View allAll Photos Tagged IslamicArchitecture
This photo was taken shortly after lunch from the rooftop of a local restaurant. It shows a nice overview of Khiva's old town, with the iconic Islam Khodja Minaret rising above the flat, mud-brick rooftops. At 57 meters, it's the tallest structure in the city and a key landmark when navigating the narrow alleys of Ichan Kala.
The midday sun was quite harsh, so it might not be the best picture of light, but what it captures is still worth keeping. Documenting moments like this is one of the main reasons I enjoy photography.
The single-domed Qila-i-Kuna Mosque, built by Sher Shah in 1541 and an excellent example of a pre-Mughal design, and an early example of the extensive use of the pointed arch in the region as seen in its five doorways with the 'true' horseshoe-shaped arches
Bibi Jawindi, the great granddaughter of the saint Jahaniyan Jahangasht, was known for her piety. Her tomb is considered one of the most important, and the most ornate, sites in the town of Uch, which was the centre of Sufism under the Delhi sultanate. In plan it is octagonal on the exterior, with the interior walls angled to form a circle. The thick walls rise to two stories, transforming by way of squinches into a sixteen-sided drum upon which a dome sits, supported by bell-shaped brackets. Both the interior and exterior walls are decorated with a profusion of faience revetment. The tomb is in poor condition. The tomb dates back to 1494 approximately.
Source:
Khan, Ahmad Nabi. 1980. Uchchh: History and Architecture. Islamabad: National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research. pp. 65-67.
The Palacio de Generalife (Arabic: Jannat al-'Arif - Architect's Garden) was the summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid sultans of Granada.
The palace and gardens were built during the reign of Muhammad III (1302-1309) and redecorated shortly after by Abu I-Walid Isma'il (1313-1324).
A view of the Alhambra from the Patio de la Acequia.
A view of the Alhambra from the Patio de la Acequia.
The complex consists of the Patio de la Acequia (Court of the Water Channel or Water-Garden Courtyard), which has a long pool framed by flowerbeds, fountains, colonnades and pavilions, and the Jardín de la Sultana (Sultana's Garden or Courtyard of the Cypress). The former is thought to best preserve the style of the medieval garden in Al-Andalus. Originally the palace was linked to the Alhambra by a covered walkway across the ravine that now divides them. The Generalife is one of the oldest surviving Moorish gardens.
The present-day gardens were started in 1931 and completed by Francisco Prieto Moreno in 1951. The walkways are paved in traditional Granadian style with a mosaic of pebbles: white ones from the River Darro and black ones from the River Genil.
Al Aqsa Mosque
- Haram al-Sharif, Jerusalem, Old City
Al-Aqsa Mosque (Arabic:المسجد الاقصى al-Masjid al-Aqsa, "the Farthest Mosque,") also known as al-Aqsa and Bayt al-Muqaddas, is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem.
View of the city granada in Spain. Taken from atop of Alcazaba in Alhambra palace
500px.com/photo/249954617/granada-viewed-from-alhambra-by...
This picture was selected for a Book Cover.
www.coroflot.com/public/individual_file.asp?individual_id...;
Explored at #415 on 14 Mar 08
Architecturally unique, this Jamia masjid is distinct in its layout as well as in its materials. It is the first masjid in this region to be constructed according to the principles of Mughal courtyard architecture. Atypical of masajid, this building is elongated along the east-west rather than the usual north-south axis. Red brick is utilized rather than the pink sandstone and marble more commonly associated with Mughal buildings. Quite likely, the decision to use brick was made out of practical concerns of cost and availability, since Thatta does not have much stone. The surfaces are decorated with glazed tiles.
The Shah Jahan mosque represents the height of tile decoration in the Sind. The influence of mosaic on tile work is seen in the ceiling decoration of semi-domed and domed chambers, as well as in the fillings of interlaced arches and in the panels at squinch level. The technique of soft glazed tile paneling had been in use since the Tarkhan period. Various shapes of tiles - square, rectangular and hexagonal - were manufactured and joined to complete a design in a given panel. The tilework is not related to the imperial Mughal style, but to the Timurid school. Various shades of blue on white, and some yellow or purple background produce a very soothing effect in the hot climate of Thatta
The masjid was commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a gesture of gratitude to the people of Thatta for sheltering him during his youth after his father Emperor Jahangir banished him from Delhi. Several Persian inscriptions on site date the foundation of the mosque to 1644 and its completion to 1647. The floor was paved with stone in 1657. Repair work done during the seventies by the Endowment (Awqaf) Department added a garden to the eastern side.
