka, but her name is almost always used synonymously with that of Cleopatra. Both are said to have built the Alexandrian Lighthouse and a massive wall around all of Egypt to protect it against invasion, and Daluka was said to have built a Nilometer at Memphis. Though Cleopatra did not build the Lighthouse, her fame as a builder of great monuments gave rise to such claims in the medieval Arabic sources.

One of the modern interpretations of the Lighthouse of Alexandria
Video: Egypt to Rebuild Lighthouse of Alexandria 

5. Bibliography

1. Behrens, Doris “The Islamic History of the Lighthouse of Alexandria” Abouseif, Muqarnas, Vol. 23 (2006), pp. 1-14, Published by: Brill, Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25482435
2. El Daly, Okasha “Egyptology: The Missing Millennium : Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings” Psychology Press, 2005
3. McKenzie, Judith “The Architecture of Alexandria and Egypt, C. 300 B.C. to A.D. 700” Volume 63, Yale University Press, 2007
4. Vrettos, Theodore “Alexandria: City of the Western Mind” Simon and Schuster, 15 Jun 2010

Page previews from “The Islamic History of the Lighthouse of Alexandria” by Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Muqarnas, Vol. 23 (Source)

6. References

[1] “Progressive Architecture” Volume 44 by Eugene Clute, Russell Fenimore Whitehead, Kenneth Reid and  Elizabeth L. Cleaver Reinhold, 1963 , Page 262.

[2] The Islamic History of the Lighthouse of Alexandria” by Doris Behrens and Abouseif, Muqarnas, Vol. 23 (2006), pp. 1-14, Published by: Brill, Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25482435

[3] “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” by Michael Woods and Mary B. Woods, Lerner Books [UK], 2009, Page 33.

[4] “101 Wonders of the World” by Vikas Khatri, Pustak Mahal, Page xlviii.

[5] “Lighthouses big and small” by Eero Sorila, Xlibris (15 Mar. 2012), Page 8.

[6] “The Architecture of Alexandria and Egypt: 300 BC – AD 700” by Judith McKenzie, Yale University Press. Page 41.

[7] “Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece” by Nigel Wilson, Routledge, 31 Oct 2013, Page 36.

• Also op. cit. Doris Behrens, Page 1 and op. cit. Judith McKenzie, Page 41.

[8] op. cit. Doris Behrens, Page 1.

[9] “Egypt” by Roberts Russ, Mitchell Lane Publishers, Inc.

[10] “Handbook of Research on Seismic Assessment and Rehabilitation of Historic Structures” by Asteris, Panagiotis G, Plevris, Vagelis, IGI Global, 13 Jul 2015, Page xxvi.

[11] “Alexandria: City of the Western Mind” by Theodore Vrettos, Simon and Schuster, 15 Jun 2010, Page 33.

[12] op. cit. by Theodore Vrettos, Page 33

[13] unmuseum.mus.pa.us: “The Great Lighthouse at Alexandria” –  Copyright Lee Krystek 1998-2011 (Link)

[14]  op. cit.  Judith McKenzie, Page 42.

[15] “A Review of Muslim Geography” by Salah Zaimeche, Page 4. (PDF)

[16] Op. cit. Doris Behrens, Page 9

[17] “Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Volume 78” by Harvard University, Harvard University Department of Classics, Harvard University Press, 1 Jan 1974, Page 258:
“For such Arab writers as Aboul Haggag Youssef Ibn Mohammed el Balawi el Andaloussi, see Omar Toussoun in Bull. Soc. Arch. Alexandrie, 30 (1936), 49-53; Don Miguel de Asin, “Ibn Al-Say), the Duke of Alba,” in Proceedings of the British Academy, 19 (1933), 277 ; Van Berchem, Compte rend’: de I’Acadimie des Inscriptions (1898), p. 339; Mimoires de la mission arclretologique francaise du Caire, Vol. XIX; G. Reineckc, in Phil. Woch. 19, (1937), col. 1869; F. Adler, Der Pharos von Alexandria (Berlin, 1901); G. H. Rivoira, Architettura Musulmana (1914), P. 148.”

[18] The Cambridge History of Egypt, Volume 1 & Volume 2, by Carl F. Petry, Cambridge University Press, 10 Jul 2008, Page 167.

[19] Op. cit. Doris Behrens, Page 3

[20] “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” by Michael Woods and Mary B. Woods, Lerner Books [UK], 2009, Page 32.

• Also op. cit. Judith McKenzie, Page 41; op. cit. Nigel Wilson, Page 36; op. cit. by Theodore Vrettos, Page 33.

[21] “The Citadel of Qaytbay in MAMLUK ART. The Splendour and Magic of the Sultans” by Mohamed Abdel Aziz and Tarek Torky, (eBook) “The Citadel of Qaytbay – In Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Exhibition Trails”

[22] “A Review of Muslim Geography” by Salah Zaimeche, Page 4. (PDF)

[23] .ibid

[24] The Arabic original is from ar.wikisource.org – (Archived)

[25] MuslimHeritage.com: “Deciphering Egyptian Hieroglyphs in Muslim Heritage” by Okasha El Daly (Link)

The Courtyard Houses of Syria - Muslim HeritageMuslim Heritage

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The Courtyard Houses of Syria

by Mahmoud Zein AlabidinPublished on: 9th March 2010

The courtyard house is one of the most enduring architectural forms, transcending regional, historical and cultural boundaries. Its balance of simple appropriate construction, environmental control and social and familial structures continues to engage architects and architectural historians. The emphasis on courtyard in Islamic architecture gave it the name of the "architecture of the veil", because it focuses on the inner spaces (courtyards and rooms) which are not visible from the outside. Courtyard housing is an architectural device with a long history first appearing in the buildings of Syria and Iraq three millennia ago. Arab nomads first made use of the concept of a courtyard during their travels and stay in the desert. They set up their tents around a central space, which provided shelter and security to their cattle. With the development of Arab-Islamic architecture, the courtyard became an essential typological element. It is likely that the previous nomadic desert lifestyle of Arabs had a strong influence on their permanent houses. The courtyard therefore fulfils a deep-rooted need for an open living area. This article describes the typology of the Syrian courtyard house, and presents a number of examples of courtyard houses in Aleppo.

by Mahmoud Zein Alabidin*

Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. The Architectural Elements
3. Courtyard Organization and Climatic Factors
4. Various Other Factors
5. Conclusion
6. Further Resources

***

1. Introduction

Figure 1: The Al-Azem Palace in Hama. Photo taken by the author.

Courtyard housing dates back to the beginning of the third millennium before common era when it appeared in the buildings of Bilad al-Sham and those of the region between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Arab nomads made use of the concept of a courtyard during their travels and stay in the desert. They set up their tents around a central space, which provided shelter and security to their cattle. With the development of Arab-Islamic architecture, the courtyard became an essential typological element. It is likely that the previous nomadic desert lifestyle of Arabs had a strong influence on their permanent houses. The courtyard therefore fulfils a deep-rooted need for an open living area. The following article describes the typology of the Syrian courtyard house, and presents a number of examples of courtyard houses in Aleppo.

The traditional courtyard house in Syria is composed of three parts:

• A basement floor;
• A ground floor comprising the main living areas called Al Salamlek;
• A first floor comprising the private areas called Al Haramlek.

Figure 2: The Courtyard of Al-Azem Palace in Hama. Photo taken by the author.

The basement floor enjoys an even temperature throughout the year. It is therefore an attractive living space in periods of extreme winter or summer temperatures. The basement acts as a thermal moderator during the hot dry season, as it allows the hot air collected by the wind-catchers to be cooled and humidified before it is released to the courtyard space. It is also used for the storage of annual food supplies as is the case in many courtyard houses of Aleppo, a city that endured many wars.

Figure 3: The furniture in main room of Al-Azem Palace in Hama. Photo taken by the author.

The houses are usually accessed through a modest space leading into a spacious and beautifully landscaped courtyard. The entrance door consists of one or two wooden door-leaves, reinforced with lead plates fixed with steel nails. The small size of the external doors represents modesty, which is also demonstrated in the lack of decorations of the external windows. It is very difficult, therefore, to judge the level of wealth or poverty of the houses from their external appearance. The entrance door usually leads to a narrow passageway at the end of which another door or curtain filters the entrance to the courtyard, allowing this latter to be totally private and visually inaccessible from the outside, even if the entrance door is left open, which was frequently the case as the old city neighborhoods used to enjoy a high level of security.

Figure 4: The furniture in main room of Al-Azem Palace in Hama. Photo taken by the author.

The transition from the outside to the inside is marked by a contrast in spatial experience, from a modest and sometimes austere entrance to a highly decorated internal open courtyard with a central fountain (and sometimes a well) and beautiful facades.

Landscaping also plays an important role in the courtyard of the traditional Syrian house. It consists of two main categories: decorative planting such as climbing jasmine and rose bushes, which add color and scent to the courtyard atmosphere, and citrus trees such as orange and lemon. The facades of the internal courtyard are highly decorated with intricately woven geometric patterns and shapes.

Figure 5:The fountain in Achik Bash House in Aleppo. Photo taken by the author.

The iwan is an important covered open apace from which the aesthetic qualities of the courtyard can be enjoyed. It provides a raised platform (by one or two steps), used as a pleasant and comfortable open air reception and seating area and a venue for evening events such as the playing of traditional music. The iwan is usually located on the north façade of the courtyard to catch the cool breeze during the summer. The iwan comprises two symmetrical rooms facing each other and has an ornamental front stone arch facing the courtyard. The transition from the courtyard to the iwan space is marked by a multicolored marble patterned floor, which resembles an oriental carpet.

