Religion
Taken together, the faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
What are the Abrahamic faiths?
The Treasury at Petra derived its architectural elements primarily from this ancient cultural period.
What is the Hellenistic Greece?
The holy book of Islam.
What is the Qur'an?
The most sacred object in Tibet?
What is the Jowo Shakyamuni?
Portrait masks created by the Baule people and used in secular (non-religious) dances.
What are Mblo masks?
How a Buddhist should live, shunning the extremes of excess or scarcity.
What is the 'Middle Way?'
First built by Abraham and his son, its name literally means 'cube.'
What is the Kaaba?
The first king in the Shahnama and the first human being in Zoroastrianism, the first monotheistic religion.
Who is Gayumars?
Sculpting the feet of the Bamiyan Buddhas in the round allowed worshippers to perform this religious act.
What is circumambulation?
What are calligraphy, tessellation and arabesque?
The direction toward which you pray in Islam.
What is Mecca, the Kaaba or qibla?
Architectural structure used in mosque to accommodate large numbers of Muslims during prayer.
What is the hypostyle hall?
Both the Great Shahnama and the Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp draw visual inspiration from this culture.
What is China?
The trade route along which ideas and techniques travelled, influencing the art and architecture of Western, Central and East Asia.
What is the Silk Road?
The moment in time symbolized by the PADMASANA posture and MUDRA (hand gestures) of Jowo Shakyamuni.
What is Buddha's moment of enlightenment?
The endless cycle of rebirth and death is governed by this idea, also known as causality.
What is karma?
The first building to use this architectural plan that became indicative of Persian mosque architecture was the Great Mosque of Isfahan.
What is the four-iwan plan?
A manuscript that includes decoration and imagery to accompany the text.
What is an illuminated manuscript?
The artistic style, exemplified by the Baptisere de St. Louis, in which every surface of a work is covered by decoration or imagery.
What is horror vacui?
The ceremony depicted on the lintels of Structure 23 at Yaxchilan that allowed Mayans to interact with the spirit world.
What is bloodletting?
90% of the Muslim population. They share the belief that anyone can be the leader of the faith.
What is Sunni?
The Dome of the Rock was built by this caliphate that did not have control of Mecca or Medina at the time and needed a focal point for the caliphate.
What is the Umayyad Caliphate?
The uneven spacing of letters and the inclusion of vowel marks in the Qur'an serve this purpose?
What is to slow down the reader to ensure accurate recitation of the sura?
The symbolism of the lanterns in the design of the Ardabil Carpet.
What is the light of Allah?
Type of masonry used by both the Shona people of Zimbabwe and the Inka that involves carefully fitting stones together without the use of mortar.
What is ashlar masonry?