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Ribat Of Arrifana
The Ribat of Arrifana is the archeological site of the remains of a Muslim fortification (ribat) situated in Arrifana, Aljezur municipality, in the Faro District of the Algarve region, Portugal. It was a Muslim coastal fortress built around 1130 and is the only such Muslim fortress to have been identified in Portugal, having been excavated by Portuguese archaeologists since 2001. History The ribat is located on the Ponta da Atalaia, about 1 km north of Arrifana Beach. It was constructed around 1130, probably by the Sufi and Mahdi master of Christian origin, Abu-l-Qasim Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn Qasi, one of the leading political and religious figures in al-Andalus, the Muslim territory that covered most of Iberia during the Islamic Golden Age. Between 1130 and 1140 Ibn Qasi wrote his main work, ''The Removal of the Sandals'', which was inspired by both the Old Testament and the Quran. In 1151 he was assassinated in Silves after being accused of betraying Islam by the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Of Arrifana
The Fort of Arrifana, or Fortress of Arrifana, ( pt, Fortaleza da Arrifana)) is situated on the Vicentine Coast of the Algarve region of Portugal, on a promontory close to the town of Aljezur. It was originally constructed in 1635 with the intention of protecting fishing grounds for tuna as well as defending the coast. Its location provides a natural lookout over Arrifana Beach and the Vicentine Coast. History The fort consisted of two parts linked by a narrow corridor of rock. The front part, immediately behind the entrance, consisted of a guardhouse and lodgings. The battery, with two artillery pieces, faced the sea. On the entrance door was placed a stone that included the date of construction of the fortress, as well as the National Coat of Arms and the Coat of Arms of D. Gonçalo Coutinho, Governor of the Algarve. By 1654 the fort was reported to be unguarded. It was reconstructed in 1670 but there is little information available about its fortunes until it was destroyed b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silves, Portugal
Silves () is a city and municipality in the Portuguese region of Algarve, in southern Portugal. The population of the entire municipality of Silves in 2011 was 37,126, in an area of 680.06 km2. The urbanized area of the city proper has approximately 11,000 inhabitants. Silves is the former capital of the Kingdom of the Algarve (1249–1910), a nominal kingdom within the Kingdom of Portugal (1139-1910), and is of great historical importance. History The region of Silves has been inhabited since the Palaeolithic, as attested by archaeological remains, including several menhirs. The river Arade, which was navigable in historical times, linked the hinterland to the open ocean and allowed the transport of produce and commerce. The town of Silves (''Cilpes'') was possibly founded during the times of Roman domination, when the region was part of the Lusitania province. It was probably a Lusitanian Castro in pre-Roman times; however the region was also settled by other Indo-Eu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maqbara
The Arabic word ''Maqbara'' ( "mausoleum"; ''plural'': ''Maqâbir'') is derived from the word Qabr, which means grave. Though maqbara refers to the graves of all Muslims, it refers especially to a Muslim cemetery. In some Islamic cultures (especially Indo-Pak-influenced) it refers also to the graves (Raula or Rauza) of religious figures or Waliyullahs considered to have dedicated their life to Islam, striving to be true Muslims and training others to follow Islam as preached by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In Asian countries, maqbara also refers to the Dargah of Waliyullahs, Sufis, Sheikhs, Imams, Qutbs and Ghouses. There are many Dargahs of Waliyullahs all over India, and their maqbaras are found therein. Madurai Maqbara In Madurai, South Tamil Nadu, the term maqbara usually refers to the Dargahs of three saints: Meer Ahmad Ibrahim Waliyullah Al Kabir, Meer Amjad Ibrahim Waliyullah As Saghir, and Syed Abdus Salaam Ibrahim Saalim Waliyullah. The graves of all three sheikhs are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mollusc
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estimated between 60,000 and 100,000 additional species. The proportion of undescribed species is very high. Many taxa remain poorly studied. Molluscs are the largest marine phylum, comprising about 23% of all the named marine organisms. Numerous molluscs also live in freshwater and terrestrial habitats. They are highly diverse, not just in size and anatomical structure, but also in behaviour and habitat. The phylum is typically divided into 7 or 8 taxonomic classes, of which two are entirely extinct. Cephalopod molluscs, such as squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses, are among the most neurologically advanced of all invertebrates—and either the giant squid or the colossal squid is the largest known invertebrate species. The gastropods ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spindle (textiles)
