From Cuneiform to Topkapi
In the Islamic world, where reading and literacy have always been highly prized for the access they provide to the word of God and the world of knowledge, books were objects of both…
Cairo’s Islamic Architecture – 7th to 18th Centuries
Mosque of Ali mad ibn Tulun, interior of the maqsura, 9th century. Gypsum and ash pillars accentuate the domed mihrab. The mosque, inspired by the great mosque of Samarra in the patron’s…
Cairo – A City Adorned
From the late ninth century well into the 15th, mosques built as prestige projects were the most spectacular buildings in Cairo. Locals, pilgrims on their way to Makkah and even Christian pilgrims were…
Aleppo – Architecture and History
“The city is as old as eternity, but still young, and it has never ceased to exist. Its days and nights have been long; it has survived its rulers and commoners. These are…
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 Tenacity of Tradition: Art From the Valley of Swat
High in the rugged mountains of northwest Pakistan lies the Valley of Swat. The river of the same name runs through it. In ancient texts, the Swat River is called Suvastu, meaning “good dwelling…
Old Walled City of Shibam
Surrounded by a fortified wall, the 16th-century city of Shibam is one of the oldest and best examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction. Its impressive tower-like structures rise…
Manhattan in the Hadramaut
At the end of December 1984, UNESCO – the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization – issued a plea to the world to save another national treasure from disintegration: the mud-brick “skyscrapers”…
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,…
Domestic Culture of Cities in the Middle East (16th to 19th century)
This article invites the reader to enter and enjoy wealthy urban homes in Turkey, Egypt and Iran between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. This was a period of flourishing traditional culture and also of…
Damascus – history, arts and architecture
Capital city of Syria and one of the chief cities of the Middle East. Damascus is located in southern Syria on the banks of the Barada river. The area of Damascus forms an…
Bukhara – History and Architecture
Oasis city in the Republic of Uzbekistan, Central Asia. Bukhara is located in the valley of the Zeravshan river 200 km west of Samarkand. The city was first mentioned by its present name…