Corridor of Shahjehan Masjid, Thata.
The bottom of the minaret of the Hassan II Mosque has a large multi-story rotunda.
Casablanca, Morocco
The Hassan II Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الحسن الثاني, French: Grande Mosquée Hassan II) is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the second largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the 7th largest in the world. Its minaret is the world's second tallest minaret at 210 metres (689 ft). Completed in 1993, it was designed by Michel Pinseau under the guidance of King Hassan II and built by Moroccan artisans from all over the kingdom. The minaret is 60 stories high topped by a laser, the light from which is directed towards Mecca. The mosque stands on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic Ocean; worshippers can pray over the sea but there is no glass floor looking into the sea. The walls are of hand-crafted marble and the roof is retractable. A maximum of 105,000 worshippers can gather together for prayer: 25,000 inside the mosque hall and another 80,000 on the mosque's outside ground.—from Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charminar
Join with me here: Facebook
Thanks for your Visit, Comments,Suggestions!!!
***********Click , & Push F11 - Full - screen***********
***********If you like it press F***********
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission... © All rights reserved...
Bibi Jawindi, the great granddaughter of the saint Jahaniyan Jahangasht, was known for her piety. Her tomb is considered one of the most important, and the most ornate, sites in the town of Uch, which was the centre of Sufism under the Delhi sultanate. In plan it is octagonal on the exterior, with the interior walls angled to form a circle. The thick walls rise to two stories, transforming by way of squinches into a sixteen-sided drum upon which a dome sits, supported by bell-shaped brackets. Both the interior and exterior walls are decorated with a profusion of faience revetment. The tomb is in poor condition. The tomb dates back to 1494 approximately.
Source:
Khan, Ahmad Nabi. 1980. Uchchh: History and Architecture. Islamabad: National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research. pp. 65-67.
Charminar built in 1591 AD, is a landmark monument located in Hyderabad, India. The two words Char Minar of Urdu language are combined to which it is known as Charminar (English: Four Towers). These are four ornate minarets attached and supported by four grand arches, it has become the global icon of Hyderabad and is listed among the most recognized structures of India. The Charminar is on the east bank of Musi river. To the northeast lies the Laad Bazaar and in the west end lies the granite-made richly ornamented Mecca Masjid.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charminar
Last Sunday I visited Charminar with my friends in day time found weather was good and have taken some captures.No Post processing done for this upload.
Join with me here: Facebook
Thanks for your Visit, Comments,Suggestions!!!
***********Click , & Push F11 - Full - screen***********
***********If you like it press F***********
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission... © All rights reserved...
Different shots were taken in bet Al Razy,, ALwazer zone,, with different Mashrabiya Islamic Balkony,,,, CAIRO , EGYPT,, CANON EOS,, AUG 2018
The Koutoubia Mosque (Arabic: جامع الكتبية) is the largest mosque in Marrakech, Morocco. The minaret was completed under the reign of the Almohad Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur (1184-1199) and was used as the model for the Giralda of Seville and for the Hassan Tower of Rabat.
The name is derived from the Arabic al-Koutoubiyyin for librarian, since it used to be surrounded by sellers of manuscripts. It is considered the ultimate structure of its kind. The tower is 69 m (221 ft) in height and has a lateral length of 12.8 m (41 ft). Six rooms (one above the other) constitute the interior; leading around them is a ramp by way of which the muezzin could ride up to the balcony. It is built in a traditional Almohad style and the tower is adorned with four copper globes.
According to legend, the globes were originally made of pure gold, and there were once supposed to have been only three globes. The fourth globe was donated by the wife of Yacoub el-Mansour as compensation for her failure to keep the fast for one day during the month of Ramadan. She had her golden jewelry melted down to flab the fourth globe.
The minaret of the Koutoubia was the model for the minaret of the Giralda mosque in Seville which in its turn has influenced thousands of church towers in Spain and Eastern Europe.[citation needed]
Rabat, Morocco
The Mausoleum of Mohammed V (Arabic: ضريح محمد الخامس) is a mausoleum located across from the Hassan Tower in Rabat, Morocco. It contains the tombs of the Moroccan king Mohammed V and his two sons, late King Hassan II and Prince Abdallah.
