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Muqarnas
Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of Islamic architecture, integral to the vernacular of Islamic buildings that originated in the Abbasid Empire. The muqarnas structure originated from the squinch. Sometimes called "honeycomb vaulting" or "stalactite vaulting", the purpose of muqarnas is to create a smooth, decorative zone of transition in an otherwise bare, structural space. This structure gives the ability to distinguish between the main parts of a building, and serve as a transition from the walls of a room into a domed ceiling. Muqarnas is significant in Islamic architecture because its elaborate form is a symbolic representation of universal creation by God. Muqarnas architecture is featured in domes, half-dome entrances, iwans and apses. The two main types of muqarnas a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islamic Architecture
Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic area historically ranging from western Africa and Europe to eastern Asia. Certain commonalities are shared by Islamic architectural styles across all these regions, but over time different regions developed their own styles according to local materials and techniques, local dynasties and patrons, different regional centers of artistic production, and sometimes different religious affiliations. Early Islamic architecture was influenced by Roman, Byzantine, Iranian, and Mesopotamian architecture and all other lands which the Early Muslim conquests conquered in the seventh and eighth centuries.: "As the Arabs did not have an architectural tradition suited to the needs of a great empire, they adopted the building methods of the defeated S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arab-Ata Mausoleum
The Arab-Ata Mausoleum (lit. 'Shrine of the Arab Father') is a cubical, domed brick mausoleum built in 977-78 in the village of Tim, Samarqand Region, Uzbekistan. Built during the Samanid Empire, the Arab-Ata Mausoleum was among the earliest buildings to include three notable features of Islamic architecture: the muqarnas, mihrab, and pishtaq. Following the appearance of the mihrab in the Arab-Ata mausoleum, mihrabs became a more common feature in mausoleums from the tenth century on. The Arab-Ata is the earliest dated example of a pishtaq, with it becoming a staple of Islamic architecture. It has been proposed that the pishtaq developed further with the many Seljuq domes from the 11th and 12th centuries. Site Description Built on top of a ''tepa'', or triangular-shaped hill, in the 10th Century, the mausoleum fills an important gap in understanding the evolution of mausoleum architecture in Central Asia. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domes
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a matter of controversy and there are a wide variety of forms and specialized terms to describe them. A dome can rest directly upon a rotunda wall, a drum, or a system of squinches or pendentives used to accommodate the transition in shape from a rectangular or square space to the round or polygonal base of the dome. The dome's apex may be closed or may be open in the form of an oculus, which may itself be covered with a roof lantern and cupola. Domes have a long architectural lineage that extends back into prehistory. Domes were built in ancient Mesopotamia, and they have been found in Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Chinese architecture in the ancient world, as well as among a number of indigenous building traditions throughout ... [...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] |
Niğde
Niğde (; grc, Νίγδη; Hittite: Nahita, Naxita) is a city and the capital of Niğde province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey at an elevation of 1,299 m. In 2017 the city population was 141,010 people. The city is small with plenty of green space and gardens around the houses. Its people generally tend to be religious and conservative. Medieval monuments are scattered about the centre of the town, especially around the market place. The nearest airport is Nevşehir Kapadokya Airport (NAV) which is 90.6 km (50.6 miles) away. History Niğde is located near a number of ancient trade routes, particularly the road from Kayseri (ancient Caesarea Mazaca) to the Cilician Gates and thence to the Mediterranean coast. The area has been settled by Hittites, Assyrians, Greeks, Armenians, Romans, Byzantines and Turks. In the early Middle Ages, it was known as Magida ( el, Μαγίδα), and was settled by the remaining inhabitants of nearby Tyana after it fell to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niğde Alaaddin Mosque
