Common or important types of buildings in Islamic architecture

include mosques, madrasas, tombs, palaces, hammams (public baths), Sufi hospices
(e.g. khanqahs or zawiyas), fountains and sabils, commercial buildings (e.g. caravanserais and bazaars),
and military fortifications.
A mosque also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings,
but can be any place where prayers are performed, including outdoor courtyards
The first mosques were simple places of prayer for Muslims, and may have been open spaces rather than
buildings. In the first stage of Islamic architecture, 650-750 CE, early mosques comprised open and
closed covered spaces enclosed by walls, often with minarets from which calls to prayer were
issued. Mosque buildings typically contain an ornamental niche (mihrab) set into the wall that indicates
the direction of Mecca, ablution facilities. The pulpit (minbar), from which the Friday (jumu'ah) sermon
(khutba) is delivered, was in earlier times characteristic of the central city mosque, but has since become
common in smaller mosques. Mosques typically have segregated spaces for men and women. This basic
pattern of organization has assumed different forms depending on the region, period and denomination
Madrasa is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion),
whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated Madrasah
arifah, medresa, madrassa, madraza, medrese, etc. In countries outside the Arab world, the word usually
refers to a specific type of religious school or college for the study of the religion of Islam, though this
may not be the only subject studied.
A tomb (Greek: tumbos) is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally
enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be
called immurement, and is a method of final disposition, as an alternative to cremation or burial.
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other
high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name
palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which housed the Imperial residences. Most European languages have
a version of the term (palais, palazzo, palacio, etc.), and many use it for a wider range of buildings than
English. In many parts of Europe, the equivalent term is also applied to large private houses in cities,
especially of the aristocracy; often the term for a large country house is different. Many historic palaces
are now put to other uses such as parliaments, museums, hotels, or office buildings. The word is also
sometimes used to describe a lavishly ornate building used for public entertainment or exhibitions such as
a movie palace.
A hammam or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with
the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited from the
model of the Roman thermae. Muslim bathhouses or hammams were historically found across the Middle
East, North Africa, al-Andalus (Islamic Spain and Portugal), Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and
in Southeastern Europe under Ottoman rule. A variation on the Muslim bathhouse, the Victorian Turkish
bath, became popular as a form of therapy, a method of cleansing, and a place for relaxation during
the Victorian era, rapidly spreading through the British Empire, the United States of America,
and Western Europe.
Sufism also known as Tasawwuf is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni
Islam but also within Shia Islam which is characterized by a focus on
Islamic spirituality, ritualism, asceticism and esotericism. It has been variously defined as
"Islamic mysticism", "the mystical expression of Islamic faith", "the inward dimension of Islam", "the
phenomenon of mysticism within Islam", the "main manifestation and the most important and central
crystallization" of mystical practice in Islam, and "the interiorization and intensification of Islamic faith
and practice".
A fountain, from the Latin "fons", meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for
discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect.
Fountains were originally purely functional, connected to springs or aqueducts and used to provide
drinking water and water for bathing and washing to the residents of cities, towns and villages. Until the
late 19th century most fountains operated by gravity, and needed a source of water higher than the
fountain, such as a reservoir or aqueduct, to make the water flow or jet into the air.
A sebil or sabil (Arabic: ‫سبيل‬, romanized: sabīl ; Turkish: sebil) is a small kiosk in the Islamic
architectural tradition where water is freely dispensed to members of the public by an attendant behind a
grilled window. The term is sometimes also used to refer to simple unmanned fountains with a tap for
drinking water, though other names often exist for such fountains (such as çesme in Turkish).
Historically, sebils are structures of both civic and religious importance in Muslim cities, most
prominently in the cities of the Ottoman Empire, based in Istanbul, and of the Mamluk Empire, based
in Cairo. They were built at crossroads, in the middle of city squares, and on the outside of mosques and
other religious complexes to provide drinking water for travelers and to assist ritual purification before
prayer.
Commercial buildings like A caravanserai (or caravansary; /kærəˈvænsəˌraɪ/)[1] was a
roadside inn where travelers (caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais
supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering
Asia, North Africa and Southeast Europe, most notably the Silk Road. Although many were located along
rural roads in the countryside, urban versions of caravanserais were also historically common in cities
throughout the Islamic world, though they were often called by other names such as khan, wikala,
or funduq.
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and
is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin fortis ("strong")
and facere ("to make").From very early history to modern times, defensive walls have often been
necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in
the Indus Valley civilization were the first small cities to be fortified.