The mausoleum complex was designed by Vietnamese architect Cong Vo Toan using traditional forms with modern materials. The rich materials, as well as the deliberate use of historical crafts and motifs, is meant to not only pay tribute to Mohammed V but also to evoke his own efforts to encourage traditional craftsmanship as a means of promote a sense of Moroccan identity.
Construction began in 1961 and involved renovations to the esplanade of the ruined Almohad-era mosque to which the Hassan Tower belonged. Construction was completed in 1971[1][2] and Mohammed V's body was transferred here that same year. His son Abdallah was buried here in 1983.[4] Hassan II was buried here in 1999.
—from Wikipedia
A sunrise to behold :)
Check out my Facebook Page.
Like to have this as a print? Head over to my Imagekind Gallery
::View It Large::Most Interesting according to Flickr:: View my HDR/DRI Collections::
Buy My Art at :: vedd.imagekind.com
Mustafa Pasha Mosque is a mosque located in the Old Bazaar of Skopje, Macedonia. It stands on a plateau above the old bazaar and is one of the most beautiful Islamic buildings in Macedonia. It was built in 1492 by Mustafa Pasha, vizier on the court of Sultan Selim I. The mosque is elegant and intact, and no additions have been made through the years. The interior is beautiful, simple, and spacious. In the turbe next to the mosque, lies the daughter of Mustafa Pasha. The mosque has a rose garden and it offers fine views over Skopje's old bazaar. A five year renovation of the mosque, funded by the Turkish government, was completed in August 2011.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa Pasa Mosque
International Balkan University (also known as IBU) is a university founded by Skopje Education and Culture Development Foundation. It is located in Skopje, Macedonia. It was created with the financial support of Turkish and Macedonian businessmen and the moral support of Turkish and Macedonian professors. The university commenced in 2006 with only seven students. Now the university educates more than 500 students from different nationalities.
El Albayzín (also Albaicín or El Albaicín) is a district of present day Granada, Spain that retains the narrow winding streets of its Medieval Moorish past. It was declared a world heritage site in 1984, along with the more famous Alhambra.
It rises on a hill facing the Alhambra and many tourists journey into the Albayzin primarily for the spectactular views of the Alhambra from the viewing point by the church of San Nicolas.
Highlights within the area include the remains of an Arab bath complex, Granada's archeological museum, and the church of San Salvador, built on the remains of a Moorish mosque. The Albayzin also contains some original Moorish houses and a wide-range of restaurants, including several streets whose eateries are inspired by North Africa.
There are extensive baths below the main level of the Hassan II Mosque where worshipers come to cleanse themselves before they join in prayer.
Casablanca, Morocco
The Hassan II Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الحسن الثاني, French: Grande Mosquée Hassan II) is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the second largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the 7th largest in the world. Its minaret is the world's second tallest minaret at 210 metres (689 ft). Completed in 1993, it was designed by Michel Pinseau under the guidance of King Hassan II and built by Moroccan artisans from all over the kingdom. The minaret is 60 stories high topped by a laser, the light from which is directed towards Mecca. The mosque stands on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic Ocean; worshippers can pray over the sea but there is no glass floor looking into the sea. The walls are of hand-crafted marble and the roof is retractable. A maximum of 105,000 worshippers can gather together for prayer: 25,000 inside the mosque hall and another 80,000 on the mosque's outside ground.—from Wikipedia
The Alhambra (Arabic: الحمراء = Al-Ħamrā; literally "the red one"; the complete name is "Qal'at al-Hambra", which means "The red fortress") is a palace and fortress complex of the Moorish rulers of Granada in southern Spain (known as Al-Andalus when the fortress was constructed), occupying a hilly terrace on the southeastern border of the city of Granada. 37°10′37″N 3°35′24″W37.17686, -3.589901
Once the residence of the Muslim rulers of Granada and their court, the Alhambra is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions exhibiting the country's most famous Islamic architecture, together with Christian 16th century and later interventions in buildings and gardens that marked its image as it can be seen today. Within the Alhambra, the Palace of Charles V was erected by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1527. Coordinates: 37°10′36.81″N 3°35′23.95″W
The terrace or plateau where the Alhambra sits measures about 740 m (2430 ft) in length by 205 m (674 ft) at its greatest width. It extends from WNW to ESE and covers an area of about 142,000 m².
