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• Minarets or towers
• Mihrab or niche on an inside wall indicating the
direction of Mecca
• Domes
• Use of geometric shapes and repetitive art
(arabesque)
• Use of decorative Arabic calligraphy
• Ablution fountains
Common Interpretations of Islamic
Architecture
• The concept of Allah's infinite power is evoked by
designs with repeating themes.
• Human and animal forms are rarely depicted in
decorative art as Allah's work is matchless.
• Calligraphy is used to enhance the interior of a building
by providing quotations from the Qur'an.
• Islamic architecture focuses on the beauty of the interior
rather than exterior spaces.
• Use of impressive forms such as large domes, towering
minarets, and large courtyards are intended to convey
power.
Domes
• Dome—a circular roof, usually hemispherical in form, placed over a circular, square,
oblong, or polygonal space.
• Pendentives — Byzantine builders were the first to discover the proper handling of
the device essential to placing a dome over a square compartment during the
construction of the Hagia Sophia at Constantinople (A.D. 532–37).
• Under Byzantine influence the Muslims adopted the use of the dome; one of their first
important monuments is the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. They often used the so-
called Persian or onion dome. The most celebrated example is the Taj Mahal (A.D.
1630) at Agra, India.
Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th edition 2001-2005
Dome of the Rock
Al Kuds (Jerusalem)
• In Turkey the mosque form was also derived from Persia, as was
most Turkish art.
• One of the most famous Turkish architects was Sinan, chief
architect in the Ottoman court from 1539 until his death in 1588. He
constructed or designed most of Sulayman I's buildings, the most
noted of which is his Sulayman Mosque (c.1557) in Istanbul.
Taj Mahal
Agra, India