Facing the iwan is the main guest reception hall – used for special ceremonies and festivities such as Eid. This hall is the most decorated space in the house and contains the best items of furniture. In some houses, such as the Wakil, Basil and Ghazali houses in Aleppo, the main guest hall is covered by a dome.

Figure 6: The fountain in Al-Azem Palace in Damascus. Photo taken by the author.

In addition to the iwan and the reception areas, the ground floor also contains the kitchen and toilets. The first floor is called the Haramlek. This is a word of Turkish origin meaning a women’s section in the house. The living and sleeping areas are totally segregated.

The access from the ground floor to the first floor is through a staircase located in the courtyard. Small apartments can sometimes be found on the first floor, particularly in the case of extended families. The first floor can also contain some terraces, allowing the sun’s rays to penetrate the courtyard. These provide useful open spaces for sleeping or sitting during the evenings of the hot seasons. The roof spaces are usually well protected by high parapet walls, providing adequate privacy.

2. The architectural elements of the Syrian courtyard house

Figure 7: Basil House in Aleppo. Photo taken by the author.

The Mushrabiya is a wooden balcony located on the outer façade of the house. It provides a cool screened space for women, allowing them to view public spaces without being seen. It is usually supported by two cantilevered wooden beams, which are anchored in the external wall.

The windows are divided into two types: those located on the external façade of the house and those located on the courtyard facades. Because the house is inward looking, the external façade windows are small, plain and located from the first floor onwards in order to avoid being overlooked by pedestrians in the narrow public streets.

The courtyard windows are much larger and are more decorated, providing light and ventilation to the rooms. The ground floor window located inside the thickness of the wall and a wooden shutter is positioned to the outside of the wall thickness. Other types of windows can be found at the base of the courtyard. They are small and arched with no decorations and provide light and ventilation to the basement floor. The doors of the ground floor rooms are two-leaf wooden doors with a minimum of ornamental carvings, the first floor doors are, however, relatively undecorated.

In the main reception hall, wall cabinets built-into the thickness of the walls are used to display ornaments such as intricate wooden ornamental carving. The walls around the cabinets are sometimes covered with wooden panels with calligraphic carvings matching the cabinet design. The ceilings are also highly decorated, with wooden panels displaying intricately linked ornamental geometrical shapes. This is particularly the case in the main reception hall, where the ceiling is the highest in the house and consists of intersecting wooden panels with rich carving and gold-plated designs. Symmetry plays an important role in the composition of the ceiling decorations.

Figure 8: Basil House in Old Aleppo. Photo taken by the author.

The internal decorations are based on the following four types of patterns:

• Calligraphy based on verses of the holy Qur’an or verses of poetry;
• Floral patterns derived from stems and leaves of various plants;
• Patterns derived from animal forms such as birds;
• Geometric patterns derived from the combination of circles, squares, rectangles and triangles.

The geometric patterns are formed by multicolored stone inlays and intersecting timber slats and from floor and ceiling decorations. They are most evident in the floors of the main reception hall, the iwan and the courtyard area in front of the iwan.

3. Courtyard organization and climatic factors

Figure 9: Achik Bash House in Aleppo. Photo taken by the author.

The courtyard organization is appropriate to hot dry climates because it maximizes shading and allows for the creation of a pleasant microclimate.

The availability of plants and a water feature within the courtyard helps in cooling and humidifying the internal atmosphere. The construction technique, which is based on thick load-bearing stone masonry, provides adequate thermal mass.

The existence of cooling towers allows for good summer ventilation as hot air is funneled down into the basement, where it is cooled and let out into the courtyard space. The narrowness of the external streets and passageways leading to the houses also helps in creating a cool and shaded outdoor environment.

4. Various other factors

4.1. Economic factors
As previously discussed, all Syrian courtyard houses share a humble external appearance. However, their size and level of internal decoration depends on the wealth of the occupying families. Three categories can be identified: large courtyard houses of rich families, medium-sized houses of traders and craftsmen and small and humble houses of the workers.

Figure 10: The iwan of Al-Azem Palace in Damascus. Photo taken by the author.

4.2. Building material and construction techniques

The building materials locally available have greatly influenced the construction and shape of the Syrian courtyard house. The abundance of stone in the area made it the main building material in the construction of the courtyard houses of Aleppo. Walls are frequently formed by layers of white and black stones called Al-Ablaq which forms a distinctive characteristic of the courtyard houses of Syria.

Figure 11: The Maktab Anbar in Damascus. Photo taken by the author.

4.3. Social factors

Figure 12: The iwan of Achik Bash House in Aleppo. Photo taken by the author.

Social, cultural and religious factors have played an important role in the shaping of the courtyard house in Syria. The need for privacy has had a paramount influence on the internal organization of spaces and the treatment of the entrance, the external windows and the separation between family and guest areas within the house. Furthermore, the extended family structure has meant that the Syrian courtyard house was organized with the possibility of semi-independent subunits functioning independently but still maintaining strong family ties.

Entertaining guests and relatives was and is still important in the lives of Syrian families. Thursday weekly courtyard parties were very common. Guests were invited for dinner and were entertained in the courtyard with folk music bands. Female parties were also very common and took place on a weekly basis, strengthening both family and neighborly ties.

5. Conclusion

Having considered the traditional Syrian courtyard house and its characteristics, it is evident that the form of the courtyard house presents a number of qualities that are still relevant to contemporary domestic life in Syria. However, two major changes have occurred in the social structure of Syria, which affected to some extent the viability of the traditional courtyard house for contemporary family living. These are:

• The decrease in family size, with more women working outside the home.
• The change from the extended family structure to the nuclear household type.

Figure 13: The Courtyard of Al-Wakil House in Aleppo. Photo taken by the author.

Furthermore, most families rely on multi-storey apartments as an affordable housing solution and cannot afford large courtyard houses. The Arabic house with its internal courtyard has become rare and has almost completely disappeared in contemporary architecture. So how are we to live in a rapidly-changing world where all meanings of family tradition and culture have changed dramatically?

Is there a scope for a new affordable housing typology based on maximizing the benefits of a courtyard organization and responding to the needs of small contemporary nuclear households?

Figure 14: The fountain of Courtyard of Al-Wakil House in Aleppo. Photo taken by the author.

6. Further resources

• Amini, Mousallam Sakka, “Islamic and Japanese Traditional Houses and Their Social Meaning: A Comparative Interpretation”, Islamic Quarterly, vol. 37, 4, 1993, pp. 266-79.
• Azab, Khaled, Residential Architecture in Islamic Civilization, Journal Islam Today, N° 25, 1429 H/2008.
• Bahnassi, A., ‘Aleppo’, in The Islamic City, edited by R. B. Serjeant. Paris 1980.
• Bassiouni, Ali, “The Courtyard as an Essential Component in Arab Cities”, Arab City Magazine (Arab Institute for City Development, Riyadh), 1981, p. 87
• Dunham, Daniel, “The Courtyard House as a Temperature Regulator,” The New Scientist, September 8, 1960, pp. 663-66.
• Ferwati, M. Salim, and Mandour, M. Alaa, “Proportions and Human Scale in Damascene Courtyard Houses,” in ArchNet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, vol. 2, issue 1 (2008).
• Holod, Renata and Darl Rastorfer, “Courtyard Houses”, in Architecture and Community, edited by Renata Holod and Darl Rastorfer. New York: Aperture, 1983.
• Ibrahim, Abdelbaki Mohamed, “Historical Evolution of the Courtyard in Architecture”, in Alam al-Bina (Cairo: Center for Planning and Architectural Studies), vol. 10-13/204, 1998.
• King, David A., “Architecture and Astronomy: The Ventilators of Medieval Cairo and their Secrets,” Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol.104, 1, 1984, pp. 97-133.
• Maury, Bernard, André Raymond, Jacques Revault and Mona Zakariya, Palais et maisons du Caire. II: Epoque ottoman (XVIe-XVIIIe siècles). Paris: CNRS, 1983.
• Rabbat, Nassar, The Courtyard House: From Cultural Reference to Universal Relevance. Ashgate, in association with the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (forthcoming in August 2010).
• Sauvaget, J., and Ecochard, M., Les Monuments Ayyubides de Damas. Damascus 1938-50.
• Scudo, Gianni, “Climatic Design in the Arab Courtyard House”, in Environmental Design: Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre vol. 1-2, 1988, pp. 82-91.
• Tabbaa, Yasser, “Towards an Interpretation of the Use of Water in Islamic Courtyards and courtyard Gardens,” Journal of Garden History, vol. 7, 3 (1987): pp. 197-220.
• Susan Roaf, “The Windcatchers of the Middle East,” in Islamic Architecture and Urbanism, edited by Aydin Germen. Dammam, Saudi Arabia, 1980, pp. 257-68.

~ End ~

* Mr. Mahmoud Zein Al Abidin, Architect – Chairman of Shadirwan Center for Architecural Heritage in Syria.

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Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil or the Triumph of the Islamic Architectural Style

by El Sayed FoundationPublished on: 27th October 2009

Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil is one of the leading voices in contemporary Islamic architecture and a practitioner known worldwide for his design of the Oxford University Centre for Islamic Studies. His use of traditional form and technique won him the 2009 Richard H. Driehaus Prize administered by the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. The prize is awarded annually to an outstanding architect whose work applies the principles of classicism, including sensitivity to the historic continuum, the fostering of community, and consideration of the impact to the built and natural environment. Over the past four decades, El-Wakil has built mosques, public buildings and private residences throughout the Middle East, maintaining balance between continuance and change. The following article presents a coverage about the work and career of Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil and stresses the triumph of the Islamic architectural style in his designs.

