All Islamic mosques are modelled on the courtyard of the Prophet’s own house in Medina.
The shelters in his courtyard were also used as somewhere to meet and discuss community affairs. And that marvellous communal atmosphere of a space with many purposes is something else that survives to this day in the Islamic mosque.
Quartz is a very common mineral, but in the hands of the Islamic Rock Crystal Carvers it is transformed into something magical.
The shimmering image carved into these gorgeous crystal ewers would transport the drinker to Paradise. Hunting scenes, flowers, beautiful birds, so crystal clear that none could resist them.
The prayer hall in a mosque is aligned to the direction of the Qibla wall, indicating the orientation of Mecca.
Christian churches are full of pictures that tell you stories but there are no pictures in these great Islamic interiors. The decoration here communicates in other ways.
The Kairouan Mosque is a fine example of Islamic recycling with it’s 414 reused columns.
There are many remarkable things about the Kairouan Mosque. But particularly remarkable, I think, is the proof that is offered here that architecture is an art form of spaces, not of details. Of courtyards, not of capitals.
Waldemar Januszczak concludes his journey of Islamic Wonder of the Cordoba Mosque. The building has world famous arches from an earlier visigoth church.
This is the Guadalquivir in Andalusia, the largest navigable river in Spain. The name is Islamic. It comes from al-wadi al-kabir, which means “the great Valley”.
Waldemar Januszczak wonders at the fantastic achievements of the great Islamic scholars and architects. He visits Cordoba and the Dome on the Rock.
This location, Temple Mount, is the holiest spot in Jerusalem. This is where King Solomon built the first Jewish Temple, the one destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.
The mosaics in the Damascus Mosque evoke the pleasures that await the righteous in Paradise. The Qusayr Amra Bathhouse is a wealthy oasis of indulgence.
This is the earliest known Islamic star chart, painted onto the Dome at Qusayr Amra. Around the edge are the 12 signs of the Zodiac. And in the middle, frescoed representations of the constellations.
The Nilometer was an ingenious, engineering method to measure and control the annual flooding of the River Nile, before construction of the Aswan Dam.
Alfraganus’s most famous achievement as an astronomer was calculating the diameter of the Earth. Copernicus was said to have used his results. There’s even a crater on the moon named after him, the Alfraganus crater.
Waldemar Januszczak explores the fantastic art, created by hugely misaligned groups of peoples during the inappropriately named Dark Ages.
The Dark Ages go roughly from the fourth century to roughly the 11th. They begin when the Roman Empire starts to crumble, and they end when William the Conqueror invades England.
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