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Islamic & Asia Traditions

Islamic & Asia Traditions

Islamic design in what is now Turkey appears first in mosques that were the result of the conversion of earlier Christian churches. The Byzantine church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus,built in 527, is now converted to a mosque. The much larger and technically more daring churchof Hagia Sophia.

1 Minaret2 Small minaret3 Mihrab4 Fountain5 Prayer hallMosque of Suleiman,Istanbul, Turkey, 1557.The Mosque of Suleiman inIstanbul (completed 1557)by the architect Sinan is anexample of the Byzantine arrangementof domes andhalf domes that originated inChristian structures, such asHagia Sophia and was then adopted for use in the construction of largemosques. The blue and white Izniktiles that decorate the interior walls and the painted arabesque designs lining the dome and half domes justify the blue name given to the building.

Plan of Mosque of IbnTulun, Cairo, Egypt, 879 C.E.The central court is surroundedby arcades. The five parallel arcades at one side of thecourtyard form the prayer hall with its mihrab.Jama Masjid (Fatehpur Sikri) This watercolor shows theJama Masjid, a portion ofthe capital of Fatehpur Sikri(near Delhi, now abandoned).The front, shown here, isdominated by a great centralarch and two corner towers.The dome of the mosque withinand the two domes of chapelson each side are visiblebeyond and above thefront screen wall.Berniers Account of the Taj MahalThe building I am speaking of is . . . not withoutsomething pleasing in its whimsical structure; andin my opinion it well deserves a place in our booksof architecture. It consists almost wholly of archesupon arches, and galleries upon galleries, disposedand contrived in an hundred different ways. Neverthelessthe edifice has a magnificent appearance,and is conceived and executed effectually. Nothingoffends the eye; on the contrary, it is delighted withevery part, and never tired with looking.The Tomb of Mahmud Shah inBijapur , southeast India, is a square buildingon a raised platform with fortress- like towersat its four corners. Internal walls are made upof a complex network of arches that fi t an octagonwithin the square of the outside walls and

Taj Mahal, Agra, India,163253.This mausoleum for the belovedwife of the Mughal ruler ShahJahan has a complex symmetrical geometry.The domed central space is small compared to the size of the rest of the building.

Angkor Wat, Angkor, Cambodia,twelfth century.There is almost no part of the building thatis without some form of carved decoration. The galleries that form the outer square enclosing thesite are fi lled with carved relief sculpture totaling more than 2,000 feet in lengththe longestcontinuous bas-relief in the worldE L E C T I V EAnshul ChauhanB.Arch V Sem III Yr


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