Prepared for FSTC by The El Sayed Foundation*

Table of contents

1. Biography, Studies and Career
2. The Implementation of a Specific Style
3. Mosque Design
4. Various other Achievements and Committments
5. References and further reading

* * *

1. Biography, Studies and Career

Born on August 7, 1943, in Cairo, Egypt, Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil is an Egyptian architect, most well known for his awe-inspiring mosques in Saudi Arabia and beyond. He is considered to be one of the foremost contemporary authorities on Islamic architecture.

Figure 1: Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil talking at the Notre Dame School of Architecture: 2009 Richard H. Driehaus Prize Colloquium (screenshot from the video).

Educated in Egypt, at Victoria College and the English School—both British schools—El-Wakil obtained his GCE in 1960, graduating with distinction in Applied Mathematics, Art, Physics, and Chemistry. This would ultimately lay the groundwork for El-Wakil’s university studies. In 1960, after obtaining his GCE, El-Wakil joined Ain Shams University, working towards a degree in Architecture, which he received in 1965 when he graduated with Distinction and a First Honors Bachelor of Science.

Figure 2: Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil receiving the Richard H. Driehaus Prize. Screenshot from the video 2009 Richard H. Driehaus Prize Colloquium.

From 1965 to 1970, El-Wakil was appointed to the position of Instructor and Lecturer at Ain Shams University in the department of Architecture under the Faculty of Engineering. Two years later, El-Wakil would experience a profound shift in architectural thought when he met the legendary Professor Hassan Fathy (1900-1989). An Egyptian architect himself, Fathy was born in Alexandria, and, as an architect, pioneered the import of building tools in Egypt. He also worked to create an indigenous environment at a minimal cost, and improve the economy and the standard of living in rural areas.

El-Wakil’s work with Fathy had a profound impact on the architect, who would decide, upon meeting Fathy, to give up his former Modern Style architecture and become an apprentice to the innovative architect. Prior to becoming Fathy’s apprentice, El-Wakil had already built three of his own apartment buildings in the Modern Style. Modern Style architecture is a style with similar characteristics—specifically “the simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building [1].”

The first examples of the Modern Style were conceived early in the 20th century. This architectural style had gained popularity after World War II, and became the dominant architectural style for institutional and corporate buildings for three decades. During the 1960s, Modern Style was the most popular and accepted style of architecture. Architects like Fathy, who hearkened back to the ancient times with his use of traditional building methods and tools, pushed the metaphorical architectural envelope, and were unwelcome in some universities, like Ain Shams.

Because of Fathy’s unpopularity, El-Wakil soon left his position at the university to pursue his apprenticeship with the renowned architect. Following Fathy in his search for traditional, ancient, and indigenous architecture, El-Wakil witnessed an upsurge in Fathy’s popularity after the post-war crisis of the Second World War.

Because of the global economic crisis faced after World War II, a shortage of industrial construction materials made architecture a difficult field. Fathy, after researching Nubian building methods in Upper Egypt, decided to bring this traditional style of simplicity but utility, back to architecture. Fascinated with the Nubian tradition of building houses out of mud—a construction technique belonging to the Pharaohs–, Fathy began developing designs based on the techniques of roofing and tiling in the style of Nubians.

El-Wakil apprenticed with Fathy during the period of increased popularity, and learned the ingenious techniques of “constructing roofs in bricks without centering by constructing catenary vaults and domes, eliminat[ing] the need for scarce and expensive tensile materials [2].” El-Wakil adopted these techniques of simplicity and tradition and the profound impact that his apprenticeship had on his career is evident throughout his works.

After five years of apprenticeship with Hassan Fathy, El-Wakil was given the unique opportunity to build a beach house on the beach of Agamy, near Alexandria, Egypt. This was an interesting opportunity for El-Wakil not only because it was his chance to break away from Fathy and start out on his own, but also because it gave him the opportunity to reinterpret all that he had learned with Fathy.

During 1967, Egypt underwent a crushing blow to its economy with the disastrous consequences of the Six Day War. Just as with the Second World War, Egypt was left with very few industrial materials, but a lot of natural, indigenous materials. In 1975, El-Wakil completed the Halawa House at Agamy beach, using a large amount of limestone (indigenous to the area), and blending traditional Egyptian architecture with that of the French Riviera. El-Wakil’s design was stunning, and in 1980 won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

Figure 3: The Halawa House, Agamy Beach, 1975.

2. The Implementation of a Specific Style

Drawing upon traditional Islamic and Egyptian prototypes, El-Wakil maintains an indigenous feel to a luxury home. The house has a courtyard and a fountain, a loggia (a gallery or room with one or more open sides, especially one that forms part of a house and has one side open to the garden), wind catch, alcoves, masonry benches, and a belvedere (a summerhouse or open-sided gallery, commanding a fine view). El-Wakil also managed to employ a majority of local unskilled Bedouins, along with the master mason, plasterer and carpenter, who were skilled craftsman.

El-Wakil’s first piece included all the elements of traditional Egyptian architecture. Keeping Fathy’s adherence to the traditional, El-Wakil included some unique Egyptian structures. “The walls and roof are designed to provide good insulation, sunlight filters through mashrabiyyas, and the courtyard — which is in shade throughout the day — draws fresh sea air down through the wind catch. The paving materials also play their part; the marble in the living areas is cool, and the Muqattam stone used outdoors gives a surface that can be walked on with bare feet even at the height of summer. The design and construction, in the words of the [Aga Khan Award for Architecture] jury, ‘represent a dedicated search for identity with traditional forms. The courtyard plan, the use of domes, vaults and arches, the articulation of space and sensitive use of light combine to produce a house, which fully satisfies contemporary needs. This imaginative handling of traditional vocabulary is also enhanced by the consistent use of traditional methods of construction and the careful attention to details and craftsmanship [3].'”

In 1971, El-Wakil began his own private practice of architecture, and it was from this point onward that El-Wakil’s career would blossom. After the success of the Halawa House at Agamy beach, El-Wakil designed the Hamdy house—a small weekend house located in Giza, Egypt, near the pyramids. The house “contains a domed living room next to which lies an alcove fireplace, a dining area and small kitchen, and an enclosed courtyard. An upper level loft contains the sleeping area and bathroom. The courtyard accommodates outdoor living and sleeping requirements; it contains a small fountain in its center. The peripheral walls are punctured on three sides; wooden mashrabiyas provide privacy while promoting cross-ventilation [4].”

After designing a few houses, El-Wakil undertook a number of large mansion designs in Saudi Arabia. Due to the influx of oil wealth Saudi Arabia experienced during the early 70’s, the country was a lucrative source for El-Wakil. He began by designing the Zahran mansion, followed by the Suleiman Palace in Jeddah, then the Alireza mansion in Riyadh, and the Kandiel house in Jeddah.

Figure 4: The Suleiman Palace, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 1979.

3. Mosque Design

Built in 1979, the Suleiman Palace combines concepts of traditional Arab construction with that of more modern or contemporary designs. But what El-Wakil is most famous for is his series of mosques constructed using his signature blend of the traditional and the contemporary. In 1979, just after the completion of the Suleiman Palace, the mayor of Jeddah, Sheikh Said Farsi, appointed El-Wakil, as advisor. With this new position, El-Wakil was able to maneuver a number of partnerships within the Saudi government, and developed a program for the architecture and design of a number of new mosques and the infusion of traditional architecture into the skylines of Saudi Arabia.

Through collaboration with the Ministry of Pilgrimage and Endowment, El-Wakil enabled the construction of a number of mosques made without concrete, something unique to the time period. Over a period of ten years, El-Wakil worked with the Ministry of Pilgrimage and Endowment in order to bring the traditional Arab architecture, using indigenous materials, through the building of fifteen beautiful mosques. El-Wakil was the sole designer of each of the fifteen mosques.

Figure 5: The Ruwais Mosque.

Undoubtedly, this singular opportunity was an important moment in his career—this opportunity gave El-Wakil the outlet to evolve his own design concepts and building techniques. “They can all be referred to as revivalist structures. All draw heavily, and often very directly, on various historical prototypes belonging to the architectural heritage of the Islamic world. All these mosques share strong similarities in the use of materials and construction technologies. Their construction is based on the utilization of load bearing brick walls, vaults and domes. Therefore, these structures are built of hollow baked bricks held together with mortar. Most of the brick surfaces are covered with white plaster, and in some cases, with granite. However, the interior of the vaults and domes are generally left exposed, and are only coated with a layer of brown paint. As for reinforced concrete, its use is limited to specific elements, which include the foundations, lintels, and flat ceiling [5].”

Figure 6: The Corniche Mosque.

Four mosques designed and built by El-Wakil were considerably smaller than his later works. Nevertheless, each mosque was unique and awe-inspiring, using only the indigenous materials. The above mosques (the Island mosque, the Corniche mosque, the Ruwais mosque, and the Abraj mosque) were paid for as part of a beautification program of New Jeddah. The following is written about the Corniche mosque: “Technologically, this building reflects the architect’s extensive research in the methods whereby Egyptian mosques of the traditional high culture were built. The entire structure is of brick coated with plaster except for the dome interior in which the bricks are exposed and painted a dark bronze color [6].”

Figure 7: The Island Mosque.

El-Wakil also built another five mosques for the city of Jeddah: the Suleiman mosque, the Harithy mosque, the Azizeyah mosque, the Jufalli mosque, and the King Saud mosque. Much larger than the previous four, these mosques were amongst some of the biggest of El-Wakil’s work. Unlike the previous four mosques, these mosques were built with brick. The King Saud mosque is a monumental structure, with a brick dome having the diameter of 20 meters and a highest point of 40 meters.

Figure 8: King Saud Mosque.

Figure 9: Azizeyah Mosque.

