Islamic architecture facts for kids

Marvels of Islamic Architecture

Islamic architecture is a special way of designing and building that grew from the Islamic world. It includes all kinds of buildings, from grand mosques to palaces and homes. This style has been used for hundreds of years, in many different countries where Islam has been important.

What Makes Islamic Architecture Special?
How Islamic Architecture Began
Different Styles of Islamic Architecture
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What Makes Islamic Architecture Special?

The grandeur of Islamic architecture in Mosques, Algeria

Islamic architecture has many unique features that make it stand out. Here are some of the main design elements you might see:

Big Domes: Many buildings have large, impressive domes on top.
Tall Minarets: These are tall, slender towers, often found next to mosques.
Large Courtyards: Buildings often have big open spaces in the middle, sometimes connected to a main prayer hall.
Iwans: These are large, arched halls that are open on one side. They help connect different parts of a building.
Geometric Patterns: You'll see lots of repeating shapes and designs, like stars and interlocking lines. This is called arabesque.
Beautiful Calligraphy: Walls are often decorated with elegant Arabic writing, usually from the Quran.
Symmetry: Buildings are often designed to be perfectly balanced on both sides.
Ablution Fountains: These are special fountains where people can wash themselves before prayer.
Mihrabs: Inside mosques, a mihrab is a special niche or alcove that shows the direction towards Mecca, which is where Muslims pray.
Bright Colors: Many buildings use vibrant colors in their decorations.
Focus on the Inside: Islamic architecture often pays more attention to the beauty and design of the interior spaces rather than just the outside.

How Islamic Architecture Began

Islamic Art

A unique Islamic building style started to develop soon after the Prophet Muhammad lived. This new style took ideas from older building traditions like Roman, Egyptian, Persian, and Byzantine styles.

One of the earliest examples is the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, finished in 691 AD. It has a circular dome, vaulted rooms inside, and uses those repeating decorative patterns called arabesques.

The Great Mosque of Samarra in Iraq, completed in 847 AD, is another early example. It had many rows of columns supporting a flat roof, and a huge spiraling minaret (tower) that was very impressive.

Different Styles of Islamic Architecture

Moorish Architecture in Spain and North Africa

Luxor New Mosque (Egypt)

The building of the Great Mosque at Cordoba in Spain, starting in 785 AD, marked the beginning of Islamic architecture in Spain and North Africa. This mosque is famous for its amazing arches inside.

Moorish architecture reached its peak with the Alhambra. This was a magnificent palace and fortress in Granada, Spain. It had open, airy rooms decorated in red, blue, and gold. Its walls were covered with beautiful patterns of leaves, Arabic writing, and arabesque designs, often using shiny glazed tiles.

Timurid Architecture in Central Asia

Timurid architecture is considered a high point of Islamic art in Central Asia. Grand buildings were put up by Timur and his family in cities like Samarkand and Herat. These buildings later influenced the famous Mughal architecture in India.

Timurid architecture began with the sanctuary of Ahmed Yasawi in Kazakhstan. It reached its peak with Timur's own tomb, Gur-e Amir, in Samarkand. Many major Timurid buildings, like the Shah-e Zendah in Samarkand, are known for their perfect symmetry. They often have double domes of different shapes, and their outsides are covered in bright, colorful decorations.

Ottoman Architecture in Turkey

The architecture of the Ottoman Empire has its own distinct style. Many great mosques were built by and in the style of a famous architect named Sinan in the mid-1500s, like the Suleiman Mosque.

The 17th-century Sultan Ahmed Mosque (also known as the Blue Mosque) shows how Ottoman architects cleverly used and improved ideas from the ancient Hagia Sophia building, which was built over a thousand years earlier.

Mughal Architecture in India

Another unique style is the architecture of the Mughal Empire in India during the 1500s. This style mixed Islamic and Hindu elements. For example, Emperor Akbar built the royal city of Fatehpur Sikri near Agra in the late 1500s.

The most famous example of Mughal architecture is the Taj Mahal. This stunning building is often called "a teardrop on eternity." Emperor Shah Jahan completed it in 1648 to remember his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal used so many precious stones and so much white marble that it almost ran out of money for the empire!

The Taj Mahal is almost perfectly symmetrical. Even a mirror mosque was built in red sandstone to match the main structure.

Persian Architecture's Influence

When Islam first began, it came into contact with the ancient Persian civilization. The capital of the Persian Empire was near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Because of this closeness, early Islamic architects often borrowed ideas and traditions from the older Persian empire.

For example, the city of Baghdad was designed based on Persian cities like Firouzabad. In fact, the two designers hired to plan Baghdad were a former Persian Zoroastrian named Naubakht and a former Jewish man from Khorasan, Iran, named Mashallah.

