MUSL IM AR T

Entrance to the Sünnet Odasi (circumcision chamber) in the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey.
The former palace of the Ottoman Sultans, with a harem of 400 rooms, Topkapi is now one of
the world's great museums. The walls are decorated with elaborately designed ceramic tiles.

The Sultan Ahmet Camii, or Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey. It was built in 1609–16 for Sultan
Ahmet I by the architect Mehmet Aǧa in classic Ottoman style.

The Blue Mosque (or Sultan Ahmet Mosque) in Istanbul was built between 1609 and 1616 by
Mehmet Aga for Sultan Ahmet I. Modelled after two other great religious buildings of Istanbul –
Hagia Sophia and the Suleimaniye Mosque – it is known as the Blue Mosque because of the
predominantly blue and green tilework and painting of its interior.

A pair of turquoise-tiled minarets, from which faithful Muslims are called to prayer, flank the
entrance to the Masjid-i-Sháh (King's Mosque) in the city of Esfahan, Iran. Building commenced
in 1612, on the orders of Shah Abbas I, and the Masjid-i-Sháh remains one of the finest
examples of Islamic architecture in Iran.

The Theological School of the Mother of the Shah (Maddrassah Mader-e-Shah), built in
Esfahan, Iran, during the years 1706–14. Construction of this training college for theology
students was financed by the mother of Shah Sultan Hossein, last king of the Safavid dynasty,
and represents the last flowering of that immensely fertile period in Persian art and architecture.
 Ibn Tulun Mosque, Cairo. Originally built in 876, this Arab-style mosque was restored several
times and was declared a historic monument in 1890. Seen here are the arches and pillars of
the arcades that surround the mosque's courtyards.

Sultan Hassan mosque and maddrassah, Cairo. The building was constructed for Sultan
Hassan in 1356 as a mosque and religious school for members of each of the four main Sunni
Muslim sects.

The mosque of Aya Sofia, also called the Hagia Sophia or Church of Holy Wisdom, Istanbul,
Turkey. This Christian cathedral was built under the Byzantine emperor Justinian I by the
architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus. The building was completed in 537.
During the 15th century, when the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople, the church was
converted into a mosque, with minarets added and Christian frescoes painted over.

The Blue Mosque, also known as the Mosque of Sultan Ahmed I, in Istanbul, Turkey. Renowned
for its distinctively coloured tilework and six fluted minarets, the Blue Mosque was built in the
early 17th century by the architect Sedefkar Mehmed Agha. It is based on the 6th-century
Byzantine Hagia Sofia, and has a symmetrical design.

The Muslim holy city of Kairouan, Tunisia. It was founded in AD 670, when the site was
occupied by the Arab conqueror Uqba ibn Nafi. Within its walls is the Great Mosque of Kairouan,
a marvel of Islamic architecture. The mosque's minaret, built between 724 and 728, is the oldest
standing minaret in the world.
The architecture of the Muslim world, highly diverse but unified by climate, culture, and
a love of geometric and arabesque ornament, as well as by the mobility of ideas,
artisans, and architects throughout the region. The central public buildings
are mosques, often with a dome and minaret; domestic houses face an inner courtyard
and are grouped together, with vaulted streets linking the blocks.