HOA PLATE 4

ARCHITECTURE OF ISLAM

ARABIC ARCHITECTURE
QUBA MOSQUE (MASJID CUBA)

MASJID CUBA WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 662 CE, MAKING IT THE FIRST MOSQUE IN ISLAMIC HISTORY. ITS
FOUNDATION WAS LAID BY PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH) BUT WAS LATER COMPLETED BY HIS
COMPANIONS. THE MOSQUE IS LOCATED ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF MADINAH, A MAJOR HOLY CITY IN SAUDI
ARABIA.

THE QUBA MOSQUE IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT RELIGIOUS SITE IN MADINAH. IT IS SAID TO BE THE MOSQUE
WHERE THE FIRST FRIDAY ‘NAMAZ’ WAS HELD. IT IS THE SECOND LARGEST MOSQUE IS VALUABLE TO THE
MUSLIMS AROUND THE WORLD.

CURRENTLY, MASJID QUBA HAS 56 MINI DOMES, 4 PARALLEL MINARETS, 12 MINOR ENTRANCES, 7 MAIN
ENTRANCES, 3 CENTRAL COOLING UNITS, AND ALL NECESSARY STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITIES. THE MINBAR IS
MADE FROM WHITE MARBLE, WHEREAS THE COURTYARD’S FOUNDATION COMPRISES WHITE, RED, AND
BLACK MARBLES.
OTTOMAN EMPIRE

SULTAN AHMED MOSQUE

THE SULTAN AHMED MOSQUE, AKSO KNOWN AS THE SULTAN AHMET CAMII OR THE BLUE MOSQUE, WAS
BUILT BETWEEN 1609-1616, BY THE ARCHITECT MEHMET AGA, INSTRUCTED BY SULTAN AHMED I. IT IS AN
OTTOMAN-ERA HISTORICAL IMPERIAL MOSQUE LOCATED IN ISTANBUL, TURKEY.
IT WAS CALLED THE BLUE MOSQUE BECAUSE OF THE 20,000 HAND-PAINTED BLUE TILES IN THE IZNIK
POTTERY STYLE USED TO DECORATE THE WALLS OF ITS INTERIOR. THE IDEA WAS TO BUILD A MONUMENT
THAT WOULD NOT ONLY RIVAL WITH THE MAGNIFICENT HAGIA SOPHIA, BUT ALSO SURPASS IT.
THE BLUE MOSQUE COMBINES TWO DISTINCT STYLES: TRADITIONAL ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE AND ALSO
BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE. THE MOSQUE FEATURES THREE SKY-HIGH MINARETS STAND IN A PARALLEL LINE
TO THE LEFT OF THE MOSQUE, AND THREE STAND TO ITS RIGHT, MAKING IT ONE OF ONLY FIVE MOSQUES IN
TURKEY THAT BOASTS SIX MINARETS. THE MOSQUE ALSO HAS A CENTRAL DOME SURROUNDED BY FOUR
OTHER MAIN DOMES AND EIGHT SECONDARY DOMES.
MUGHAL EMPIRE
JAMA MASJID

THE JAMA MASJID MOSQUE IN OLD DELHI, INDIA, CONSTRUCTED IN 1650–56 BY THE MUGHAL EMPEROR SHAH JAHĀN,
A NOTED PATRON OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE WHOSE MOST FAMOUS WORK IS THE TAJ MAHAL, IN AGRA. JAMA MASJID,
NOW THE SECOND LARGEST MOSQUE ON THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT, IS ALSO AN IMPRESSIVE EXAMPLE OF MUGHAL
ARCHITECTURE.

THE MOSQUE PREDOMINANTLY USES RED SANDSTONE, AND IS SET APART FROM ITS PREDECESSORS BY A MORE
EXTENSIVE USAGE OF WHITE MARBLE. BLACK MARBLE ALSO FEATURES AS A DECORATIVE ELEMENT. ARABIC AND
PERSIAN CALLIGRAPHIC PIECES ARE FOUND ON VARIOUS SURFACES OF THE STRUCTURE. THE MOSQUE'S DOMES ARE
FLANKED BY TWO SANDSTONE MINARETS, AT THE NORTHEAST AND SOUTHEAST CORNERS
MOORISH

GREAT MOSQUE OF CORDOBA

THE MOSQUE–CATHEDRAL OF CÓRDOBA, ALSO KNOWN AS THE GREAT MOSQUE OF CÓRDOBA, IS LOCATED IN THE
SPANISH REGION OF ANDALUSIA. THE STRUCTURE IS REGARDED AS ONE OF THE MOST ACCOMPLISHED MONUMENTS
OF MOORISH ARCHITECTURE. THE CATHOLIC BASILICA OF SAINT VINCENT OF LÉRINS, ORIGINALLY STOOD ON THE SITE.
IN 784 ABD AL-RAHMAN I ORDERED CONSTRUCTION OF THE GREAT MOSQUE, WHICH WAS CONSIDERABLY EXPANDED
BY LATER MUSLIM RULERS.

THE BUILDING IS MOST NOTABLE FOR ITS ARCADED HYPOSTYLE HALL, WITH 856 COLUMNS OF JASPER, ONYX, MARBLE,
GRANITE AND PORPHYRY. IVORY, JASPER, PORPHYRY, GOLD, SILVER, COPPER, AND BRASS WERE USED IN THE
DECORATIONS. MARVELLOUS MOSAICS AND AZULEJOS WERE DESIGNED. PANELS OF SCENTED WOODS WERE FASTENED
WITH NAILS OF PURE GOLD, AND THE RED MARBLE COLUMNS WERE SAID TO BE THE WORK OF GOD. THE PRIMITIVE
PART OF THE BUILDING, ERECTED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF ABD AL-RAHMAN I., WAS THAT WHICH BORDERS THE
COURT OF ORANGES. LATER, THE IMMENSE TEMPLE EMBODIED ALL THE STYLES OF MORISCO ARCHITECTURE INTO ONE
COMPOSITION.