The Alhambra
Considered as one of the most famous examples of Islamic art, the Alhambra is the culmination and grand finale of medieval Islamic culture on the Iberian Peninsula.
The Tomb of Etimad ud Doulah
Etimad-ud-Daula’s Tomb (Urdu: اعتماد الدولہ کا مقبرہ, I’timād-ud-Daulah kā Maqbara) is a Mughal mausoleum in the city of Agra in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Often described as ‘jewel box’, sometimes called…
Islamic Architecture of Andalusia
Spain’s Islamic centuries (AD 711-1492) left a particularly rich heritage of exotic and beautiful palaces, mosques, minarets and fortresses in Andalusia, which was always the heartland of Al-Andalus (as the Muslim- ruled areas of the Iberian Peninsula were known). These buildings make Andalusia visually unique in Europe and have to be classed as its greatest architectural glory.
Mosque of Cristo de la Luz
Built in 999 in Toledo, this building is a rarity in that it is in much the same state as it was when it was originally built. It is one of the few mosques…
Ortaköy Mosque, Turkey
Ortaköy Mosque (Turkish: Ortaköy Camii), officially the Büyük Mecidiye Camii (Grand Imperial Mosque) of Sultan Abdülmecid in Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Turkey, is situated at the waterside of the Ortaköy pier square, one of the most popular locations on the Bosphorus. The original Ortaköy Mosque was built in…
The Giralda (La Giralda)
Modern Seville is a city of the Renaissance – the most Italian of Spanish cities, said a Venetian ambassador in the 16th century – and above all a city of the baroque, a…
Calligraphic Galleon, 1766 AD
Flanked by two other galleons on the horizon, this carefully drawn imperial calligraphic galleon sits on a row of waves containing aphorisms. The imperial galleon with its wind-filled sails is an example of…
Imam (Shah) Mosque in Isfahan, Iran
Built during the Safavid period, it is an excellent example of Islamic architecture of Iran, and regarded as one of the masterpieces of Persian Architecture. The Shah Mosque of Esfahan is one of…
Arms and Armour Collection
A GOLD-OVERLAID WATERED-STEEL SHIELD, PERSIA, EARLY 19TH CENTURY of domed circular form with four applied bosses with gold overlaid decoration at the outer ring, comprising wholly of cusped cartouches filled with animal motifs…
The Islamic Dyansties
This schematic chart provides a simplified picture of the political complexities of certain periods. (Large parts of Central Asia, China, South-east Asia and Africa have been omitted.) islamic dynasties mamluk manuscripts…
Al-Andalus: The Orient in the West
In 711 the Arabs (in the Iberian Peninsula, “Arab” and “Muslim” are synonyms) arrived in the western-most territory of Mediterranean Europe. Within a short time, after very few battles and some sieges that were nearly all solved through negotiations, the Arabs provoked the collapse of the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo, and incorporated what has since then been known as al-Andalus, the political territory under Muslim Arab dominance, into dar al-Islam.
