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Mosque Of Qaytbay (Qal'at Al-Kabsh)
The Mosque of Qaytbay, also known as the Madrasa of Qaytbay, is a historic religious structure in the Qal'at al-Kabsh neighbourhood of Cairo, Egypt. Completed in 1475, it is one of multiple monuments sponsored by the Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay. It is not to be confused with the more famous Funerary complex of Qaytbay in the Northern Cemetery. It is described as both a madrasa and a mosque by scholars, but functions as a mosque today. History The madrasa, which now functions as a mosque, was built on the highest point of the Gabal Yashkur, a hill located near the Ibn Tulun Mosque. The area is known as Qal'at al-Kabsh ("Citadel of the Ram"), the name of a palace built by the Ayyubid sultan al-Salih Ayyub. According to Maqrizi, the palace was later destroyed by Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad. The construction of Qaytbay's madrasa was completed in 1475. Its foundation inscription identifies it as a madrasa, though it functions as a mosque today. The mosque was damaged during the 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metropolitan area, with a population of 21.9 million, is the 12th-largest in the world by population. Cairo is associated with ancient Egypt, as the Giza pyramid complex and the ancient cities of Memphis and Heliopolis are located in its geographical area. Located near the Nile Delta, the city first developed as Fustat, a settlement founded after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640 next to an existing ancient Roman fortress, Babylon. Under the Fatimid dynasty a new city, ''al-Qāhirah'', was founded nearby in 969. It later superseded Fustat as the main urban centre during the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (12th–16th centuries). Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life, and is titled "the city of a thousand m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islamic Geometric Patterns
Islamic geometric patterns are one of the major forms of Islamic ornament, which tends to avoid using figurative images, as it is forbidden to create a representation of an important Islamic figure according to many holy scriptures. The geometric designs in Islamic art are often built on combinations of repeated squares and circles, which may be overlapped and interlaced, as can arabesques (with which they are often combined), to form intricate and complex patterns, including a wide variety of tessellations. These may constitute the entire decoration, may form a framework for floral or calligraphic embellishments, or may retreat into the background around other motifs. The complexity and variety of patterns used evolved from simple stars and lozenges in the ninth century, through a variety of 6- to 13-point patterns by the 13th century, and finally to include also 14- and 16-point stars in the sixteenth century. Geometric patterns occur in a variety of forms in Islamic a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qibla
The qibla ( ar, قِبْلَة, links=no, lit=direction, translit=qiblah) is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to be a sacred site built by prophets Abraham and Ishmael, and that its use as the qibla was ordained by Allah in several verses of the Quran revealed to Muhammad in the second Hijri year. Prior to this revelation, Muhammad and his followers in Medina faced Jerusalem for prayers. Most mosques contain a '' mihrab'' (a wall niche) that indicates the direction of the qibla. The qibla is also the direction for entering the ''ihram'' (sacred state for the hajj pilgrimage); the direction to which animals are turned during ''dhabihah'' (Islamic slaughter); the recommended direction to make ''dua'' (supplications); the direction to avoid when relieving oneself or spitting; and the direction to which the deceas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, God. It is organized in 114 surah, chapters (pl.: , sing.: ), which consist of āyah, verses (pl.: , sing.: , construct case, cons.: ). In addition to its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature, and has significantly influenced the Arabic language. Muslims believe that the Quran was orally revealed by God to the Khatam an-Nabiyyin, final prophet, Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, through the archangel Gabriel incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning in the month of Ramadan, when Muhammad was 40; and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important miracle; a proof of his prophethood; and the culmination of a series of divine message ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dikka
A ''dikka'' or ''dakka'' ( ar, دكة), also known in Turkish language, Turkish as a ''müezzin mahfili'', is a raised platform or tribune (architecture), tribune in a mosque from which the Quran is recited and where the muezzin chants or repeats in response to the imam's prayers. It is also used by the muezzin to chant the second call to prayer (''iqama''), which indicates to worshippers that the prayer is about to begin. On special occasions or evenings, such as during the month of Ramadan, expert or professional Qāriʾ, Qur'an reciters also use the platform to chant parts of the Qur'an. It is also known as the ''mukabbariyah'' () in the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, Prophet's Mosque in Medina. This feature is not found in all mosques, but is most often found in large mosques where it is difficult for worshippers far from the ''mihrab'' to hear the imam. Raised on columns, it can be a freestanding structure near the middle of the prayer hall or a balcony set against a pillar or a wall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minbar