A spindle is a straight spike usually made from wood used for spinning (textiles), spinning, twisting fibers such as wool, flax, hemp, cotton into Thread (yarn), yarn. It is often weighted at either the bottom, middle, or top, commonly by a disc or spherical object called a spindle whorl, whorl; many spindles, however, are weighted simply by thickening their shape towards the bottom, e.g. Orenburg and French spindles. The spindle may also have a hook, groove, or notch at the top to guide the yarn. Spindles come in many different sizes and weights depending on the thickness of the yarn one desires to spin. History The origin of the first wooden spindle is lost to history because the materials did not survive. Whorl-weighted spindles date back at least to Neolithic times; spindle whorls have been found in archaeological digs around the world. A spindle is also part of traditional spinning wheels where it is horizontal, such as the Indian charkha and the great or walking wheel. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New University Of Lisbon
NOVA University Lisbon ( pt, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, ), or just NOVA, is a Portuguese public university whose rectorate is located in Campolide, Lisbon. Founded in 1973, it is the newest of the public universities in the Portuguese capital city, earning its name as the "New" (NOVA) University of Lisbon. The institution has more than 20,000 students, 1,800 professors and staff members distributed through five faculties, three institutes and one school, providing a variety of courses in several fields of knowledge. History NOVA University Lisbon was founded in 1973 and is the newest public university in the Lisbon metropolitan area, with teaching units in Lisbon, Almada, Oeiras, and Cascais. It was founded as a response to ever-increasing demand for higher education in Portugal and in Lisbon in particular. While its early years focused on graduate and specialist programs, NOVA started expanding its teaching and research from 1977 onwards. The structure of NOVA was organiz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faculty Of Social And Human Sciences
The Portuguese Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas (Faculty of Social and Human Sciences - FCSH) is an organic unit of the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (NOVA). According to its statutes, ''“the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of NOVA University of Lisbon is an institution dedicated to education, scientific research and cultural creation"''. The Faculty's own identity stems from the coexistence of social sciences with humanities, allowing an unusual interdisciplinarity in the Portuguese higher education panorama. General description FCSH/NOVA was established in January 1977 by Decree-Law No. 464/77, following the development of the area of Human and Social Sciences that existed at NOVA at the time, led by a group of faculty members and researchers, namely J. S. da Silva Dias, Leonor Buescu, João Morais Barbosa, Artur Nobre de Gusmão, Fernando Gil, Augusto Mesquitela Lima, A.H. de Oliveira Marques, José Augusto França, Vitorino Magalhães Godinho, José Mattoso, Ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated ''Madrasah arifah'', ''medresa'', ''madrassa'', ''madraza'', ''medrese'', etc. In countries outside the Arab world, the word usually refers to a specific type of religious school or college for the study of the religion of Islam, though this may not be the only subject studied. In an architectural and historical context, the term generally refers to a particular kind of institution in the historic Muslim world which primarily taught Islamic law and jurisprudence (''fiqh''), as well as other subjects on occasion. The origin of this type of institution is widely credited to Nizam al-Mulk, a vizier under the Seljuks in the 11th century, who was responsible for building the first network of official madrasas in Iran, Mesopotamia, and Khorasan. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marabout
A marabout ( ar, مُرابِط, murābiṭ, lit=one who is attached/garrisoned) is a Muslim religious leader and teacher who historically had the function of a chaplain serving as a part of an Islamic army, notably in North Africa and the Sahara, in West Africa, and (historically) in the Maghreb. The marabout is often a scholar of the Qur'an, or religious teacher. Others may be wandering holy men who survive on alms, Sufi Murshids ("Guides"), or leaders of religious communities. The term "marabout" is also used for the mausolea of such religious leaders (cf. ''maqam'', ''mazar'', in Palestine also ''wali/weli''). West Africa Muslim religious teachers Muslim tariqah (Sufi religious brotherhoods) are one of the main organizing forms of West African Islam, and with the spread of Sufi ideas into the area, the marabout's role combined with local practices throughout Senegambia, the Niger River Valley, and the Futa Jallon. Here, Sufi believers follow a marabout, elsewhere know ... [...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] |
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] |
Minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer ('' adhan''), but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can have a variety of forms, from thick, squat towers to soaring, pencil-thin spires. Etymology Two Arabic words are used to denote the minaret tower: ''manāra'' and ''manār''. The English word "minaret" originates from the former, via the Turkish version (). The Arabic word ''manāra'' (plural: ''manārāt'') originally meant a "lamp stand", a cognate of Hebrew '' menorah''. It is assumed to be a derivation of an older reconstructed form, ''manwara''. The other word, ''manār'' (plural: ''manā'ir'' or ''manāyir''), means "a place of light". Both words derive from the Arabic root ''n-w-r'', which has a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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