The spiral tower of the Great Mosque of Samarra was also inspired by Persian architecture, like the spiral tower in the middle of Firouzabad, which was an old Sassanid capital.

Images for kids

The Mosque of the Prophet, standing on the site of Muhammad's first mosque in Medina.
Section of the Umayyad-era Mshatta Facade, now in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
The walls and minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra built by the Abbasids in the 9th century.
The mihrab and maqsura area of the Great Mosque of Cordoba.
Shalamar Gardens, a Mughal paradise garden in Lahore, Pakistan.
The sahn (courtyard) and minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, Tunisia.
Qusair 'Amra.
An iwan in the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan.
Ribbed dome in the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba.
Sultan Ahmed Mosque.
Mosque in Qasr al-Hallabat.
Entrance courtyard of Qasr al-Hallabat.
The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (late 7th century).
Tarikhaneh Temple, a pre-Islamic monument later turned into a mosque.
The Bibi-Heybat Mosque in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Portal of the Great Mosque of Divriği.
The Bāb al-Yaman (Gate of the Yemen) in the Old City of Sana'a, Yemen.
The Mosque of Arwa bint Ahmad in Jibla.
Great Mosque of Zabid, with one of the oldest surviving minarets in Yemen.
Central dome of the Ashrafiyya Mosque in Ta'izz.
Shibam, an example of a historic fortified village.
The Taj Mahal in Agra, the most famous building of Mughal architecture.
Demak Mosque One of the oldest surviving mosques in Indonesia.
The Great Mosque of Xi'an, China.
A Tatar minaret dating from the 15th century.
Almnara Tower Somalia.
The 13th century Fakr ad-Din Mosque in Mogadishu.
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque at Muscat is the main mosque in the Sultanate of Oman.
Faisal Mosque at Islamabad, Pakistan designed by Vedat Dalokay.
Museum of Islamic Art at Doha, Qatar designed by I. M. Pei.
Islamic geometric patterns in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Dome with squinches in the Palace of Ardashir of pre-Islamic Persia.
The dome of the Gur-i Amir Mausoleum in Samarqand.
Non-radial rib vault in the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan.
Dome of the tomb of Ahmed Sanjar in Merv.
Upper dome of Ālī Qāpū, Isfahan.
VIew of the main dome at Humayun's Tomb in Delhi.
Dome of Taj Mahal in Agra.
The bulbous domes of the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore.
The main dome of Shah Jahan Mosque, Thatta has tiles arranged in a stellate pattern.
The interior of the main dome of Shahi Hammam in Lahore.
Central domes of the Hagia Sophia.
Dome of the Kalenderhane Mosque.
Selimiye Mosque, Edirne.
Mashrabiya balcony in Bayt al-Suhaymi, Cairo (Egypt).
Hünkâr Mahfili (prayer space for the sultan) inside the Hagia Sophia (Turkey).
Use of jali screen at Lahore Fort (Pakistan).
Jharokha balcony at Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur (India).
Design of a muqarnas quarter vault from the Topkapı Scroll.
Muqarnas in the necropolis of Shah-i-Zinda, Samarqand.
Muqarnas in the Alhambra.
The muqarna of a mosque in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Intricate design on the muqarna of Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore.
Geometrical tile decoration (zellīj) in the Ben Youssef Madrasa in Marrakesh.
Dome of the Shah Mosque in Isfahan with calligraphic inscription.
Bengali Islamic terracotta on a 17th-century mosque in Tangail, Bangladesh.
Much of the interior of Emperor Jahangir's mausoleum in Lahore is adorned with Mughal-era frescoes.
Calligraphic inscription on the dome of the Mevlana mausoleum.
Design of ceiling in the Mahabat Khan Mosque in Peshawar.
Mihrab of the Great Mosque of Cordoba.
Stucco-carved mihrab of Uljaytu at the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan.
Mihrab of the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hasan in Cairo.
Ottoman mihrab with Iznik tiles in the Rüstem Pasha Mosque, Istanbul.
Mihrab of the Jama Masjid in Delhi.
Minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan.
Minaret of Jam, Afghanistan.
Minaret of Sultan Qaytbay at the al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo.