A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and lectures the congregation. Etymology The word is a derivative of the Arabic root ''n-b-r'' ("to raise, elevate"); the Arabic plural is ''manābir'' ( ar, مَنابِر). Function and form The minbar is symbolically the seat of the imam who leads prayers in the mosque and delivers sermons. In the early years of Islam, this seat was reserved for the Islamic prophet Muhammad and later for the caliphs who followed him, each of whom was officially the imam of the whole Muslim community, but it eventually became standard for all Friday mosques and was used by the local imam. Nonetheless, the minbar retained its significance as a symbol of authority. While minbars are roughly similar to church pulpits, they have a function and position mor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allah
Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", and is linguistically related to the Aramaic words Elah and Syriac (ʼAlāhā) and the Hebrew word '' El'' ('' Elohim'') for God. The feminine form of Allah is thought to be the word Allat. The word ''Allah'' has been used by Arabic people of different religions since pre-Islamic times. The pre-Islamic Arabs worshipped a supreme deity whom they called Allah, alongside other lesser deities. Muhammad used the word ''Allah'' to indicate the Islamic conception of God. ''Allah'' has been used as a term for God by Muslims (both Arab and non-Arab) and even Arab Christians after the term " al- ilāh" and "Allah" were used interchangeably in Classical Arabic by the majority of Arabs who had become Muslims. It is also often, albeit not exclusiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spandrel
A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently filled with decorative elements. Meaning There are four or five accepted and cognate meanings of the term ''spandrel'' in architectural and art history, mostly relating to the space between a curved figure and a rectangular boundary – such as the space between the curve of an arch and a rectilinear bounding moulding, or the wallspace bounded by adjacent arches in an arcade and the stringcourse or moulding above them, or the space between the central medallion of a carpet and its rectangular corners, or the space between the circular face of a clock and the corners of the square revealed by its hood. Also included is the space under a flight of stairs, if it is not occupied by another flight of stairs. In a building with more than one floor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voussoir
A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The keystone is the centre stone or masonry unit at the apex of an arch. The springer is the lowest voussoir on each side, located where the curve of the arch springs from the vertical support or abutment of the wall or pier. The keystone is often decorated or enlarged. An enlarged and sometimes slightly dropped keystone is often found in Mannerist arches of the 16th century, beginning with the works of Giulio Romano, who also began the fashion for using voussoirs above rectangular openings, rather than a lintel (Palazzo Stati Maccarani, Rome, circa 1522). The word is a stonemason's term borrowed in Middle English from French verbs connoting a "turn" (''OED''). Each wedge-shaped voussoir ''turns aside'' the thrust of the mass above, transf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qibla
The qibla ( ar, قِبْلَة, links=no, lit=direction, translit=qiblah) is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to be a sacred site built by prophets Abraham and Ishmael, and that its use as the qibla was ordained by Allah in several verses of the Quran revealed to Muhammad in the second Hijri year. Prior to this revelation, Muhammad and his followers in Medina faced Jerusalem for prayers. Most mosques contain a '' mihrab'' (a wall niche) that indicates the direction of the qibla. The qibla is also the direction for entering the ''ihram'' (sacred state for the hajj pilgrimage); the direction to which animals are turned during ''dhabihah'' (Islamic slaughter); the recommended direction to make ''dua'' (supplications); the direction to avoid when relieving oneself or spitting; and the direction to which the deceas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mihrab
Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla wall". The ''minbar'', which is the raised platform from which an imam (leader of prayer) addresses the congregation, is located to the right of the mihrab. Etymology The origin of the word ''miḥrāb'' is complicated and multiple explanations have been proposed by different sources and scholars. It may come from Old South Arabian (possibly Sabaic) ''mḥrb'' meaning a certain part of a palace, as well as "part of a temple where ''tḥrb'' (a certain type of visions) is obtained," from the root word ''ḥrb'' "to perform a certain religious ritual (which is compared to combat or fighting and described as an overnight retreat) in the ''mḥrb'' of the temple." It may also possibly be related to Ethiopic ''məkʷrab'' "temple, sanctua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four-iwan Layout
An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting from the facade of a building, usually decorated with calligraphy bands, glazed tilework, and geometric designs. Since the definition allows for some interpretation, the overall forms and characteristics can vary greatly in terms of scale, material, or decoration. Iwans are most commonly associated with Islamic architecture; however, the form is Iranian in origin and was invented much earlier and fully developed in Mesopotamia around the third century CE, during the Parthian period of Persia. Etymology ''Iwan'' is a Persian word which was subsequently borrowed into other languages such as Arabic and Turkish. Its etymology is unclear. A theory by scholars like Ernst Herzfeld and W. B. Henning proposed that the root of this term is Old ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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