Ar-Hy
an ornamental design consisting of intertwined flowing lines, originally found in Arabic or Moorish decoration.
Arabesque
a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open
Iwan
a free-standing building that houses the remains of the deceased, usually in an above-ground location
Mausoleum
located to the right of the mihrab and are usually made of stone or elaborately carved wood. They are a significant architectural feature in Islamic worship and serve several purposes: symbolize the imam's authority; is a focal point for the community's spiritual guidance; facilitate communication of religious teachings to the congregation; reflect changes in Islamic architecture and religious practices throughout history.
Minbar
cylindrical box carved of ivory with a flat or domed lid. Synonymous with luxury. Exclusively secular and used to store jewelry or cosmetics. Incorporated animal and human forms, marked by horror vacui and densely carved vine scrolls in in symmetrical design; influence the decoration of European Romanesque ivories and manuscripts.
pyxis
verses of the quran marked by 6 gold disks on the Abassad Quran.
ayat
a window or latticed screen carved in wood or stone by artisans. Commonly found in Islamic and east-Asian architecture, it originally developed as an architectural solution to battling extreme heat in arid climatesas well as regulating light. The geometric, intricate designs of the jali has since become a symbol of beauty.
Jali
____ is the site of the first Islamic state, established ein 622. ___ is the city where Mohammed rec’d the qur’an. It is also the site of the holiest shrine in Islam, the Ka’aba.
Mecca, Medina
from the Arabic word masjid, which means "place of prostration; a place of worship for Muslims, the followers of Islam.
Mosque
the wall in a mosque that faces Mecca, the direction that Muslims face when praying. The wall often includes a niche called the mihrab, which indicates the direction of Mecca. The mihrab is usually the most decorated part of the mosque, and is often embellished with inscriptions from the Qur'an.
Qibla
is the most highly regarded and most fundamental element of Islamic art. It is significant that the Qur’an, the book of God’s revelations to the Prophet Muhammad, was transmitted in Arabic, and that inherent within the Arabic script is the potential for developing a variety of ornamental forms.
Calligraphy
a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts. It developed from the Arabic alphabet in the city of Kufa, from which its name is derived.
Kufic
A tower attached to a mosque from which a muezzin calls the faithful to prayer.
What is a minaret?
an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets.
Muhammad (570?-632):
the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God (Allāh). It is organized in 114 chapters (surah, pl. suwer) which consist of individual verses (āyah). Besides its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature, and has significantly influenced the Arabic language.
Qur’an
a Persian and Islamic garden layout that is divided into four quadrants by walkways or waterways. The word "charbagh" is Persian for "four gardens". The layout is based on the four gardens and four rivers of Paradise mentioned in the Quran.
Charbaghs
the u se of gold to paint geometric and/or biomorphic patterns (organic and floral forms and motifs) to decorate the pages of Quran and books of poetry. Biomorphic patterns have a geometric grid that is usually hidden with the painting and illuminating.
Illuminated manuscript
is the niche in a wall which Muslims face when praying. It is a focal point of the Mosque and is usually the most ornate partof the building.
Mihrab
a form of three-dimensional decoration in Islamic architecture in which rows or tiers of niche-like elements are projected over others below; an archetypal form of Islamic architecture, integral to the vernacular of Islamic buildings, and typically featured in domes and vaults, as well as iwans, entrance portals, or other niches. It is sometimes referred to as "honeycomb vaulting" or "stalactite vaulting".
Muqarna
a courtyard in Islamic architecture, especially the formal courtyard of a mosque.
Sahn
One of the five pillars of Islam central to Muslim belief, Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim must make at least once in their lifetime if they are able; it is the most spiritual event that a Muslim experiences, observing rituals in the most sacred places in the Islamic world.
Hajj
a college for Islamic instruction
madrasa
a tall tower that is usually attached to or near a mosque and is used to call Muslims to prayer five times a day.
minaret
a Muslim crier who calls the hour of daily prayers.
Muezzin
a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couplets (two-line verses),[2] the Shahnameh is one of the world's longest epic poems, and the longest epic poem created by a single author
Shahnama, or The Book of Kings
the prayer hall is made up of rows created by vertical support beams or columns; an ancient Greek term referring to a building with several rows of columns supporting a flat roof.
Hypostyle