Birdhouses of Turkey
Beautiful bird-houses can be spotted on the facade of a number of mosques in Turkey. The purpose of these charming bird houses was to provide refuge to birds and to protect them from…
Calligraphy – the geometry of the spirit
This article appeared on pages 16-27 of the September/October 1989 print edition of Saudi Aramco World. Islamic calligraphy is without doubt the most original contribution of Islam to the visual arts, yet it is only…
Around the World with Nusret Colpan
Nusret Çolpan (October 1, 1952 – May 31, 2008) was a Turkish painter, architect and miniaturist, renowned for his paintings in Ottoman miniature style depicting cities around the world, particularly Istanbul. He painted over 300 miniatures in his 30…
Iznik Pottery (16th Century)
This Turkish dish is one of the finest examples of Iznik ceramics anywhere. Painted with a masterful flourish, both delicate and striking, it features one of the earliest known combinations of flora and…
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…
A 16th Century Ottoman Atlas
It is an early Ottoman atlas, perhaps dating to the 10th century AH/AD 16th. The work contains 8 double-page charts executed on parchment. Four of the maps show the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black…
Tughra of Suleiman the Magnificent
Calligraphy, from Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey AD 1520–1566 Between about 1350 and 1550 great swathes of the world were occupied by the superpowers of their day – from the Inca in South America to the…
The Suleymaniye Mosque – A Virtual Walking Tour
This virtual tour is comprised of various spherical panoramic photographs that place you inside the image, as if you were standing in the place where the photo was made. Use your mouse to…
Exploring the Damascus Room
New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art reopened the museum’s Islamic art galleries to display roughly 1,200 works spanning 13 centuries and dozens of Islamic-influenced cultures. One highlight is the Damascus Room, a 26-foot-long…
Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal Textile Art
In traditional Islamic society, textiles and dress played a significantly greater socio-cultural role than in the western world. A crucial item of furnishing in the Islamic world, the carpet served not merely as…
Turning the pages of an Ottoman illustrated manuscript
This essay is the 2004 Winner of the Margaret B. Sevcenko Prize in Islamic Art and Culture This paper focuses on an Ottoman illustrated manuscript copied in 1498-99, which is now in the…