El-Wakil’s mosques in Jeddah not only brightened coastlines and cityscapes, but were also built in areas that have a large amount of religious meaning and history. Five mosques were commissioned in Medina, in Saudi Arabia. The Qubbah mosque was built on the site of the first mosque in Islam. The first Islamic mosque was built in Medina, after the Prophet Muhammad made his Hijrah from Mecca to Medina. El-Wakil was initially commissioned to build a larger mosque in the first mosque’s place. At first, El-Wakil attempted to add on to the already-existing mosque by blending styles and themes. However, the client who commissioned El-Wakil decided to eventually tear down the old mosque completely, and have El-Wakil erect a completely new design. The new mosque features four minarets.

Figure 10: The Qubbah Mosque, Medina, Saudi Arabia, 1989.

The second mosque built by El-Wakil on a historical site is the Qiblatain mosque. The Qiblatain mosque was the built in 1992 in the location where it is believed that the first worshippers changed their direction of prayer from Jerusalem towards Mecca.

Figure 11: The Qiblatain mosque, Medina, Saudi Arabia, 1992.

El-Wakil also re-designed and constructed the Friday mosque, which is the mosque where it is believed the first Friday prayers were conducted. Finally, the Miqaat Al-Medina mosque complex was designed and built in 1987 so that pilgrims entering the city of Medina could perform their ablutions and purification rites. The complex is an impressive array of necessary stops for those performing the religious pilgrimage to Medina. It can hold approximately 5,000 people, and includes shops and walkways for guests.

Figure 12: Miqaat Al-Medina mosque, Medina, Saudi Arabia, 1987.

Further, El-Wakil designed two mosques for the city of Mecca, the Bilal mosque and the Hafayer mosque. The Bilal mosque was never built, and the Hafayer mosque was recently completed in Ramadan of 2008.

4. Various other Achievements and Commitments

Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil’s work is not confined to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, though. He has, in fact, designed and constructed a number of buildings elsewhere in the region and abroad. He designed the Kerk Street mosque in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, the Houghton Mosque and community centre on the outskirts of Johannesburg, and the Yateem Mosque in Bahrain. He designed and constructed the mosque in Brunei, in the style of traditional Malay architecture, and the Muslim Community Center in Miami.

In 1991, El-Wakil was invited to University of Miami as a visiting Professor, and remained there until just after the events of September 11, 2001. El-Wakil has since been commissioned to design Oxford University’s Center for Islamic Studies.

Currently, El-Wakil divides his time between a number of major Middle Eastern cities, and continues to work within the style of traditional but contemporary architecture. He has received a number of awards including two Aga Khan Awards for Architecture (1980 and 1989), the King Fahd Award for Research in Islamic Architecture (1985), an award and trophy for his achievements in the city of the Medina (1994), and the Richard H. Driehaus Prize for his contributions to classical architecture (2009).

Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil has also been a member of a number jury panels and an advisor to a number of large-scale, international projects. El-Wakil has served as Member of the Board of Trustees of the International Heritage Trust, a member of the Academic Board of the Prince of Wales School of Architecture, an advisor to Astronaut Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Adulaziz Al Saud High Commissioner of Tourism and of the Saudi Heritage Trust, President of the jury for the reconstruction of the Old Souks of Beirut, a member of the jury and think tank for the Aga Khan Prize for Architecture, advisor to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization for the development of a village to relocate the Bdul tribe in Petra, Jordan, and a member of the King Fahd award for the International Youth of the World Competition for Islamic Architecture.

El-Wakil continues to remain a constant source of innovation in architecture. He has undertaken the development and design of a city quarter in Qatar, integrating the best contemporary low-energy planning practice with climate-tempered Islamic building form. With Prince Sultan of Saudi Arabia, he has worked on the development and restoration of the old Al-‘Udhaibat traditional farm in Wadi Hanifa in Diriyah on the western outskirts of Riyadh, and in, recently, during a trip to visit the President of Senegal, El-Wakil was commission to develop an experimental social housing project out of mud brick.

El-Wakil’s strong career as advocate for the use and appreciation of the land and the heritage of Islamic culture permeated throughout this work. Throughout his career, El-Wakil has remained loyal to that which connotes a nobler time—a more traditional time. In an interview for Huffington Post author Victoria Lautman [7], El-Wakil says this, “One of the rare qualities I have in my work is that I’ve really studied sacred art and sacred architecture. It’s amazing that the nobility and the knowledge once transmitted through sacred architecture today is lost. The cathedrals, the temples in Egypt – they all have a message to give. That is what I attempt in my work. And I do believe it is the lack of sacred attitude that’s causing so many problems today. I’m not talking about fanaticism, but something universal.” El-Wakil’s desire to encourage the world to revere the sacred is evident in his exaltation of indigenous resources and traditional structures. In homage to the past with a twist of the present, El-Wakil manages to remind the world of the warmth and humbleness of the past.

As one of the original voices advocating for the use of indigenous materials and remaining loyal to the traditional methods of building, El-Wakil has been able to blend the beauty, ingenious, and preciousness of traditional Islamic architecture with that of contemporary modern designs. His extensive work in the Islamic world and beyond has established him as one of the foremost authorities on reviving the traditional Islamic architectural style in our world.

5. References and further reading

Al-Asad, Mohammed, “The Mosques of Abdel Wahed El-Wakil“, in MIMAR 42: Architecture in Development Concept Media Ltd., London, 1992.

Facey, William, Al-‘Udhaibat, building on the past, Saudi Aramco World, July/August 1999, pp. 32-45.

Keegan, Edward, Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil Wins 2009 Driehaus Prize, Architect Magazine, 10 Nov 2008.

Edwin, Heathcote, “No Place Like Dome,” The Financial Times Magazine, 9 March 2007.

[Video], Notre Dame School of Architecture: 2009 Richard H. Driehaus Prize Colloquium (2009). Retrieved October 11, 2009.

Wakil, Abdel Wahed el- on Artnet.

Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil: Information on Archnet: Digital Library and links to plans.

End Notes

[1] [Wikipedia], Modern Architecture, (retrieved 8 October 2009).

[2] Ibid.

[3] [Archnet], Halawa House (retrieved 16 October 2009).

[4] [Archnet], Hamdy Residence (retrieved 16 October 2009).

[5] [Archnet], Qubbah Mosque (retrieved 16 October 2009).

[6] [Archnet], Corniche Mosque (retrieved 16 October 2009).

[7] Victoria Lautman, Mosques, Moolah, and the Importance of Tradition.

* The El Sayed Foundation is a not-for-profit organization established in the United Kingdom, seeking to contribute to positive social change through the promotion of economically empowering and educational initiatives that are both sustainable and innovative. Among its partners, 1001 Inventions Global non-profit educational initiative aiming to raise awareness of the Muslim contribution to modern civilization. For more information, visit El Sayed Foundation.

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The Minaret, Symbol of a Civilization

by Cherif Jah AbderrahmánPublished on: 17th January 2007

The minaret is the architectural shape which best indicates the presence of mosque. Over the centuries the mosque assumed a number of roles including a social centre, place for prayer, teaching institute, court of justice, space for financial transactions and an area for administrative organization. This presentation reviews the philosophy behind the shape and function of the Minaret.

Figure 1. Yivli (Grooved) Minaret Mosque, Antalya, Turkey (Image from Miniaturk, Istanbul).

This is an edited version of a presentation given by Cherif Jah Abderrahmán, (President, Islamic Culture Foundation) at a seminar in Marrakesh on 7 March 2006. Published here with kind permission from funci.org.

Traditionally Western culture has had some difficulty in interpreting, in abstract terms, the physical and material realities of Islam. So I wish to share a few ideas and thoughts from the point of view of a humanist and of someone who has studied Islam.

The study of semiotics is always ambiguous and complicated given that the attributes of symbols are not static, but change according to the feeling and attitudes evoked in the observer.

However, our day-to-day life is full of symbols, and it is important to learn to unravel these as they are an abstract construct of ways of thinking, ways of life, and essentially embody the product of a civilization. Thus the “tower”, an edifice taller than it is wide and which was devised in response to problems of defense and communication, has throughout history come to represent dominance and power. In mankind’s collective unconscious, since the beginning of time, there has always been this association between elevation and height with the concept of superiority, divinity, and supreme power. Cities, harbors, countries and civilizations display their towers with pride. We could almost trace History through their presence: Babel, symbol of the confusion of languages; Mesopotamia’s ziggurats as symbols of the quest for wisdom; Italian towers, symbols of the rivalry among cities; the Eiffel tower and New York skyscrapers, symbols of the power of technology…All these bring to mind mankind’s earnest for perpetuation. Every builder, had the capacity been available, would doubtlessly have made them taller, higher.

Figure 2. Spiral minaret in Samarra, Iraq (Source).

In the case of the Islamic civilization, the architectural shape which best and more clearly indicates the presence of Islam, is the minaret, whatever its current function and whichever may be the social reasons which led to its construction.

The main problem which we face in dealing with the minaret is how and when it acquired a towering shape, given that the ceremony of calling the faithful to prayer, almost as ancient as the Prophet’s settlement in Medina, originally took place in the streets and then from the highest roof of the neighboring houses.

If there is a feature particular to Islam it is this: that particular capacity, that intelligent attitude of providing a service to the community when a need must be overcome. Islam was born, grew, and evolved with and for the Umma. As tradition states, “Wherever you may be as the time for prayer comes and you perform salat, that place is a mosque.” But the mosque had to physically match the community’s need for a dedicated space, although the structure was not seen in a rigid, defined manner. It adapted instead to circumstance.

Accordingly it also became a social centre, a place for prayer and teaching, a court of justice, a space for financial transactions, an area for administrative organization, etc.

Figure 3. Cifte (Double) Minare Madrasa, Erzurum, Turkey (Image from Miniaturk, Istanbul).

In response to this principle of meeting the community’s needs the adhan therefore also arose, as an efficient method of calling the faithful. The minaret later became the physical location for this purpose.