Its most westerly feature is the alcazaba (citadel); a strongly fortified position. The rest of the plateau comprises a number of palaces, enclosed by a relatively weak fortified wall, with thirteen towers, some defensive and some providing vistas for the inhabitants.
The river Darro passes through a ravine on the north and divides the plateau from the Albaicín district of Granada. Similarly, the Assabica valley, containing the Alhambra Park on the west and south, and, beyond this valley, the almost parallel ridge of Monte Mauror, separate it from the Antequeruela district.
Completed towards the end of Muslim rule in Spain by Yusuf I (1333-1353) and Muhammed V, Sultan of Granada (1353-1391), the Alhambra is a reflection of the culture of the last days of the Nasrid emirate of Granada. It is a place where artists and intellectuals had taken refuge as Christian Spain won victories over Al Andalus. The Alhambra mixes natural elements with man-made ones, and is a testament to the skill of Muslim craftsmen of that time.
The literal translation of Alhambra "red fortress" derives from the colour of the red clay of the surroundings of which the fort is made. The buildings of the Alhambra were originally whitewashed; however, the buildings now seen today are reddish.
The first reference to the Qal’at al Hamra was during the battles between the Arabs and the Muladies during the rule of the ‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad (r. 888-912). In one particularly fierce and bloody skirmish, the Muladies soundly defeated the Arabs, who were then forced to take shelter in a primitive red castle located in the province of Elvira, presently located in Granada. According to surviving documents from the era, the red castle was quite small, and its walls were not capable of deterring an army intent on conquering. The castle was then largely ignored until the eleventh century, when its ruins were renovated and rebuilt by Samuel ibn Naghralla, vizier to the King Bādīs of the Zirid Dynasty, in an attempt to preserve the small Jewish settlement also located on the Sabikah hill. However, evidence from Arab texts indicates that the fortress was easily penetrated and that the actual Alhambra that survives today was built during the Nasrid Dynasty.
Ibn Nasr, the founder of the Nasrid Dynasty, was forced to flee to Jaén in order to avoid persecution by King Ferdinand and his supporters during attempts to rid Spain of Moorish Dominion. After retreating to Granada, Ibn-Nasr took up residence at the Palace of Bādis in the Alhambra. A few months later, he embarked on the construction of a new Alhambra fit for the residence of a king. According to an Arab manuscript published as the Anónimo de Granada y Copenhague, "This year 1238 Abdallah ibn al-Ahmar climbed to the place called "the Alhambra" inspected it, laid out the foundations of a castle and left someone in charge of its construction…" The design included plans for six palaces, five of which were grouped in the northeast quadrant forming a royal quarter, two circuit towers, and numerous bathhouses. During the reign of the Nasrid Dynasty, the Alhambra was transformed into a palatine city complete with an irrigation system composed of acequias for the gardens of the Generalife located outside the fortress. Previously, the old Alhambra structure had been dependent upon rainwater collected from a cistern and from what could be brought up from the Albaicín. The creation of the Sultan's Canal solidified the identity of the Alhambra as a palace-city rather than a defensive and ascetic structure.
The Muslim rulers lost Granada and Alhambra in 1492 without the fortress itself being attacked when King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile took the surrounding region with overwhelming numbers.
The decorations within the palaces typified the remains of Moorish dominion within Spain and ushered in the last great period of Andalusian art in Granada. With little influence from the Islamic mainland[citation needed], artists endlessly reproduced the same forms and trends, creating a new style that developed over the course of the Nasrid Dynasty. The Nasrids used freely all the display of stylistical resorts that had been created and developed during eight centuries of Muslim rule in the Peninsula as the Calliphal horse-shoe arch, the Almohad sebka or the Almoravid palm, and unused combinations of them, beside novelties as the stilted arches and the capitals of muqarnas, among others. The isolation with the rest of the Islam, and the commercial and political relationship with the Christian kingdoms also influenced in the space concepts. Columns, muqarnas and stalactite-like ceiling decorations, appear in several chambers, and the interiors of numerous palaces are decorated with arabesques and calligraphy. The arabesques of the interior are ascribed, among other kings, to Yusef I, Mohammed V, and Ismail I.
