One of the most salient facets of Islamic architecture is its intricate decoration, which envelops building surfaces with symmetrical patterns and elaborate designs. These surfaces end up resembling carpets or – to quote Ibn Khaldun…
The Peacock Clock is the sixth machine described by al-Jazari in his famous treatise of mechanics Al-Jami‘ bayn al-‘ilm wa 'l-‘amal al-nafi‘ fi sina‘at al-hiyal (A Compendium on the Theory and Useful Practice of the…
This documentary takes a thematic approach to carry audiences on an intimate journey to nine countries and across several centuries to experience some of the greatest art and architecture of the Muslim world.
Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World shows audiences nine countries (Egypt, Israel, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Iran, Spain, Mali and India) and over 1,400 years of history. It presents the stories behind many well-known works…
In Islamic culture, geometric design is everywhere: you can find it in mosques, madrasas, palaces, and private homes. And despite the remarkable complexity of these designs, they can be created with just a compass to…
Few creatures from the animal kingdom can live alongside humans in urban habitats. One of these survivalists are birds. There was a time when birds were simply welcomed and not worshipped not treated badly. You…
On 13 and 14 January 2018 Ashfia Ashrif, Manchester based Artist and Student of Traditional Arts, delivered a two day course named “Introduction to Turkish Motifs in Ottoman Times” at FSTC House.
Great scholars from Muslim Civilisation, indeed, turned the world upside down with their maps; not just metaphorically but world maps once were literally upside down (with south dipicted at the top).
The Oxford Museum of the History of Science launched an online Al-Mizan Exhibition, this exhibition explores the connections between the sciences and arts in societies from Muslim Civilisation.
Professor Glen Cooper discusses the Golden Age of Muslim Civilisation. During the European Dark Ages, when science, art and literature seemed to flounder for centuries, there actually was a lot of discover in places like…
Genetic and paleontological findings have concluded that Africa is the birthplace of the entire human race. Africa is often thought of as a continent rich in natural beauty and culture. However, little is known or…
"The Sultan’s World exhibition runs in Brussels until 31 May 2015. It then travels to Krakow, Poland."
During Ottoman rule, Sarajevo was heralded as the “European Jerusalem”, as its invaluable contributions to civil engineering, industry, trade and architecture attracted people from various ethnic and religious backgrounds. Aesthetic beauty alongside scientific ingenuity made,…
There are numerous mosques all around the world. Each has a design of its own. However, in order to be distinctive from other mosques, a mosque needs to be unique and possess outstanding features. One…
This is a review of the book prepared by Hilal Kazan for the Istanbul Greater City Council Cultural Foundation in order to provide a useful and important bio-bibliographic resource on the history of calligraphy of…
One area where the genius of the Muslim civilisation has been recognised worldwide is that of art. The artists of the Islamic world adapted their creativity to evoke their inner beliefs in a series of…
The complex of disciplines composed of mathematics, architecture and art in Islamic civilisation has been an important field of recent research. The scholars showed the interaction between mathematical reflexion and procedures and their implementation in…
Most educational systems, particularly those of Western countries, teach that industry was born in Europe and that the Industrial Revolution was the mother that delivered industrial mass production. Salim Al-Hassani, Chairman of FSTC and eminent…
In this special section reproduced from Aramco World (issue March/April 1981), distinguished authors cover topics related to printing in the Islamic civilisation. It is showed, in particular, that contrary to the notion that the technology…
The first stone was laid on July 16, 2008 at the Louvre's new Arts of Islam gallery. With this initiative, France's famous Museum is readying to receive its groundbreaking Islamic section that will showcase the…
The article is about the famous Kornik Castle near Poznan, in Poland which has many features inspired by Islamic art and architecture. Outlining the reasons of this influence, Mrs Latour-Abdalla describes the many aspects of…
This is a general review of some 23 recent publications (books, films, and articles) on various aspects of Islamic culture, history and civilisation. The survey concentrates on titles related to three categories: art and architecture,…
This paper describes the results of a novel research on the Muslim influence on the European culinary art during the Renaissance. Presenting evidence of how this influence entered the aristocratic circles in Europe, it draws…
The Islamic civilisation allowed the development of autonomous norms of beauty that were inspired by the faith of Islam. The Islamic artistic tradition viewed the beauty of the universe, emphasized in the Quran, and the…
Ottoman Turks produced and perfected several varieties of Arabic script. All the various branches of the art of calligraphy, an art greatly loved and respected by the Ottoman Turks, were flourished particularly in the city…
With the expansion of Islam over a vast area of land, Muslim artists started to develop the traits they had borrowed from other civilisations, and created their own styles, motifs and fashion which conformed to…
In times past, Granada was a hub of artistic flair, imagination, and creativity, to the extent that the architecture of Muslim Spain exists as amongst the proudest Spanish monuments to this day. Such passion and…
Marbling is an art form developed in the Muslim world, possibly with Chinese origins. Often it has been used to create colourful book binding inside covers. Here is a little history of this art.
Seville was a key centre of Islamic Civilisation in Spain. Here you can read about the architect of the famous Giralda tower of Seville's cathedral, which is originally the main tower of the mosque. Also…
Amir Khusraw (d. 1325) was essentially an eminent musician and is regarded as a great savant in the history of world music and a genius of unequalled stature in the history of music in the…
Sinan's is renowned for its success in the acoustic design of mosques is. Read further to discover the development of applications and technology covering acoustic knowledge within two great Mosques in Sinan.
Msatta is a renowned Ummayad palace with spectacular architectural and artistic details that continues to attract many. The decorative aspects of the Palace are of immense detail and splendour and thus has become an important…
Karatay Madrasa can be considered as the apex of Seljuk architectural small space design. Major features of the madarasa are the great dome and the inclusion of elaborate decoration schemes, essentially from mosaics of glazed…
Granada on the southern coast of Spain was to stay in Muslim hands until 1492. Its fall came centuries after other Muslim areas fell to the Christians. This article highlights some of the important legacies…
"The whole together appears like a most perfect pearl on an azure ground. The effect is such as, I confess, I never experienced from any work of art. The fine materials, the beautiful forms, and…
Commissioned by Sultan Ahmed (1606-1617), the mosque was built by Mehmet Agha who is said to have toured key Ottoman monuments before he drew the plan of the blue mosque. This can be affirmed by…
Abul-Hasan Alí Ibn Nafí, nicknamed Ziryab, was Chief Entertainer of the Court of Cordoba in 822AD. He revolutionised medieval music, lifestyle, fashion, hairstyles, furniture and even tableware. He transformed the way people ate, socialised, and…
As in all civilisations, great use was made of pottery, for cooking, lighting, washing, etc. In the bazaar in Cairo, grocers, druggists and ironmongers provided the glasses, the faience vessels and the paper to hold…
Almost entirely enclosed by narrow alleyways, the mosque of Qarawiyin, [in Fes] like many an ancient European cathedral hemmed in by barrack like houses, is well-nigh unnoticeable from the outside.
Muslim art differs from the art of other cultures in the form and material as well as in the subject and meaning. Read Dr. Saoud's facinating insight into the world of Muslim Art.
Discover the golden
age of Muslim civilisation.
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