We note once again how the symbol stands for a multiplicity of principles, a system of values, of knowledge, of tradition. In the same way as Islam struggled and worked to lay down its foundations, like any other expanding civilization, its architects and builders needed to solve technical problems which forced them to adopt specific shapes. These led to ever taller, more beautiful, more significant minarets.

As part of this logical evolutionary process, which paralleled the establishment of mosques throughout the Islamic world the minaret grew, limited only by conditions prevailing in the surrounding environment.

But as the minaret unified the various social, political, and religious elements common to the unifying force of Islam, it never lost its primary function as the main lookout from which to gather the members of the community.

The usefulness of symbols, whether architectural or any other type, stems from their capacity to remind us of the values for which they stand, and they will always remain present as long as their driving principles also continue to exist.

All this leads us to think it logical that any idea we hold must ultimately aim at gaining knowledge, which shall become useful if it can help in creating a future. Otherwise, all our efforts would be sterile.

Figure 4. Minaret Koutoubia, Morocco (Source).

The world of Islam must thus remain faithful to the principles embodied in the minaret. Today’s increasingly globalized culture which blends the various civilizations; the major problems facing mankind, the need for cooperation and solidarity in response to future challenges, all these factors make it necessary that there be a call for unity in humanity from the many existing towers.

Islam has proven throughout history that it has no problem in evolving according to need by adapting to different circumstances. Today’s Islamic world must thus provide solutions in solidarity with the rest of the world without losing sight of its own traditional values and of its original balance.

The Kutubiya, which together with the Tinmal mosque is an emblem of the Almohade civilization which provided so much knowledge and development for Humanity, well deserves that we all honor it by providing our single grain of sand to the Euro Islamic dialogue.

The Western Institute for Islamic Culture, over which I am honored to preside, and on the basis of the deep respect inspired by the traditions it studies and transmits, is carrying out a series of activities aimed at bringing together the Islamic world and the West, both victims of fanaticism and ignorance.

Last May another high-profile institution, the Council of Europe, jointly organized with our Institute a seminar held in UNESCO headquarters in Paris on the contribution made by Islam to European culture. As a follow-up to the discussions and debates that took place the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly approved Recommendation 1162 in plenary session on September 19 with the purpose of taking concrete measures to help overcome problems in the area of intercultural relations which affect all of us.

Figure 5. Qutub Minar, Delhi, India (Source).

On this occasion, where we are dealing with a cultural and political movement which extends to both shores of the Mediterranean. I must call for, as I did in Paris and this is included in the text of the Recommendation, the need to consider the cultural unity of the Western Mediterranean as an unquestioned reality and as a Basic premise which we can and should accept in a natural manner, without any complexes.

I would finally like to express my wish that this type of activity should multiply so that symbols as beautiful and suggestive as the minarets in the Kutubiya and in the Giralda, which represent the two leading Almohade capitals, retain their significance and their current values.

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The Back-Road Historic Mosques of China

by Sheila Blair, Jonathan Bloom, Nancy SteinhardtPublished on: 1st September 2017

In a country known for large numbers, it was a modest, round number that grabbed our attention: 100. That is the approximate number of mosques built before 1700 that are estimated to remain throughout central and northern China—out of some 30,000 mosques over an area larger than either Texas or France. We set out, traveling highways and back roads, in search of the oldest, least well known among them.

Figure 1. The entrance to the Great East Mosque at Kaifeng (Source)

Note of the Editor

This article appeared originally in the Saudi Aramco World, Vol. 65, issue 6, November/December 2014, p. 14.  For the online version, with figures, see: Blair, S. & Bloom, J: The Back-Road Historic Mosques of China.  (© Saudi Aramco World). We reproduce the article under the permission granted by the publisher (see Copyright and Permissions). Photography © Jonathan Bloom. For additional photographs, readers should go to the Aramco World article.

***

Figure 2. Great Mosque of Xian (Source)

To prepare, we briefed ourselves with more numbers. Of China’s more than 1.3 billion citizens, some 1.8 percent, or 23 million, are Muslims. This Muslim population comprises 10 major ethnic and language groups including 10 million Chinese-speaking Hui and 8.4 million Turkic-speaking Uighurs. The rest are Kazaks, Kyrgyz, Salars, Tatars and Uzbeks, who all speak Turkic languages, as well as Mongolian-speaking Dongxiang and Bao’an, and Farsi-speaking Tajiks.

We did not want to cover, in the short time available to us, China’s well-known historic mosques. These include Beijing’s Ox Street Mosque, so named for its Muslim neighborhood where oxen—not pigs—were butchered, and the Great Mosque of Xian, both of which are whistle-stops on tourist itineraries. We also avoided tourist favorites in the old port cities along China’s southeastern coast, including the “Cherishing the Sage” Mosque in Guangzhou (formerly Canton); the “Sacred Friendship” Mosque in Quanzhou; the “Phoenix” Mosque in Hangzhou; and the “Transcendent Crane” Mosque in Yangzhou. All of these were bestowed Chinese names that reflected Chinese tenets and myths by their Muslim founders, who arrived in China via the maritime Silk Road. Finally, we excluded a third group of well-known mosques, which serve the Uighur population of Kashgar and other cities of far-western China and whose architecture has much in common with mosques in nearby Uzbekistan and other countries to the west.

Far more intriguing to us were the less-well-known, off-the-beaten-track historic mosques of central and northern China that adopted, adapted and built upon traditional Chinese building designs to meet Islamic needs.

Soon after we met in Beijing, a driver whisked us off for the western Hebei province, northwest of Beijing. Along the three-hour trip, we caught a passing glimpse of the Great Wall before stopping in the city of Zhangjiakou (jang-jea-koo) to visit the Xuanhua (shwen-hwua) North Mosque. There, outside a nearby bookshop, a casual greeting of “as salamu alaykum”—“Peace be with you” in Arabic—was understood with a smile, and it led to an invitation inside: The place was filled with Qur’ans, books and calligraphic inscriptions, in Arabic and Chinese, penned by our host. It was clear this would be a richly fascinating trip.

Indeed, traveling exclusively overland for the next two weeks, we exhausted six different drivers and cars, and rode one overnight train to climb up through the Yellow River Valley from Guyuan to Xining (shee-ning) on the Tibetan Plateau. (See map below) In all, we traversed the seven provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Hubei and Henan as well as the two autonomous regions of Inner Mongolia and Ningxia—all areas in central, north and northwestern China with significant Hui populations.

Figure 3. The Beiguan Mosque in Tianshui in Gansu province (Source)

Many of China’s mosques are said to have long histories, but it is often difficult to ascertain just how old the edifices are. Nobody likes to talk about what transpired during the Cultural Revolution, which lasted the decade until the 1976 death of Chairman Mao Zedong. During that time, the practice of religion was curtailed, and many religious buildings were appropriated and repurposed. In some places, inscribed stele (upright flat stones), often inscribed in Arabic on one side and Chinese on the other, tell the stories of mosques back through the centuries, but much of what remains dates back no further than the 1700s, and it is often overlaid with modern reconstructions, repairs and repainting, all of greatly varying fidelity to older designs. Indeed, in Tianshui in Gansu province the Beiguan Mosque was in the midst of just such a renovation.

Figure 4. The burial sites of men who introduced Islam to China are marked by pagoda-like structures, Linxia, Gansu province (Source)

It was soon after the rise of Islam in the seventh century that Muslims came to China, mainly as ambassadors or merchants. They came both by land, along the Silk Roads through Central Asia, and by sea, over the Indian Ocean via the Straits of Malacca. Historical sources claim that in 651, an envoy representing the third caliph, Uthman, came to the Tang court at Chang’an in central China. With the spread of Islam into Central Asia and the conversion of the Turks to Islam, cities in the western province of Xinjiang (sheen-jee-ahn) became important centers of Muslim culture as early as the 10th century. Apart from some 12th-century tombstones found in coastal cities, however, the first physical evidence for the presence of Muslims in China dates to several 14th-century mosques in the southeast that today are much reconstructed.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, followers of Afak Khoja, who was buried in 1693 or 1694 outside Kashgar in Xinjiang province, brought a wave of Islam east into Gansu, Ningxia and other regions of central China. The disciples’ tombs became the centers of religious complexes that also included rooms for worship and teaching. These buildings adapted traditional Chinese forms and motifs to meet the needs of Islam, but they did so in ways that might surprise visitors from western Islamic lands. For example, many are decorated not only with Arabic calligraphy, but also with traditional Chinese figural and representational scenes. The city of Linxia (lin-shee-a) in Gansu province is home to many such complexes, which serve not only as centers of Muslim scholarship, but as oases of quiet amid urban life.

Figure 5. The Zhuxian Mosque in Kaifeng, Henan province (Source)

Along with the old, we also discovered much that is new. In earlier centuries, it was particularly arduous for Muslims in China to make the long journeys to centers of Muslim learning to the west, most notably the Hajj, or pilgrimage, to Makkah, which might have taken as long as two years. Today, China’s Muslims, with the rest of the nation, are more connected to the rest of the world than ever, and the architectural consequences of this are increasingly apparent: Many old mosques are now paired with gleaming new ones, often funded from abroad and often designed in what may be called “International Islamic” style marked by pointed green domes and slender, tall minarets—neither of which have any roots in China. We saw one particularly striking example of such indigenous-Chinese and imported design juxtaposition in Yongning in Ningxia, where the traditional Na Family Mosque (also called Naijahu Mosque) stands near the Hui Culture Park, whose designers appear to have been inspired mostly by India’s Taj Mahal.