Damage produced in Later Era After the Christian conquest of the city in 1492, the conquerors began to alter the Alhambra. The open work was filled up with whitewash, the painting and gilding effaced, and the furniture soiled[citation needed], torn, or removed. Charles V (1516–1556) rebuilt portions in the Renaissance style of the period and destroyed the greater part of the winter palace to make room for a Renaissance-style structure which has never been completed. Philip V (1700–1746) Italianised the rooms and completed his palace in the middle of what had been the Moorish building; he had partitions constructed which blocked up whole apartments.
Over subsequent centuries the Moorish art was further damaged, and, in 1812, some of the towers were destroyed by the French under Count Sebastiani, while the whole building narrowly escaped the same fate. Napoleon had tried to blow up the whole complex. Just before his plan was carried out, a soldier who secretly wanted the plan of Napoleon — his commander — to fail, defused the explosives and thus saved the Alhambra for posterity.[citation needed] In 1821, an earthquake caused further damage. The work of restoration undertaken in 1828 by the architect José Contreras was endowed in 1830 by Ferdinand VII; and after the death of Contreras in 1847, it was continued with fair success by his son Rafael (d. 1890) and his grandson. Designed to reflect the very beauty of Paradise itself, the Alhambra is made up of gardens, fountains, streams, a palace, and a mosque, all within an imposing fortress wall, flanked by 13 massive towers. [1]
Moorish poets[who?] described it as "a pearl set in emeralds," in allusion to the colour of its buildings and the woods around them. The palace complex was designed with the mountainous site in mind and many forms of technology were considered. The park (Alameda de la Alhambra), which is overgrown with wildflowers and grass in the spring, was planted by the Moors with roses, oranges and myrtles; its most characteristic feature, however, is the dense wood of English elms brought by the Duke of Wellington in 1812. The park has a multitude nightingales and is usually filled with the sound of running water from several fountains and cascades. These are supplied through a conduit 8 km (5 miles) long, which is connected with the Darro at the monastery of Jesus del Valle, above Granada.
In spite of the long neglect, willful vandalism and sometimes ill-judged restoration which the Alhambra has endured, it remains an atypical example of Muslim art in its final European stages, relatively uninfluenced by the direct Byzantine influences found in the Mezquita of Córdoba. The majority of the palace buildings are, in ground-plan, quadrangular, with all the rooms opening on to a central court; and the whole reached its present size simply by the gradual addition of new quadrangles, designed on the same principle, though varying in dimensions, and connected with each other by smaller rooms and passages. Alhambra was added onto by the different Muslim rulers who lived in the complex. However, each new section that was added followed the consistent theme of "paradise on earth." Column arcades, fountains with running water, and reflecting pools were used to make add to the aesthetic and functional complexity. In every case, the exterior is left plain and austere. Sun and wind are freely admitted. Blue, red, and a golden yellow, all somewhat faded through lapse of time and exposure, are the colours chiefly employed.
The decoration consists, as a rule, of stiff, conventional foliage, Arabic inscriptions, and geometrical patterns wrought into arabesques. Painted tiles are largely used as panelling for the walls. The palace complex is designed in the Mudéjar style which is characteristic of western elements reinterpreted into Islamic forms and largely popular during the Reconquista, a period of history in which the Christian kings reconquered Spain from the Muslims.
The Alhambra resembles many medieval Christian strongholds in its threefold arrangement as a castle, a palace and a residential annex for subordinates. The alcazaba or citadel, its oldest part, is built on the isolated and precipitous foreland which terminates the plateau on the northwest. That is all massive outer walls, towers and ramparts are left. On its watchtower, the Torre de la Vela, 25 m (85 ft) high, the flag of Ferdinand and Isabella was first raised, in token of the Spanish conquest of Granada on January 2, 1492. A turret containing a large bell was added in the 18th century and restored after being damaged by lightning in 1881. Beyond the Alcazaba is the palace of the Moorish rulers, or Alhambra properly so-called; and beyond this, again, is the Alhambra Alta (Upper Alhambra), originally tenanted by officials and courtiers.
