Islamic Sacred Space and Place: Mosque Design

Early period ( ) Centralized empire Middle period ( ) Regional centers and local powers Late period ( ) Supra-regional powers Historical periods of Islamic cultures

Prophet Muhammed (c ) revelations (Arabic ‘koran’) about the one God (Arabic, allah) Islam (Arabic, ‘submission to God) became 'Muslim' (i.e. one who submitted him/herself to God) Muhammed Appointed by Archangel Gabriel (16 th cen., Turkish) I. The tenets of Islam and its need for occasional and congregational architecture A. What was the origin of Islam – the third monotheistic religion to emerge from the lineage of Abraham?

The Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia (axis mundi) I. B. What is Islam’s most important – and for some Muslim’s the only – shrine of occasional architecture?

The Five Pillars of Islam – the “edifice” of faith 1.Testify (the shahada): “There is no god but God” 2.Pray five times a day facing in the direction of Mecca; on Friday, go to congregational prayer. 3.Fast sunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. 4.Give alms to the poor. 5.The Hajj: make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime. I. C. Why is congregational architecture necessary in Islam and how does the orientation of mosques emphasize the monotheistic unity of the faith?

Orientation of the world’s mosques to the Kaaba in Mecca Traditional mosque typologies worldwide I. C.

House of the Prophet (possibly the first mosque) mosque at Kufah, 670 Great Mosque of Damascus, 706 Dome of the Rock, 685 I. C.

Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain, 8 th -10 th centuries II. The hypostyle mosque and Muslim prayer ritual

Great Mosque at Kairawan, Tunisia, 9 th century (820-39) II. The hypostyle mosque and Muslim prayer ritual

II. Great Mosque at CordobaGreat Mosque at Kairawan, Tunisia Roman spolia in hypostyle mosques

II. A. Transition to sacred space 1. minaret Great Mosque at Cordoba Muhammed gives the call to prayer from the Kaaba a muzzein in a minaret

II. B. 1. call to prayer : “Allahu Akbar” (“God is most great”) Repetition of “Allahu Akbar” Orients worshiper toward God as, center of reality. Drawn-out and sustained sound: human sadness at separation from God. Minaret of the Great Mosque at Kairawan

II. B. Exterior: characteristics as related to religious purpose Massive unpierced temenos walls *architecture experienced from within Great Mosque at CordobaGreat Mosque at Kairawan

II. C. The Courtyard: How is ritual purity achieved before entering the prayer hall? ablution fountain 1. removal of shoes2. cleanse in the ablution fountain Great Mosque at Kairawan

II. D. The prayer hall – design principles and effects 1. Design for a non-processional religious gathering Early Christian and Byzantine designs Islamic non-processional design non-axial entrances Santa Sabina Hagia Sophia Great Mosque at CordobaGreat Mosque at Kairawan

II. D. 2. qibla (“direction of prayer”) in a hypostyle mosque a. How is the qibla made visible in the architecture of the mosque? Great Mosque at KairawanGreat Mosque at Cordoba mihrab

mihrab in the Great Mosque of Cordobamihrab in the Great Mosque of Kairawan II. D. 2.

II. D. 3. Where is the minbar, from which the prayer leader speaks, located? Great Mosque at Kairawan - the minbar next to the mihrab

II. D. 4. Where is there subtle hierarchy in the plan? Great Mosque at Cordoba primacy of the qibla wall primacy of the mihrab niche separation of sexes during services

House of the Prophet mosque at Kufah, 670 Great Mosque of Damascus, 706 Persepolis, Iran, 5 th cen. BC Karnak, 15 th cen. BC III. Spatial character of the Islamic hypostyle as sacred space of monotheism

III. A. 1. Practicality - expandability of the hypostyle type Great Mosque at Cordoba *Buildings not necessarily designed as a single balanced unit.

Platonic shape / Pythagorean ratio III. A. 1. Great Mosque at Cordoba

Architecture suspended from the ceiling Great Mosque at CordobaHypostyle hall at Karnak, Egypt III. A. This sacred space as a religious metaphor

Great Mosque at Cordoba sense of the immeasurable distance, infinity Great Mosque at Kairawan III. A.

Great Mosque of CordobaGreat Mosque of Kairawan III. C. Non-tectonic values *creation of non-tectonic values courtyard

mihrab in the Great Mosque of Cordoba Inscriptions make the word of God visible. *creation of non-tectonic values mihrab in the Great Mosque of Kairawan Non-figural ornament and inscriptions draw worshiper into contemplation III. C. 1. Why is the mihrab ornamented with non-figural ornament?

IV. Exterior expressions of secular power in some mosque architecture maqsura Door of the Mininsters Great Mosque of Cordoba

IV. A. “Door of the Ministers” in the west wall Door exteriorizes the interior architecture *non-tectonic textures Great Mosque of Cordoba

IV. B. a maqsura maqsura – screened area close to the mihrab reserved for the ruler or his representative The maqsura begins where the railing is at the back Great Mosque of Cordoba

IV. B. Cordoba’s maqsura domes center dome west maqsura dome east maqsura dome

Comparison of early medieval monotheism’s modulations on classical architecture

Measuring up to the standard set by the classical past