Great Architecturing

According to legend, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan wanted to build the most beautiful mausoleum on earth to express his love for his favorite wife. Or, perhaps he was simply asserting his political power. The Taj Mahal may have been designed by Ustad Ahmad Lahori, an Indian architect of Persian descent. Persian, Central Asian, and [...]

ShowCase: John Lewis Department Store and Cineplex

 

In 2004, she was Chair of Master Jury of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture: since 2005, she has been a member of the Award’s Steering Committee 
 
Foreign Office Architects (FOA) was founded in 1995 and has emerged as one of the most innovative practices of architecture and urban design in recent years, known for combining [...]

Islamic Art and Architecture in Fatimid North Africa and Egypt

Arts of the City Victorious
Islamic Art and Architecture in Fatimid North Africa and Egypt

A 2007-8 Top Seller in African History as compiled by YBP Library Services
 This is the first book-length study of the art and architecture of the Fatimids, the Ismaili Shi’i dynasty that ruled in North Africa and Egypt from 909 to 1171. The Fatimids are [...]

Ismaili Castles of Syria

Peter Willey’s Eagle’s Nest is devoted to the Ismaili castles in Iran and Syria. According to Peter, the larger Ismaili fortresses are quite outstanding as examples of military architecture, their strategic position and the skilled use of natural resources to ensure that, despite the difficulties of the terrain, the castles were well supplied with food [...]

Where the heart is?

16th century coffee house manuscript
From the 8th Century, Muslim tradition and culture set trends in eating, music and style that still influence us today. Their experiments, discoveries and inventions with liquids, light and time opened the door to myriad new chemical compounds, measurements of time in precise and minute detail and devices used in space [...]

Love Prayers on Tanbour

An evening of ancient music and poetry that will touch the depths of your soul and stir your inner fire. Prayers on Tanbour is Heyraneh’s devotional expression based on the ancient sacred Kurdish modes, with the words of Rumi, Hafez, and Baba Taher sung in Persian and English. Heyraneh plays the tanbour an ancient long-necked [...]

Newsletter – A Quarterly Publication

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Theme of the Issue: Knowledge Society

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Tough sell: Touring audacious Afghanistan

Tough sell: Touring audacious Afghanistan
In 2001, the Taliban blasted the cave-monasteries of Bamiyan and the niche where a 174-foot Buddha statue once stood.

RESOURCE

Excursions across cultures

The colonnade (1.2 km long) at Palmyra dating back almost 2 000 years Photo: Amina Valimohamed
Syria’s rich and varied history has interweaved many different cultures over time. The ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Aramaeans, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks (from the time of Alexander the Great), Romans, and the Byzantines have all made their mark. With the spread of Islam [...]

The Colors of Central Asian cultures

  

   

 

 

A Shaman (Bittun) perform in Baltit Inn, Karimabad

Photo by: Zulfiqar Ali Khan, July 16,

Mosque In Turkey

Great Mosque at Sfax

 
http://www.discoverislamicart.org/pc_item.php?id=object;ISL;it;Mus01;8;en

Great Mosque at Sfax
Location:
Sfax, Tunisia
Date of the monument:
Hegira 235 / AD 850
Period / Dynasty
Aghlabid, Zirid, Husaynid
Patron(s):
Ali ibn Salim, foster-brother of the great Kairouanese judge Sahnun ibn Saïd (AH 240 / AD 854).
Architect(s) / master-builder(s):
Haj Saïd al-Qatti (amine of the masons) and Tahar al-Manif.
Description:
The mosque stands right at the heart of the medina and is [...]

Afghanistan Herat Conservation

Jewish temple renovated in Herat. A general view of a Jewish temple, which was renovated by the Herat cultural department in collaboration with Aga Khan Trust, in the old part of Herat city north east of Kabul, Afghanistan, 10 July 2008. The conservation of historical places is part of a wider rehabilitation project implemented by [...]

SLIDE SHOW(ismaili centre in dubai)

Muslim art in the egyptian period

Cairo Muhammed Ali Mosque
           1024 x 672

The Material Culture of Al-Andalus

Pakistani Monument , Islamic Patterns

Recently inaugurated monument in Islamabad, Pakistan has been given the status of National monument. After a competition among many renowned architects, Arif Masood’s plan was selected for the design.
The blooming flower represents Pakistan while the four petals of the monument represent the four provinces and the remaining three small petals (only two visible here) represent [...]

Impressive Calligraphy Exhibition in Washington

On the evening of May 19 master calligrapher, Rasheed Butt, opened an exhibition of his works with a talk on the art of calligraphy at the Embassy of Pakistan.
Deputy Chief of Mission, Mohammad Sadiq introduced Mr. Butt as not only an artist but “a philosopher”. Mr. Butt’s art is unique and exquisite, displaying the beauty [...]

The traditional Ginani festival celebrated in Hunza valley

 A bitan (shaman) went into trance at a Ginani Festival in Karimabad to communicate with the fairies (Lorimer collection 1923)
by: Zulfiqar Ali Khan
Hunza, June 23: The traditional “Ginani’’ festival has been celebrated in Central and Lower parts of Hunza valley, with traditional zeal and fervour.  Main gatherings were organised in Altit and Aliabad villages. The [...]