Access from the city to the Alhambra Park is afforded by the Puerta de las Granadas (Gate of Pomegranates), a triumphal arch dating from the 15th century. A steep ascent leads past the Pillar of Charles V, a fountain erected in 1554, to the main entrance of the Alhambra. This is the Puerta Judiciaria (Gate of Judgment), a massive horseshoe archway surmounted by a square tower and used by the Moors as an informal court of justice. The hand of Fatima, with fingers outstretched as a talisman against the evil eye, is carved above this gate on the exterior; a key, the symbol of authority, occupies the corresponding place on the interior. A narrow passage leads inward to the Plaza de los Aljibes (Place of the Cisterns), a broad open space which divides the Alcazaba from the Moorish palace. To the left of the passage rises the Torre del Vino (Wine Tower), built in 1345 and used in the 16th century as a cellar. On the right is the palace of Charles V, a smaller Renaissance building.
The Royal Complex consists of three main parts: Mexuar, Serallo, and the Harem. The Mexuar is modest in decor and houses the functional areas for conducting business and administration. Strapwork is used to decorate the surfaces in Mexuar. The ceilings, floors, and trim are made of dark wood and are in sharp contrast to white, plaster walls. Serallo, built during the reign of Yusef I in the 14th century, contains the Patio de los Arrayanes. Brightly colored interiors featured dado panels, yesería, azulejo, cedar, and artesonado. Artesonado are highly decorative ceilings and other woodwork. Lastly, the Harem is also elaborately decorated and contains the living quarters for the wives and mistresses of the Arabic monarchs. This area contains a bathroom with running, hot and cold water, baths, and pressurized water for showering. The bathrooms were open to the elements in order to allow in light and air. The Harem also features representations of human forms, which is forbidden under Islamic law. The Christian artisans were most likely commissioned to design artwork that would be placed in the palace and the tolerant Muslim rulers allowed the work to stay.
The present entrance to the Palacio Árabe, or Casa Real (Moorish palace), is by a small door from which a corridor connects to the Patio de los Arrayanes (Court of the Myrtles), also called the Patio de la Alberca (Court of the Blessing or Court of the Pond), from the Arabic birka, "pool". The birka helped to cool the palace and acted as a symbol of power. Because water was usually in short supply, the technology required to keep these pools full was expensive and difficult. The aim of the pools was to give the impression that the pool had mystical powers because it never evaporated, making them form a good opinion of their leader.[citation needed] This court is 42 m (140 ft) long by 22 m (74 ft) broad; and in the centre, there is a large pond set in the marble pavement, full of goldfish, and with myrtles growing along its sides. There are galleries on the north and south sides; that on the south is 7 m (27 ft) high and supported by a marble colonnade. Underneath it, to the right, was the principal entrance, and over it are three windows with arches and miniature pillars. From this court, the walls of the Torre de Comares are seen rising over the roof to the north and reflected in the pond.
The Salón de los Embajadores (Hall of the Ambassadors) is the largest in the Alhambra and occupies all the Torre de Comares. It is a square room, the sides being 12 m (37 ft) in length, while the centre of the dome is 23 m (75 ft) high. This was the grand reception room, and the throne of the sultan was placed opposite the entrance. It was in this setting that Christopher Columbus received Isabel and Ferdinand's support to sail to the New World. The tiles are nearly 4 ft (1.2 m) high all round, and the colours vary at intervals. Over them is a series of oval medallions with inscriptions, interwoven with flowers and leaves. There are nine windows, three on each facade, and the ceiling is decorated with inlaid-work of white, blue and gold, in the shape of circles, crowns and stars. The walls are covered with varied stucco works, surrounding many ancient escutcheons.