Figure 6. Arabic calligraphy is often used to decorate the walls of mosques, as here at the entrance to the Great East Mosque at Kaifeng (Source)

These new mosques using non-Chinese designs are dramatic examples of change within a deeply traditional architectural culture that has applied common design principles consistently to all kinds of secular and religious buildings over several millennia. The palaces of rulers and other elites, which are really just very big houses, served as models first for Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian temples and later for mosques. As a result, a surprising number of Chinese buildings resemble one another closely. For example, a ninth-century Buddhist temple, a 13th-century Daoist temple, a 15th-century mosque, a 16th-century funerary hall, a 17th-century Confucian hall and a 19th-century residence may all exhibit unmistakable similarities. Why Chinese architecture has so many shared features among such varied purposes, across so many geographic and ecological regions, over millennia, was a question that framed our journey from city to city, mosque to mosque. While the size of the buildings and the quality of the materials showed differences in the status and patronage of the structure, they did not often point to any difference in purpose.

One simple answer to the question, which is exemplified by mosque architecture from the 14th to the 20th centuries, is flexibility. They were all built using timber framing braced by sets of wooden brackets; roofed in ceramic tile; grouped in complexes arranged symmetrically along horizontal axes around rectangular courtyards; and set behind walls, usually of brick, with a main gate to the south.

Therefore, to turn a traditional Chinese palace or temple plan into a mosque was often as straightforward as orienting the complex to face Makkah, which in China was long understood to be due west. The prayer hall is generally the main building, and it sits in the center of the complex on a platform or plinth as a show of its importance—a practice unique to China. Along the courtyard walls gather auxiliary structures for classrooms, offices and ablutions, as well as residences for the staff, students and travelers—all functions that in some Islamic lands are frequently accommodated in separate or adjacent buildings such as the madrassah (religious school), kuttab (elementary school), khanaqah (hospice), imaret (soup kitchen) and the like. Most of these functions—education, administration, living quarters for religious leaders and visitors—appear no less in Chinese Buddhist and Taoist complexes.

This traditional Chinese architectural system is furthermore generally low in profile, apart from the pagoda, which is the Chinese version of the Indian Buddhist stupa, a symbolic mountain containing Buddhist relics. The minaret, the tower adjacent to a mosque from which the call to prayer is given, was not necessarily part of the traditional Chinese mosque, although in some places Chinese builders transformed the pagoda into the wangyuelou, or “moon-watching tower,” which was located in the middle of the mosque’s courtyard. It was not used for the call to prayer; that function was, and still often is, performed from the doorway of the mosque, now with electronic amplification.

While in most of the dry-climate Muslim world, builders favored brick and stone due to the scarcity of wood, in China timber has always been abundantly available. Traditional Chinese timber-frame construction, whether for palaces, temples or mosques, relied on wooden posts to hold horizontal beams that in turn supported the rafters and roof. These elements were joined using a pegged mortise-and-tenon system with braces, known as bracket sets: No nails, no screws.

Figure 7. At a Halal sweet shop outside the mosque at Hohhot (Source)

This craftsmanship grew in complexity from the 14th to the 17th centuries. Simple bracket sets with two or three layers of “arms” in 14th-century buildings become bracket sets that clustered in five to seven layers, along nine different angles, by the 17th century. Eventually, the brackets came so close together that it can be seen as a Chinese equivalent of muqarnas, the kaleidoscopic, stalactite-like motif that graces Islamic architecture from Bukhara to Granada.

Figure 8. Mihrab in Linxia (Old Wang Mosque), Tongxin (Source)

While wood was the most important material for construction, brick was characteristically used for the outer, dividing walls of buildings, and ceramic tile was used for roofing. Although traditional Chinese builders did know and use both arches and vaults, they did so mostly for underground tombs, not for aboveground architecture.

For Muslims, however, the arch has a particularly religious significance: Since its introduction in early Islamic times, the mihrab, or niche in the Makkah-facing wall of a mosque (qibla), has invariably taken an arched form that appears, with variations, to this day. Again owing to the dearth of timber in North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, the common technique for covering a space became the vault of brick or stone—vaults being no more than arches rotated and, for length, extended in space. Chinese Muslims, too, seem to have at times associated vaults with Islam, since some of the timber-frame mosques we saw showed arched and vaulted spaces made of brick in the most important part of the building: the bays in front of the mihrab. This kind of construction is known in Chinese as a “beamless hall.” And at other times, the wood construction actually imitated a domed space without relinquishing its structural reliance on posts and beams.

The decoration of the mosques we saw similarly combined traditional Islamic motifs of calligraphy, and geometric and vegetal ornament with traditional Chinese ones of peonies, lotus flowers, dragons and phoenixes. The use of Arabic script is the most obvious difference between Muslims and others in China, whether in the mosque or in the marketplace.

Figure 9. Painted timber beams in Dingxiang (Source)

Arabic calligraphy in China often displays an exceptionally fluid line that reflects the long Chinese tradition of writing with brushes rather than the reed pens of other Islamic lands. In the case of vegetal and floral ornament, there is much overlap between the two traditions, but it is uniquely Chinese to depict mythical beasts in Islamic religious settings, where figural representation is normally avoided. Sometimes these beasts are set like guardian figures flanking doorways or decorating roofs; at other times they integrate into the carved and painted decoration. In a similar way, in some mosques Muslims adopted the traditional Chinese use of incense, and in some courtyards one can find large bronze or ceramic vessels, inscribed in Arabic and Chinese, filled with sand that holds smoldering sticks of incense.

Perhaps the greatest surprise of our trip was the charming Hongshuiquan (hung-shwee-chew-ahn) or “Vast Spring” mosque at Ping’an, which we reached after several hours’ drive from the city of Xining, high on the loess plateau in Qinghai province, along the upper reaches of the Yellow River. We didn’t quite know what to expect as we wended our way through small agricultural villages built atop millennia of loess deposited by the winds off the deserts of Central Asia.

To our surprise, this remote mosque showed little evidence of restoration, yet its condition was good. As we closed our eyes and listened to a cuckoo serenade us in the stillness so rare in modern China, we were transported back into the 18th or 19th century, when this exquisitely elaborate wooden mosque was constructed.

Figure 10. The custodian of the Hongshuiquan mosque (Source)

el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello del escarabajo, de Isis sin velo, del ojo de Horus, del oráculo de Tebas, del oráculo de Efeso, del oráculo de Scimura, de la escuela de Alejandría, de la biblioteca de Pérgamo, del misterio de Gizah, de la esfera piramidal... donde aún reside la memoria de la esencia humana en la Tierra - by Cerasale Morteo, Víctor Norberto | Salta | ARGENTINA - 31 de MAYO de 2020 [11] DOCE AÑOS recreando la memoria sobre la esencia del sí mismo...

May 31, 2020, 11:25 am

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el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello del escarabajo, de Isis sin velo, del ojo de Horus, del oráculo de Tebas, del oráculo de Efeso, del oráculo de Scimura, de la escuela de Alejandría, de la biblioteca de Pérgamo, del misterio de Gizah, de la esfera piramidal... donde aún reside la memoria de la esencia humana en la Tierra - by Cerasale Morteo, Víctor Norberto | Salta | ARGENTINA -  31 de MAYO de 2020 [11] DOCE AÑOS recreando la memoria sobre la esencia del sí mismo...


el dispensador dice:
huecos,
vacíos,
suena el río,
nadie oye,
el desconcierto es desatino,
fluyen las aguas,
nadie ve,
todo hace foco en el delirio,
mucho desaire,
mucho desprecio,
todos recitan,
vacíos los versos,
miran los fuegos,
cenizas a los vientos,
mucha distancia,
escaso entendimiento,
muchas excusas,
para ningún sentimiento,
nada se respeta,
ni el prójimo,
ni el viento,
sobradas razones,
para explicar los desajustes del tiempo,
algunos dan lástima,
otros producen pena,
es mucho lo que se fuga,
mucho más lo que se yerra,
la naturaleza contempla,
mientras los otros miran,
nadie atina a nada,
mientras se rompe la rima,
poco es lo que queda,
entre llantos y sonrisas,
esta vida no es vida,
dicen lo que andan de prisa,
apuros en la cornisa,
el humanismo está hecho trizas,
¿qué sucede?,
pregunta el árbol,
ya nadie repara en la sombra,
¿qué ocurre?,
pregunta la flor,
ya nadie reverencia el color,
algo anda mal en el espíritu humano,
demasiados huecos,
para ningún tallado,
lo que se ha perdido,
se ha evaporado,
no quedan presentes,
se han robado el pasado...
cuidado humano, cuidado,
cuando el futuro se esfuma,
tu propio mañana te habrá apagado. mayo 31, 2020.-
si juegas con el destino,
será tu día el que será tomado...

Carmen Conde Sedemiuqse Esquimedes

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el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello del escarabajo, de Isis sin velo, del ojo de Horus, del oráculo de Tebas, del oráculo de Efeso, del oráculo de Scimura, de la escuela de Alejandría, de la biblioteca de Pérgamo, del misterio de Gizah, de la esfera piramidal... donde aún reside la memoria de la esencia humana en la Tierra - by Cerasale Morteo, Víctor Norberto | Salta | ARGENTINA -  30 de MAYO de 2020 [10] DOCE AÑOS recreando la memoria sobre la esencia del sí mismo...


el dispensador dice:
entre Humanao y Tacuil,
caminos divergentes si los hay,
entre Amblayo y Seclantás,
caminos de espíritus si  los hay,
los remolinos ocultan,
aquello que el hombre no ha de ver...
lo que está a la vista,
no es lo que existe,
existe,
aquello que no está a la vista... mayo 30, 2020.-
hay más pintura detrás de la pintura,
hay más color detrás del color,
hay más forma detrás de la forma,
pero si no miras con el alma,
lo que ves... no existe.

