1. Jordan University of Science and Technology
College of Architecture and Design
Department of Architecture
Islamic Architecture
Islamic Architecture
Dr. Raed Al Tal
2. Jordan University of Science and Technology
College of Architecture and Design
Department of Architecture
Islamic Architecture
Dr. Raed Al Tal
Cordoba Spain
3. The ruling Umayyad were overthrown in 750 by the
rising of the Abbasids .
Abd ar-Rahman managed to escape to southern Spain
and established a seat of power in Cordoba
He took the title of Abd ar-Rahman I I ad-Dakhil ( the
Immigrant) ( 756-788)
4.
5. In 785 ABD AL RUHMAN AL DAKHIL built the
Great Mosque of Cordoba
•It was built to be a state mosque in terms of size
area program
•70 meter square – perfect square divided into
two equal areas
•consisted of an oblong hall praying area the
north part as an open area
•Several Roman columns were reused
•Double tiered system arcades was devised
(taken from the Great Mosque of Damascus )
except here single arches were used in the upper
tier
3535
Prayer
hall
Court
yard
6. No modification on the mosque ( Hisham I ( 788-796) , al-
Hakam (796-822) ) until the reign of Abd ar-Rahman II
(822-852)
• Mathematics and perfection, expansion wasn’t random- 3ilaqet
watar ma3 dile3
• Proportions and dimensions of its original plan were based on
mathematics
The 1st
enlargement 200 columns to the hypostyle hall
(Abd al Rahman II)
- the area was doubled
- the qibla was moved south-west
Why there was an enlargement?
1. Needs
2. Each caliph must add somthing
9. Abd al-Rahman III ( 912-961)
Second round of enlargement
Placed a square minaret 34 meters high
The minaret
-Blind arches
-One opening to the south
-Spiral staircase
-Square in plan
-Relatively bulky
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14. The system of columns supporting double arcades of piers and
arches with alternating red and white voussoirs is an unusual
treatment that, structurally, combined striking visual effect with
the practical advantage of providing greater height within the
hall.
Alternating red and white voussoirs are associated with
Umayyad monuments such as the Great Mosque of Damascus
and the Dome of the Rock.
18. Distinctive features in the great
mosque of Qurdoba:
1. Mihrab in this mosque was special it was in
a room, and no reason was behind this
2. Treatment of double tiered arcades was
different
3. A cathedral was built by sharleman inside
this mosque which is still up to date
-orientation of the cathedral is east west
4. Minaret is not within the body of the mosque
5. Mihrab is a structure in special space
6. Coloring with 2 materials: white stone, red
brick and this is called ABLA : alternation of
coloring
7. Richly incraved and floral patterns in marble
19. • Pitched roof, gabled roof
• High water technique channels, water drain system
• As a result of enlargement there were too many
entrances but one of them was the royal entrance
• Double tiered : two layers of arches but architecture
appearance and structure behavior is different
• Here both layers were of main arch
• Different capitals of columns – collective –
• Architectural solution for column height – part left as it is
and another was completed
• It is a forest of marble columns
• Special treatment of the Netch, out square inside 8 sides
20. • In Andalusia the influences were
1. Horse shoe arch
2. Blind arches
3. Influence of square minaret from Syria
21.
22. • So this mosque was built by abd al
ruhman I and expansion made by abd al
ruhman II
• And it also included:
1. Treasury houses: they are rooms within
the mosque
2. Maksoora: a place for the caliph and his
followers, could be screened
• And there was a bridge between the
palace and the mosque connecting
them, over hanging above the road
called SABAT
23. • Bulky minaret by Abd al Rahman III
• The four sides are solid walls and if there is any
opening it would be blind arches and trefoil
arches
• Trefoil arches is something distinctive that
showed in Spain and flourished there
• In these doubled tiered arches there was a
political message that Abbasids when they came
they put this to tell the Umayyad now we are the
rulers
24.
25. The decorative program of the mosque based on
“dread of emptiness” ( horror vacui)
The Mihrab
-trefoil arches
-horseshoe arch
-polychrome mosaics
-Gold background
-the large stone arch of the mihrab contains abstract fruit
and flowers motifs
-Kofi script
-Monochrome ornamentation
28. -The cupola :
- ribbed vaults ; complex ceiling covered with
magnificent mosaic on golden background
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34. The Madinat al-Zahra (936-978):
Outside of Cordoba, Spain, founded by Abd al-Rahman
III, the first Umayyad to declare himself a caliph.
Its "Salon Rico" has a basilical plan and overlooks a
huge pool to the south.
Established on a hilly side
landscaping
35. The palace of Medina al-Zahra
By Abd al-Rahman III 936 and then completed during
the reign of al-Hakem II
Rectangle of 1500 by 750 meters
A south facing slope of Bride’s Mountain
Regularity of the palace counter the terrain of the site
except in the sharp drop toward
Guadalquiver River the palace placed on terraces
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43. The Alhambra:
A name retained from the original al-Qal‘a al-Hamra (the Red
Fort), this royal city was the seat of the Nasrids (1238-1492),
the last Islamic dynasty in Spain who took Granada as capital.
The enclosure is divided into two parts:
the Alcazaba, or the fort proper to the west and
the Madina, or the royal city to the east.
The Alhambra boasted of numerous
Palaces
Residences
Gardens
Suqs
cemeteries
45. The most important palaces are:
The court of the myrtles
The court of the lions
Genera life of genan al arif
The Court of Myrtles:
Built around 1333 and attributed to Yusuf I, it follows the
same general organization of a Granadine regular residence
with a rectangular pool surrounded by four units on the
longitudinal sides and a main reception hall called the Hall of
the Ambassadors to the north that overlooks the city
46. A section through the Court of Myrtles showing the lines of view
from the Hall of the Ambassadors
47. Court of Myrtles: view across the basin towards the Hall of the Ambassadors
48. The Court of the Lions:
Attributed to Muhammad V (1354-59, 1362-91), it is a
marvelous structure arranged around the famous
fountain of the lions.
52. Generalife or Jinane al-'Arif,
Arabic for the Gardens of the Superintendent is the
external, terraced garden with a villa rustica attached to
the Alhambra by a special passage
65. Architectural Properties:
•- Garden as rectangular enclosure surrounded by high
walls
•
•- Quadripartite division through a cruciform plan
•- The importance of vistas from centrally-located pavilions
•
•- the soliloquies of the architectural elements
66. Water Uses:
•- Central collecting, deep pool or distribution point (taqsim)
•
•-Irrigation by channels incorporated in walkways
•-Sunken bowls at end of channels
•- Single-stream jets.
67. Character of the Garden:
Contains flowers and medicinal herbs, evergreen and
fruit trees and vines.
•
•Flower beds are sunk both for aesthetic and irrigation
purposes