Niğde Alaaddin Mosque is a historical mosque in Niğde, Turkey. The mosque is in the historical castle of Niğde at . The mosque was constructed in 1223 during the reign of Keyqubad I (r.1220–1237) of Sultanate of Rum (precursor of the Ottoman Empire). It was commissioned by Ziynettin Beşare, the local governor of Niğde in behalf of the sultan. The chief architect of the mosque was Sıddık, the son of Mahmut. His brother Gazi was his assistant. The building material is cut stone. There are two portals: the one in the east side is monumental. The second gate is in the north side. There are three domes in the southern part of the mosque. The minaret is located in the northeastern corner of the square building. According to local legend, the shape of the ''muqarnas Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic archit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squinch
In architecture, a squinch is a triangular corner that supports the base of a dome. Its visual purpose is to translate a rectangle into an octagon. See also: pendentive. Construction A squinch is typically formed by a masonry arch that spans a square corner. History in the Middle East The dome chamber in the Palace of Ardashir, the Sassanid king, in Firuzabad, Iran is the earliest surviving example of the use of the squinch, suggesting that the squinch may have been invented in Persia. After the rise of Islam, it was used in the Middle East in both eastern Romanesque and Islamic architecture. It remained a feature of Islamic architecture, especially in Iran, and was often covered by corbelled stalactite-like structures known as muqarnas. History in Western Europe It spread to the Romanesque architecture of western Europe, one example being the Normans' 12th-century church of San Cataldo, Palermo in Sicily. This has three domes, each supported by four doubled squinche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked country located in Central Asia. It is surrounded by five landlocked countries: Kazakhstan to the north; Kyrgyzstan to the northeast; Tajikistan to the southeast; Afghanistan to the south; and Turkmenistan to the southwest. Its capital and largest city is Tashkent. Uzbekistan is part of the Turkic world, as well as a member of the Organization of Turkic States. The Uzbek language is the majority-spoken language in Uzbekistan, while Russian is widely spoken and understood throughout the country. Tajik is also spoken as a minority language, predominantly in Samarkand and Bukhara. Islam is the predominant religion in Uzbekistan, most Uzbeks being Sunni Muslims. The first recorded settlers in what is now Uzbekistan were Eastern Ir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. It shares borders with the Black Sea to the north; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east; Iraq to the southeast; Syria and the Mediterranean Sea to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest. Cyprus is located off the south coast. Turks form the vast majority of the nation's population and Kurds are the largest minority. Ankara is Turkey's capital, while Istanbul is its largest city and financial centre. One of the world's earliest permanently settled regions, present-day Turkey was home to important Neolithic sites like Göbekli Tepe, and was inhabited by ancient civilisations including the Hattians, Hittites, Anatolian peoples, Mycenae ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her slain brother and husband, the divine king Osiris, and produces and protects his heir, Horus. She was believed to help the dead enter the afterlife as she had helped Osiris, and she was considered the divine mother of the pharaoh, who was likened to Horus. Her maternal aid was invoked in healing spells to benefit ordinary people. Originally, she played a limited role in royal rituals and temple rites, although she was more prominent in funerary practices and magical texts. She was usually portrayed in art as a human woman wearing a throne-like hieroglyph on her head. During the New Kingdom (), as she took on traits that originally belonged to Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nishapur
Nishapur or officially Romanized as Neyshabur ( fa, ;Or also "نیشاپور" which is closer to its original and historic meaning though it is less commonly used by modern native Persian speakers. In Persian poetry, the name of this city is written and pronounced as "نِشابور" (without the usage of "پ" or "ب"). In modern times and among the general public and the Persian mass media, "نیشابور" is the most commonly used style of pronunciation and spelling of this city though "نیشاپور" is also correct. Nišâpur, Nişapur, Nīshābūr, or Neyshapur are also the other Romanizations of this city. from Middle Persian ''"New-Shapuhr"'', meaning: "The New City of Shapur", "The Fair Shapur", or "The Perfect built of Shapur") is the second-largest city of Razavi Khorasan Province in the Northeast of Iran. Nishapur is situated in a fertile plain at the foot of Binalud Mountain Range and has been the historic capital of the Western Quarter of Greater Khorasan, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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