Islamic architecture in the Middle East and West Asia: Israeland Palestine, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, North Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq,Iran, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan...           

 Photographs of Rawze-e-Sharif, Afghanistan Al Juwana Mosque,Saudi Arabia, Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus, Qolsharif mosque in Kazan, Tartarstan,Russia, Masjid al-Haram The interior of the Selimiye Mosque {Minar Sinan}, Edirne,Turkey. Islamic architecture has encompassed a wide range of bothsecular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day,influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures within thesphere of Islamic culture. The principle architectural types of Islamic architectureare; the Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace and the Fort. From these four types, thevocabularly of Islamic architecture is derived and used for buildings of lesserimportance such as public baths, fountains and domestic architecture.{1} In 630C.E. Muhammad`s army reconquered the city of Meccafrom the Banu Quraish tribe. The holy sanctuary of Ka`ba was rebuilt andre-dedicated to Islam, the reconstruction being carried out before Muhammad`sdeath in 632C.E. by a shipwrecked Abyssinian carpenter in his native style.This sanctuary was amongst the first major works of Islamic architecture. Thewalls were decorated with paintings of Jesus, Mary, Abraham, prophets, angelsand trees. Later doctrines of Islam dating from the eighth century andoriginating from the Hadith, forbade the use of such icons in architecture,specifically those of humans and animals.{1} In the 7th century, Muslim by time the religion of Islamspread throughout the region. The Muslim`s first need was for somewhere toworship - a mosque. The simple layout provided elements that were to beincorporated into all mosques and the early Muslims put up simple buildingsbased on the model of the Prophet`s house or adapted existing buildings, suchas churches for their own use. The Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem is a key example of Islamicarchitecture  Arabic Calligraphy on large pishtaq of the Taj Mahal A specifically recognisable Islamic architectural styledeveloped soon after the time of the Prophet Muhammad, developing from Roman,Egyptian, Byzantine, and Persian/Sassanid models. An early example may beidentified as early as 691 AD with the completion of the Dome of the Rock{Qubbat al-Sakhrah} in Jerusalem. It featured interior vaulted spaces, acircular dome, and the use of stylized repeating decorative patterns{arabesque}.   The Great {or al-Mutawakkil} Mosque of Samarra in Iraq,completed in 847 AD, combined the hypostyle architecture of rows of columnssupporting a flat base above which a huge spiraling minaret was constructed.   The Hagia Sofia in Istanbul also influenced Islamic architecture.When the Ottomans captured the city from the Byzantines, they converted thebasilica to a mosque {now a museum} and incorporated Byzantine architecturalelements into their own work {e.g. domes}. The Hagia Sophia also served asmodel for many of the Ottoman mosques such as the Shehzadeh Mosque, theSuleiman Mosque, and the Rüstem Pasha Mosque. Distinguishing motifs of Islamic architecture have alwaysbeen ordered repetition, radiating structures, and rhythmic, metric patterns.In this respect, fractal geometry has been a key utility, especially formosques and palaces. Other significant features employed as motifs includecolumns, piers and arches, organized and interwoven with alternating sequencesof niches and colonnettes.{2} The role of domes in Islamic architecture hasbeen considerable. Its usage spans centuries, first appearing in 691 with theconstruction
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