Carmen Conde Sedemiuqse Esquimedes

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    • el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello...

el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello del escarabajo, de Isis sin velo, del ojo de Horus, del oráculo de Tebas, del oráculo de Efeso, del oráculo de Scimura, de la escuela de Alejandría, de la biblioteca de Pérgamo, del misterio de Gizah, de la esfera piramidal... donde aún reside la memoria de la esencia humana en la Tierra - by Cerasale Morteo, Víctor Norberto | Salta | ARGENTINA -  26 de MAYO de 2020 [09] DOCE AÑOS recreando la memoria sobre la esencia del sí mismo...


el dispensador dice: adopto por el silencio como una confesión sin tiempo... mayo 26, 2020.-

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    • el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello...

el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello del escarabajo, de Isis sin velo, del ojo de Horus, del oráculo de Tebas, del oráculo de Efeso, del oráculo de Scimura, de la escuela de Alejandría, de la biblioteca de Pérgamo, del misterio de Gizah, de la esfera piramidal... donde aún reside la memoria de la esencia humana en la Tierra - by Cerasale Morteo, Víctor Norberto | Salta | ARGENTINA -  23 de MAYO de 2020 [08] DOCE AÑOS recreando la memoria sobre la esencia del sí mismo...


el dispensador dice:
a veces faltan colores,
a veces sobran colores,
a veces los colores son justos,
a veces los colores son injustos,
a veces entiendes el paisaje,
a veces pierdes el paisaje,
a veces entiendes las cosas con el tiempo,
a veces lo que te sucede se lo lleva el viento...
ante tanto desmadre,
opto por el silencio,
me guardo en el mí mismo,
y me escurro en el sentimiento,
de saber que a la vuelta de todo,
la nada comprende mi vuelo,
y en lo poco me conformo,
ya que he aprendido a descifrar mis sueños... mayo 23, 2020.-
si no entiendes el paisaje,
mucho menos la circunstancia... 

Carmen Conde Sedemiuqse Esquimedes

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    • el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello...

el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello del escarabajo, de Isis sin velo, del ojo de Horus, del oráculo de Tebas, del oráculo de Efeso, del oráculo de Scimura, de la escuela de Alejandría, de la biblioteca de Pérgamo, del misterio de Gizah, de la esfera piramidal... donde aún reside la memoria de la esencia humana en la Tierra - by Cerasale Morteo, Víctor Norberto | Salta | ARGENTINA -  20 de MAYO de 2020 [07] DOCE AÑOS recreando la memoria sobre la esencia del sí mismo...


el dispensador dice:
hace falta magia,
magia del alma,
magia del espíritu,
magia de la consciencia,
magia de la esencia,
para enaltecer humanismos,
entrelazando futuros,
creando y recreando el sentido de tribu...
hace falta color,
color en el alma,
color en el espíritu,
color en la consciencia,
color en la esencia,
para dar forma al presente,
despegando los pasados,
que tienen atrapadas a las mentes,
con escasas luces,
con demasiadas sombras,
entre verborragias,
y palabras que se escurren,
entre olvidos y ausencias,
mientras se fabrican escombros,
de humanos caídos,
de otros descartados,
de muchos expulsados,
de muchos más negados,
por egoísmos enlazados,
entre soberbias y vanidades,
entre mentiras y traiciones,
entre voluntades saqueadas,
entre esfuerzos robados,
en selvas de inequidades,
donde todo falta,
hasta la dignidad que se apaga...
hace falta magia,
para regresar a las fuentes,
antes que sea tarde,
antes que se funde la tarde. mayo 20, 2020.-

Carmen Conde Sedemiuqse Esquimedes

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    • el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello...

el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello del escarabajo, de Isis sin velo, del ojo de Horus, del oráculo de Tebas, del oráculo de Efeso, del oráculo de Scimura, de la escuela de Alejandría, de la biblioteca de Pérgamo, del misterio de Gizah, de la esfera piramidal... donde aún reside la memoria de la esencia humana en la Tierra - by Cerasale Morteo, Víctor Norberto | Salta | ARGENTINA -  17 de MAYO de 2020 [06] DOCE AÑOS recreando la memoria sobre la esencia del sí mismo...


el dispensador dice:
la distancia amanece,
la ausencia enaltece,
lo que regresa no vuelve,
lo que despierta permanece...
la distancia agradece, 
la ausencia entristece,
lo que regresa perece,
lo que despierta envanece...
reconoces la distancia,
porque el olvido se vuelve gracia...
entiendes la ausencia,
cuando la presencia compromete...
comprendes el regreso,
cuando la partida libera,
y sientes que el alma vuelve...
despiertas, 
no cuando abres los ojos,
sino cuando asumes que el presente,
representa lo que eres... mayo 17, 2020.-
la distancia descubre el árbol,
la ausencia encuentra el bosque,
el regreso es huir hacia el trueno,
despertar es seguir adelante,
propulsado por el recuerdo...

Carmen Conde Sedemiuqse Esquimedes

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    • el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello...

el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello del escarabajo, de Isis sin velo, del ojo de Horus, del oráculo de Tebas, del oráculo de Efeso, del oráculo de Scimura, de la escuela de Alejandría, de la biblioteca de Pérgamo, del misterio de Gizah, de la esfera piramidal... donde aún reside la memoria de la esencia humana en la Tierra - by Cerasale Morteo, Víctor Norberto | Salta | ARGENTINA -  14 de MAYO de 2020 [05] DOCE AÑOS recreando la memoria sobre la esencia del sí mismo...


el dispensador dice:
cosas grandes,
cosas pequeñas,
si reparas en los detalles,
te muestran las huellas,
de donde proviene el mensaje,
donde la señal es estrella...
te enseña la vida,
mientras te atraviesa,
crees que andas,
pero es ella la que mira,
cómo resuelves circunstancias,
donde quedan tus sombras,
donde permanecen tus huellas,
en la señal que te llega,
siempre desciende una estrella,
aunque digas no verla,
tu alma va en ella,
y la historia se repite,
aunque no aciertes verla...
regresan entonces,
grandes cosas,
pequeñas cosas,
si ves el pétalo,
te pierdes la rosa,
si anotas el pistilo,
no sigues el hilo,
si tomas la flor,
el perfume es vapor,
y todo sucede al instante,
mientras sientes estar ocupado,
entendiendo el punto,
paralelo equidistante,
si desprecias el ángulo,
el espíritu queda como errante,
y andas a la deriva,
desafinando notas,
sin descubrir el camino,
que te enseñaba el horizonte,
que antes creías ver hacia adelante...
de repente hay un giro,
inocente y desconcertante,
el tiempo se ha escurrido,
calificaciones infartantes,
casi no queda horizonte,
casi no hay adelante,
todo lo que no se ha hecho,
carece de espacio desconcertante...
llega la hora de pesar,
intenciones versus hechos,
allí la voluntad puede ser opaca,
allí la voluntad puede ser brillante,
el pasado se ha escurrido,
lo demás... no tiene atenuantes... mayo 14, 2020.-
todo lo que se desata en el aquí,
se desata en el allá...
las excusas no son argumentos,
las palabras vacías,
carecen de sentimientos...

Carmen Conde Sedemiuqse Esquimedes

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    • el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello...

el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello del escarabajo, de Isis sin velo, del ojo de Horus, del oráculo de Tebas, del oráculo de Efeso, del oráculo de Scimura, de la escuela de Alejandría, de la biblioteca de Pérgamo, del misterio de Gizah, de la esfera piramidal... donde aún reside la memoria de la esencia humana en la Tierra - by Cerasale Morteo, Víctor Norberto | Salta | ARGENTINA -  11 de MAYO de 2020 [04] DOCE AÑOS recreando la memoria sobre la esencia del sí mismo...


el dispensador dice:
no te equivoques,
recién me asomo,
y no te das cuenta,
que otras son las cosas que cuentan,
que has seguido de largo,
sin apreciar la señal,
ni obtener el mensaje,
que te han mostrado de ida y de vuelta,
cuando ves el bosque,
no ves el árbol,
cuando reparas en el árbol,
se te ha escapado el bosque...
te lo han dicho en sueños,
pero sólo tienes tu realidad,
donde lo demás sobra,
cuando no alcanzan a tu sombra,
puesto que ya nada te asombra,
he de decirte ahora,
en este preciso momento,
que ahora cuando crees distenderte,
cuando entiendes que mejor es extenderte,
que nada importa,
porque el yo va a imponerse...
debo decirte,
que esto recién comienza,
y que lo que parece cesar,
recién está por comenzar,
porque la lección no has aprendido,
y haciéndote el disimulado,
del mensaje te has burlado,
entonces todo regresa,
desde los pies a la cabeza,
para mostrarte que el anticipo,
ha sido sólo el anuncio de un nuevo ciclo,
donde pueda ser no estés incluído...
por eso,
ahora que tienes rostro afligido,
regreso a explicarte,
que lo visto es sólo el inicio,
y que lo que sigue,
será prueba de ojos y oídos,
también de sentimientos,
y ni qué hablar de sentidos...
va siendo hora de poner pies en tierra,
y sentir el olor a muerte,
que emana de lo que se desprecia,
ahora que la tormenta arrecia,
habrá que demostrar quien porta en su mano,
el sello que abre la diestra,
sumado al sello que se porta en la frente,
justo cuando te comienzan a rechinar los dientes. mayo 11, 2020.-
la insolencia conduce al sacrificio,
y la mediocridad al precipicio... 