The Patio de los Leones (Court of the Lions) is an oblong court, 116 ft (35 m) in length by 66 ft (20 m) in width, surrounded by a low gallery supported on 124 white marble columns. A pavilion projects into the court at each extremity, with filigree walls and light domed roof. The square is paved with coloured tiles, and the colonnade with white marble; while the walls are covered 5 ft (1.5 m) up from the ground with blue and yellow tiles, with a border above and below enamelled blue and gold. The columns supporting the roof and gallery are irregularly placed. They are adorned by varieties of foliage, etc.; about each arch there is a large square of arabesques; and over the pillars is another square of filigree work. In the centre of the court is the Fountain of Lions, an alabaster basin supported by the figures of twelve lions in white marble, not designed with sculptural accuracy, but as symbols of strength and courage.[citation needed]
The Sala de los Abencerrajes (Hall of the Abencerrages) derives its name from a legend according to which the father of Boabdil, last king of Granada, having invited the chiefs of that line to a banquet, massacred them here.[citation needed] This room is a perfect square, with a lofty dome and trellised windows at its base. The roof is decorated in blue, brown, red and gold, and the columns supporting it spring out into the arch form in a remarkably beautiful manner. Opposite to this hall is the Sala de las dos Hermanas (Hall of the two Sisters), so-called from two white marble slabs laid as part of the pavement. These slabs measure 50 by 22 cm (15 by 7½ in). There is a fountain in the middle of this hall, and the roof —a dome honeycombed with tiny cells, all different, and said to number 5000— is an example of the so-called "stalactite vaulting" of the Moors.
Among the other features of the Alhambra are the Sala de la Justicia (Hall of Justice), the Patio del Mexuar (Court of the Council Chamber), the Patio de Daraxa (Court of the Vestibule), and the Peinador de la Reina (Queen's Robing Room), in which there is similar architecture and decoration. The palace and the Upper Alhambra also contain baths, ranges of bedrooms and summer-rooms, a whispering gallery and labyrinth, and vaulted sepulchres.
The original furniture of the palace is represented by the vase of the Alhambra, a specimen of Moorish ceramic art, dating from 1320 and belonging to the first period of Moorish porcelain. It is 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) high; the ground is white, and the enamelling is blue, white and gold.
Of the outlying buildings in connection with the Alhambra, the foremost in interest is the Palacio de Generalife or Gineralife (the Muslim Jennat al Arif, "Garden of Arif," or "Garden of the Architect"). This villa probably dates from the end of the 13th century but has been restored several times. Its gardens, however, with their clipped hedges, grottos, fountains, and cypress avenues, are said to retain their original Moorish character.[who?] The Villa de los Martires (Martyrs' Villa), on the summit of Monte Mauror, commemorates by its name the Christian slaves who were forced to build the Alhambra and confined here in subterranean cells. The Torres Bermejas (Vermilion Towers), also on Monte Mauror, are a well-preserved Moorish fortification, with underground cisterns, stables, and accommodation for a garrison of 200 men. Several Roman tombs were discovered in 1829 and 1857 at the base of Monte Mauror.
The Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzín of Granada are listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
Alhambra in literature
Parts of the following novels are set in the Alhambra:
•Washington Irving's Tales of the Alhambra. It is a collection of essays, verbal sketches, and stories. Irving lived in the palace while writing the book and was instrumental in reintroducing the site to Western audiences.
•Salman Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh
•Amin Maalouf's Leon L'Africain, depicting the reconquest of Granada by the Catholic kings.
•Philippa Gregory's The Constant Princess.
•Langston Hughes's poem "Movies" in his collection Montage of a Dream Deferred (1951)
•Federico Garcia Lorca's play Dona Rosita the Spinster, mentioned by title character Dona Rosita in her song/speech to the Manola sisters.
•Paulo Coelho's novel The Alchemist
•Ali Smith's The Accidental
Alhambra in music
Alhambra has directly inspired musical compositions as Francisco Tárrega's famous tremolo study for guitar Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Memories of the Alhambra)[1], Claude Debussy's piece for 2 pianos Lindaraja (composed in 1901) and the prelude La Puerta del Vino (in the 2nd book of preludes, composed 1912-13).[2].
"En los Jardines del Generalife", first movement of Manuel de Falla's Noches en los Jardines de España, and other pieces by composers such as Ruperto Chapí (Los Gnomos de la Alhambra,1891) Tomás Bretón [2] and many others are included in a stream called by scholars "Alhambrismo".[3] [4]
In pop and folk music, Alhambra is the subject of the Ghymes song of the same name.[citation needed] The rock band, The Grateful Dead, released a song called Terrapin Station on the 1977 album of the same name. The song itself was a series of small compositions penned by Robert Hunter and put to music by Jerry Garcia, a lyrical section of this Terrapin Station "suite" was called Alhambra.
In September 2006, Canadian singer/composer Loreena McKennitt performed live at the Alhambra. The resulting footage premiered on PBS and was later released as a three-disc DVD/CD set entitled Nights from the Alhambra.
