Arabic Architecture - Elements of Islamic Style

Elements of Islamic Style

Islamic architecture may be identified with the following design elements, which were inherited from the first mosque built byr hall (originally a feature of the Masjid al-Nabawi).

• Minarets or towers (these were originally used as torch-lit watchtowers, as seen in the Great Mosque of Damascus; hence the derivation of the word from the Arabic nur, meaning "light"). The minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan in Tunisia is considered as the oldest surviving minaret in the world. It has the shape of a square massive tower of three superimposed sections.

• A four-iwan plan, with three subordinate halls and one principal one that faces toward Mecca

• Mihrab or prayer niche on an inside wall indicating the direction to Mecca.

• Domes and Cupolas.

• Pishtaq is the formal gateway to the iwan, usually the main prayer hall of a mosque, a vaulted hall or space, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open; a Persian term for a portal projecting from the facade of a building, usually decorated with calligraphy bands, glazed tilework, and geometric designs.
• Iwans to intermediate between different pavilions.

• The use of Islamic geometric patterns and foliage based arabesques.

• The use of mocárabe and muqarnas, a unique Arabic/Islamic space-enclosing system, for the decoration of domes, minarets and portals, as used at the Alhambra.

• The use of decorative Islamic calligraphy instead of pictures which were haram (forbidden) in mosque architecture. Note that in secular architecture, human and animal representation was indeed present.

• Central fountains used for ablutions (once used as a wudu area for Muslims).

• The use of bright color, if the style is Persian or Indian (Mughal); paler sandstone and grey stones are preferred among Arab buildings. Compare the Registan complex of Uzbekistan to the Al-Azhar University of Cairo.

• Focus both on the interior space of a building and the exterior