Ottoman minarets of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque in Istanbul.
Minaret at the Jama Masjid in Delhi.
Medina quarter of Fez, Morocco.
Figure-ground diagram of Algiers.
Figure-ground diagram of a European town (1819).
Kharraqan Towers, mausoleums of Seljuk princes, built in 1068 and 1093 in Iran.
Dome in the Friday Mosque of Isfahan, Iran.
Ghaznavid Tower of Mas'ud III near Ghazni.
Ribat-i Sharaf caravanserai in Khorasan.
The Kalyan Minaret in Bukhara.
Toghrol Tower in Rayy, south of present-day Tehran, Iran.
Mausoleum of Sultan Ahmad Sanjar in Merv.
Hospital of Nur al-Din, Damascus.
Qarakhanid Mausoleums in Uzgen, Kyrgyzstan.
Minaret of the al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul.
Courtyard façade of the Great Mosque of Diyarbakir.
Yedi Kardeş Tower in the city walls of Diyarbakir.
Mausoleum of Fakhr al-Din Razi or Il-Arslan in Kunya-Urgench, Turkmenistan.
Zinciriye or Sultan Isa Madrasa in Mardin.
Hypostyle interior of the Alâeddin Mosque in Konya.
Seljuk mosaic tile decoration from the Kubadabad Palace.
Courtyard of the Sultan Han caravanserai.
Interior of the Çifte Minareli Medrese in Erzurum.
Entrance portal of the Karatay Madrasa in Konya.
Tile decoration inside the Karatay Madrasa in Konya.
Stone-carved decoration in the entrance portal of the Ince Minareli Medrese in Konya.
Entrance and minarets of the Gök Medrese in Sivas.
Döner Kümbet in Kayseri.
Eşrefoğlu Mosque in Beyşehir.
The Green Mosque in Iznik.
The Grand Mosque of Bursa.
Tiled mihrab of the Green Mosque in Bursa.
Courtyard of the Bayezid II Mosque, Istanbul.
Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul, designed by Mimar Sinan.
One of the chambers of the Topkapı Palace.
Interior of Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Istanbul.
Nuruosmaniye Mosque, Istanbul, an example of the Ottoman Baroque style.
The sebil of Abdülhamid I, Istanbul.
Entrance gates of the Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul.
Istanbul High School.
Examples of civil Ottoman architecture in Eskişehir.
Yalı is a house or mansion constructed along the shores of the Bosphorus near Istanbul.
Reception Hall of Abd ar-Rahman III at Madinat al-Zahra.
Aljaferia Palace in Zaragoza.
Almoravid Qubba in Marrakesh.
Kutubiyya Mosque in Marrakesh.
Giralda tower in Seville: former Almohad minaret converted into a Christian bell tower.
Kasbah Mosque in Tunis.
Bou Inania Madrasa in Fes.
The Court of the Lions at the Alhambra, Granada.
Dome of the Hall of Ambassadors in the Alcazar of Seville.
Youssef Dey Mosque in Tunis.
Central mosque of Ghardaïa.
Mihrab of the Mausoleum of Sultan Baybars in Damascus.
Complex of Sultan Qalawun in Cairo.
Mosque of al-Nasir Muhammad at the Citadel of Cairo.
The Madrasa-Mosque of Sultan Hasan.
Projecting entrance portal of the Madrasa-Mosque of Sultan Barquq.
Interior of a mausoleum in the Khanqah-Mosque of Faraj ibn Barquq.
Twin minarets of Bab Zuweila.
Carved stone dome of the Funerary complex of Sultan Qaytbay in the Northern Cemetery of Cairo.
Sabil of Qaytbay at the Haram al-Sharif, Jerusalem.
Wikala of Sultan al-Ghuri, example of an urban caravanserai in Cairo.
Sabil-Kuttab of Abd ar-Rahman Katkhuda.
Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque in Alexandria.
The Qutb Minar and Quwwat al-Islam Mosque complex in Delhi.
Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam in Multan.
The Friday Mosque of Ahmedabad.
Sixty Dome Mosque in Bagerhat.
Humayun's Tomb in Delhi, the first fully developed Mughal imperial tomb.
Fatehpur Sikri, a palatial complex begun in the 1560s by Akbar.
Charminar in Hyderabad.
Room with fountain in the Muthamman Burj.
The Red Fort in Delhi.
Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore.
Badshahi Mosque in Lahore.
Bibi Ka Maqbara at Aurangabad.
Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur.
The Asfi Mosque of the Bara Imambara complex in Lucknow.
Gate of Panembahan Senapati Mosque in Kotagede, Yogyakarta.
The Grand Mosque of the Masjid Agung in Central Java, Indonesia.
Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Indonesia.
The Menara Kudus Mosque employs a Hindu-Buddhist temple-like structure as a minaret.
Masjid Kampung Laut.
Masjid Zahir.
Kampung Hulu Mosque.
Sultan Alaeddin Royal Mosque.
Paloh Mosque.