Alhambra is the title of an EP by Canadian rock band The Tea Party, containing acoustic versions of a few of their songs.[citation needed]
British composer Julian Anderson's Alhambra Fantasy (1999–2000), commissioned by the London Sinfonietta, was influenced by the architecture of the Alhambra Palace. In two sharply contrasting sections the work relates different facets of the Alhambra – the first, rough and energetic, is related to the building of the Palace itself[citation needed], dominated by the sounds of hammering and banging on percussion. Short counterpointed and juxtaposed motifs create, for some, the impression of a mosaic[citation needed]. The second section evokes the beautiful landscape of the Vega[citation needed]. The composer is careful to point out[citation needed] that he has not written programmatic music, although his concern is with the splendour of the palace itself, its place in the landscape and its relevance to the complex and turbulent history of the region.
In 1976, filmmaker Christopher Nupen filmed "The Song of the Guitar" at the Alhambra. It was an hour long program featuring the legendary Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia. It is now available on DVD.
M. C. Escher's visit in 1922 inspired his following work on regular divisions of the plane after studying the Moorish use of symmetry in the Alhambra tiles.
Influence in 19th- and 20th-century architecture
From 19th-century Romantic interpretations until the present day, many buildings and portions of buildings worldwide have been inspired by the Alhambra: there is a Moorish Revival house in Stillwater, Minnesota which was created and named after the Alhambra. Also, the main portion of the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine, California, is a postmodern version of the Court of the Lions.
One also recalls the Alhambra Theatre in central Bradford, England [3].
Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque is an Islamic mosque located in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of the Sultanate of Brunei. Considered as one of the most beautiful mosques in the Asia Pacific, it is a place of worship for the Muslim community, a major landmark and a tourist attraction of Brunei.
Named after Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the 28th Sultan of Brunei who also initiated its construction, the mosque serves as a symbol of the Islamic faith in Brunei and dominates the skyline of Bandar Seri Begawan. The building was completed in 1958 and is an example of modern Islamic architecture.
The Palacio de Generalife (Arabic: Jannat al-'Arif - Architect's Garden) was the summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid sultans of Granada.
The palace and gardens were built during the reign of Muhammad III (1302-1309) and redecorated shortly after by Abu I-Walid Isma'il (1313-1324).
A view of the Alhambra from the Patio de la Acequia.
A view of the Alhambra from the Patio de la Acequia.
The complex consists of the Patio de la Acequia (Court of the Water Channel or Water-Garden Courtyard), which has a long pool framed by flowerbeds, fountains, colonnades and pavilions, and the Jardín de la Sultana (Sultana's Garden or Courtyard of the Cypress). The former is thought to best preserve the style of the medieval garden in Al-Andalus. Originally the palace was linked to the Alhambra by a covered walkway across the ravine that now divides them. The Generalife is one of the oldest surviving Moorish gardens.
The present-day gardens were started in 1931 and completed by Francisco Prieto Moreno in 1951. The walkways are paved in traditional Granadian style with a mosaic of pebbles: white ones from the River Darro and black ones from the River Genil.
The Koutoubia Mosque (Arabic: جامع الكتبية) is the largest mosque in Marrakech, Morocco. The minaret was completed under the reign of the Almohad Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur (1184-1199) and was used as the model for the Giralda of Seville and for the Hassan Tower of Rabat.
The name is derived from the Arabic al-Koutoubiyyin for librarian, since it used to be surrounded by sellers of manuscripts. It is considered the ultimate structure of its kind. The tower is 69 m (221 ft) in height and has a lateral length of 12.8 m (41 ft). Six rooms (one above the other) constitute the interior; leading around them is a ramp by way of which the muezzin could ride up to the balcony. It is built in a traditional Almohad style and the tower is adorned with four copper globes.
According to legend, the globes were originally made of pure gold, and there were once supposed to have been only three globes. The fourth globe was donated by the wife of Yacoub el-Mansour as compensation for her failure to keep the fast for one day during the month of Ramadan. She had her golden jewelry melted down to flab the fourth globe.
The minaret of the Koutoubia was the model for the minaret of the Giralda mosque in Seville which in its turn has influenced thousands of church towers in Spain and Eastern Europe.[citation needed]