Through the lens of Peter Sanders

All Photographs by Peter Sanders © 2012 PETER SANDERS PHOTOGRAPHY LTD  Makkah Madinah   Saudi Arabia   Jerusalem   Turkey   Spain   Morocco   Iran   China   Japan   Malaysia  …

The Alhambra – A Virtual Walking Tour

To understand the Alhambra you need to look at its history, location and surroundings. It is situated on the hill of Sabika, overlooking the city of Granada. Alhambra means, literately, “The Red” and…

Sana’a Rising – “a Venice built on sand.”

In mid-February 1978, on my first morning in Sana‘a, I woke up before first light. Illuminated by the flame of a single bedside candle, the undulating overhead ceiling beams, plastered in white gypsum,…

Calligraphy in Islamic art – beyond pen and paper

The development of sophisticated calligraphy as an art form is not unique to Islamic culture. Other examples include Chinese and Japanese calligraphy and illuminated bibles from north-west Europe including the famous Book of…

Illustrations of Islamic Architecture

The Alhambra Granada, Spain Built chiefly in the 13th and 14th centuries The Alhambra (from the Arabic, Al Hamra, meaning The Red) is an ancient mosque, palace and fortress complex built by the…

The Citadel (Lahore Fort)

The Lahore Fort is one of the noblest structures of its kind in the world. Rising out of the northwest corner of the walled city, it has been a symbol of its earliest…

SADEQUAIN’S Calligraphy

Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance, Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Pakistani Awards), also often referred to as Sadequain Naqqash, was a world-renowned Pakistani artist, best known for his skills as a calligrapher and a…

Divriği Ulucami and Şifahane (Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital)

The western section of the mosque was rebuilt after its complete destruction in the great earthquake which occurred at the beginning of the 16th century. The plan consists of five naves running perpendicular…

Smithsonian collection of Qur’anic manuscripts

A collection of 9th–19th-century Korans (intact volumes and detached folios) from Iran, the Arab world, and Turkey at the Freer and Sackler galleries of Smithsonian’s Museums of Asian Art. Folio from a Koran…

Ceramic Vessel Collection at LACMA

A collection of over 230 ceramic objects (vessels) at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Vessel Greater Iran (Afghanistan) Vessel, 6th-8th century Ceramic; Vessel, Ceramic, Height: 6 5/16 in. (16 cm);…

Historic Illustrations of Islamic Architecture

Title: Dome of the Rock Other title: Qubbat al-Sakhrah (Mosque: Jerusalem); Mosque of Omar Date: circa 687–691 Current location: Yerushalayim, Mehoz Yerushalayim, Yisra’el Description of work: The historic illustrations included in this project…

Reading Masjid Wazir Khan

Wazir Khan’s Mosque, in the heart of the Walled City of Lahore, is one of the most thoroughly documented and discussed of our monuments. In 1887, Kipling (John Lockwood, father of Rudyard) discussed…

The door of the Kaaba

The Prophet’s Mosque (Masjid-e-Nabawi)

The Mosque of the Prophet was built in 622 by the Muslim community after they reached the city of Yathrib, which would later be called al-Madina al-Muanwara. The mosque was situated next to…

Domes & Arches of Shah Jehan Mosque (Thatta)

The Shah Jehan Mosque (Grand Mosque) is located in Thatta (Province of Sindh, PAKISTAN).

Islamic Calligraphy 1450-1925 A.D.- East

  This calligraphic panel is executed in black (Indian) naskh on a pink paper decorated with gold cloud motifs and pasted to a light blue backing. The poem wishes a ruler (nicknamed the…

Islamic Architecture – Abbasid Period

Under theAbbasid caliphate (750–1258), which succeeded the Umayyads (661–750) in 750, the focal point of Islamic political and cultural life shifted eastward from Syria to Iraq, where, in 762, Baghdad, the circular City of Peace…

When Spain was Islamic

Considering Spain was ruled for – in some parts – up to 800 years by the Moors, it’s no surprise that lasting remnants of Spain’s Islamic past are present in everything from gastronomy…