Carmen Conde Sedemiuqse Esquimedes

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    • el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello...

el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello del escarabajo, de Isis sin velo, del ojo de Horus, del oráculo de Tebas, del oráculo de Efeso, del oráculo de Scimura, de la escuela de Alejandría, de la biblioteca de Pérgamo, del misterio de Gizah, de la esfera piramidal... donde aún reside la memoria de la esencia humana en la Tierra - by Cerasale Morteo, Víctor Norberto | Salta | ARGENTINA -  08 de MAYO de 2020 [03] DOCE AÑOS recreando la memoria sobre la esencia del sí mismo...


el dispensador dice:
raíces desplegadas,
velas cansadas,
mucha naturaleza suelta,
almas renegadas,
espíritus buscadores,
consciencias cansadas,
hace falta regresar a las fuentes,
repite un eco del karma,
violáceos cantando,
un Sol que viene avisando,
los humanos no entienden,
lo que le vienen señalando,
duele el hueco desamparado,
desatendidos sentimientos,
afectos extraviados,
memorias que se ha llevado el viento,
sentidos confundidos,
excusas reiteradas,
demasiadas mentiras para ningún hecho,
explicaciones inexplicables,
justificaciones injustificables,
nadie puede evitar... lo inevitable...
los sueños hablan,
el humano no descansa,
mucho apuro por la vida,
mucha urgencia desenfrenada,
nadie alcanza su meta,
lo demás son pura patrañas,
mientras haya competencia,
lo que se respira se desarma,
mientras desborde el desprecio,
no hay reflejo ni espejo,
lo que miras no es un rostro,
sino lo que resulta del hueco... mayo 08, 2020.-
cuando pierdes el horizonte,
sólo te queda el laberinto,
y si no reconoces las geometrías,
cada ángulo se torna herida,
no sólo pierdes el tiempo,
es la vida lo que se extravía... 

Carmen Conde Sedemiuqse Esquimedes

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    • el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello...

el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello del escarabajo, de Isis sin velo, del ojo de Horus, del oráculo de Tebas, del oráculo de Efeso, del oráculo de Scimura, de la escuela de Alejandría, de la biblioteca de Pérgamo, del misterio de Gizah, de la esfera piramidal... donde aún reside la memoria de la esencia humana en la Tierra - by Cerasale Morteo, Víctor Norberto | Salta | ARGENTINA -  05 de MAYO de 2020 [02] DOCE AÑOS recreando la memoria sobre la esencia del sí mismo...


el dispensador dice:
¿el viaje comienza con el "ser?,
NO, 
ya eres antes de ser,
existes antes de ser,
aquí solamente estás,
por un lapso,
corto,
efímero,
donde cuando crees acostumbrarte,
dejas de estar,
para seguir siendo,
alma,
espíritu,
consciencia,
reunidos en un karma,
que viene viajando desde la eternidad,
dirigiéndose hacia la misma eternidad,
porque forma parte de la creación,
que lo tiene,
que lo contiene,
proyectándolo como idea,
para que haya un motivo que deviene,
del uno mismo hasta próximo sí mismo,
reuniendo a las partes,
en un concierto evolutivo,
donde encontrarse es significante,
donde abrazarse es vivificante,
donde reconocerse unido,
es haber regresado a la esencia misma,
de una búsqueda que por eterna,
nunca termina,
jamás comienza... mayo 05, 2020.-
me quedo con la luz,
de mi propia estrella,
aquella aparece de fondo, 
la misma que se refleja...

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    • el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello...

el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello del escarabajo, de Isis sin velo, del ojo de Horus, del oráculo de Tebas, del oráculo de Efeso, del oráculo de Scimura, de la escuela de Alejandría, de la biblioteca de Pérgamo, del misterio de Gizah, de la esfera piramidal... donde aún reside la memoria de la esencia humana en la Tierra - by Cerasale Morteo, Víctor Norberto | Salta | ARGENTINA -  03 de MAYO de 2020 [01] DOCE AÑOS recreando la memoria sobre la esencia del sí mismo...


el dispensador dice:
soledad,
silencio,
aparece una isla,
voy a su encuentro,
náufrago del sí mismo,
lo demás lo dejo,
no porto mochila,
no porto recado,
llevo conmigo,
sólo el tratado,
alquimistas por delante,
iniciados al lado,
océanos de otro mundo,
mares conservados,
hace falta color,
para el espíritu olvidado,
demasiado soberbia,
para escaso resultado,
demasiado codicia,
para tanto recitado,
demasiado avaricia,
desperdicio sobrado,
demasiado discurso,
palabras sin hechos,
humanos deshumanizados...
soledad,
silencio,
hay lejanía en el alma,
el corazón anda estrecho,
mucho soltura de palabras,
huecos más allá de los cielos,
el humano busca suelo,
más no encuentra consuelo,
anda perdido en su tiempo,
anda extraviado en su nada,
diciendo demasiado,
de su algo desintegrado,
cada uno busca su isla,
para saberse náufrago,
negado y olvidado,
por los que dicen quererlo,
por los que dicen amarlo,
mucho palabra suelta,
todo está descuidado,
negando la naturaleza,
se han quedado sin planeta,
y ahora que la maldición anda suelta,
no hay consciencia de cuidado,
cada cual a su suerte,
y lo demás... ha sido burlado. mayo 03, 2020.-
este bicho que han soltado,
no sólo envuelve la Tierra,
sino que viene por el humano...
¿lo habrá entendido el desprevenido?,
¿lo habrá entendido el descuidado?,
toma prudencia en lo inmediato,
porque la invasión se ha producido,
y apenas está comenzando... 

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NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LA MEDALLA MILAGROSA

Gracias por las tuyas concedidas

LOS QUE JUSTIFICAN LA EXISTENCIA DE "el dispensador" [EL DISPENSADOR] https://eldispensador.blogspot.com.ar

May 31, 2020, 11:32 am

≫ Next: HAYDÉE VIRGINIA TOSCANINI

≪ Previous: el dispensador de los ángeles de la luz, del sello del escarabajo, de Isis sin velo, del ojo de Horus, del oráculo de Tebas, del oráculo de Efeso, del oráculo de Scimura, de la escuela de Alejandría, de la biblioteca de Pérgamo, del misterio de Gizah, de la esfera piramidal... donde aún reside la memoria de la esencia humana en la Tierra - by Cerasale Morteo, Víctor Norberto | Salta | ARGENTINA - 31 de MAYO de 2020 [11] DOCE AÑOS recreando la memoria sobre la esencia del sí mismo...

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EL DISPENSADOR y "el dispensador"
by CERASALE MORTEO, Víctor Norberto...
el sello del escarabajo ha regresado...
https://eldispensador.blogspot.com.ar
MAYO 2020
doce años enseñando a escalar el espíritu...

Páginas vistas por países

Entrada	Páginas vistas
Estados Unidos	851143
Argentina	140788
Alemania	109540
España	107407
Francia	89085
México	75545
Región desconocida	64235
Irlanda	58732
Hong Kong	49873
Ucrania	43183

Páginas vistas en el último mes

44.761

Páginas vistas (historial completo)

2.055.737

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HAYDÉE VIRGINIA TOSCANINI

June 1, 2020, 5:12 am

≫ Next: Qué caramelo tan escaso | El Mundo

≪ Previous: LOS QUE JUSTIFICAN LA EXISTENCIA DE "el dispensador" [EL DISPENSADOR] https://eldispensador.blogspot.com.ar

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junio 01 de 1951Santa Rosa de Tastil, alguna vezveinte añosmi amor de toda la vida... 

Qué caramelo tan escaso | El Mundo

June 1, 2020, 5:50 am

≫ Next: Adam la ópera prima de Maryam Touzani es sencilla y mágica | El Mundo

≪ Previous: HAYDÉE VIRGINIA TOSCANINI

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Qué caramelo tan escaso | El Mundo

Palabra & Obra Qué caramelo tan escaso Autor: Saúl Álvarez Lara A las nueve y cuarto dijo: no me da. ¿Qué pasa? pregunté. No encuentro la solución, respondió, Sistema no quiere reconocer ciertos datos.

Adam la ópera prima de Maryam Touzani es sencilla y mágica | El Mundo

June 1, 2020, 5:51 am

≫ Next: ¿Qué sabemos sobre nuestros apellidos? | El Mundo

≪ Previous: Qué caramelo tan escaso | El Mundo

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Adam la ópera prima de Maryam Touzani es sencilla y mágica | El Mundo

Palabra & Obra

Publicado: 1 junio de 2020 - 12:07 AM

Adam la ópera prima de Maryam Touzani es sencilla y mágica

Autor: Jorge Hernán Echeverri

Maryam Touzani ha querido plasmar una historia sencilla de relacionamiento a través de un guion muy estructurado

¿Qué sabemos sobre nuestros apellidos? | El Mundo

June 1, 2020, 5:52 am

≫ Next: Medellín sin urbanismo (O de como desaparecemos como ciudad) | El Mundo

≪ Previous: Adam la ópera prima de Maryam Touzani es sencilla y mágica | El Mundo

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¿Qué sabemos sobre nuestros apellidos? | El Mundo

Palabra & Obra

Publicado: 25 mayo de 2020 - 12:12 AM

¿Qué sabemos sobre nuestros apellidos?

Autor: Lucila González de Chaves

Los apellidos nacen de la necesidad de identificar no solo a la persona, sino también su pertenencia a una familia, lugar, etc

Medellín sin urbanismo (O de como desaparecemos como ciudad) | El Mundo

June 1, 2020, 5:53 am

≫ Next: Casa con platanal y mafafas | El Mundo

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Medellín sin urbanismo (O de como desaparecemos como ciudad) | El Mundo

Palabra & Obra

Publicado: 25 mayo de 2020 - 12:11 AM

Medellín sin urbanismo (O de como desaparecemos como ciudad)

Autor: Memo Ánjel

¿Es Medellín una urbe, como la soñaron los cánones? El escritor e intelectual Memo Ánjel responde a esa pregunta