Some Photos and Examples of Mosque Architecture

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Kalyan Mosque

Kalyan Mosque, Bukhara, completed in 1514.

Kaylan Minaret

Kalyan Minaret, completed in 1127.

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Muhammad Ali Mosque

Muhammad Ali Mosque in Cairo, part of the citadel complex commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha (1769-1849). Photo courtesy Dorothy and C. Wayne Miller.

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Kadhimain Mosque

Kadhimiyya Mosque, 16th century, in Kadhimain (Baghdad). Photo courtesy Dorothy and C. Wayne Miller.

Kadhimain Mosque

Kadhimiyya Mosque (aka Al Kadhimain Mosque), Baghdad. Photo courtesy Dorothy and C. Wayne Miller.

Ibn Bunnieh Mosque

Ibn Bunnieh Mosque, Baghdad. Photo courtesy Dorothy and C. Wayne Miller.

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Dome of the Rock

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, is a Muslim shrine not a mosque in Jerusalem. Photo courtesy Dorothy and C. Wayne Miller.

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Mosque in Marrakech

Identify for extra credit this mosque in Marrakech. Photo courtesy Dorothy and C. Wayne Miller.

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Mosque in Tashkent

Identify for extra credit this mosque in Tashkent.

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Great Mosque of Damascus

The Great Mosque of Damascus (aka The Ummayad Mosque) in Damascus was the first major work of Islamic architecture, which means, of course, that it is very old. The mosque was built between 705 and 715 by the Ummayad Caliph al-Walid I on the same site as an earlier temple to Jupiter and a later church of St. John the Baptist. Photo courtesy Dorothy and C. Wayne Miller.

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Great Mosque of Cordoba

The Great Mosque of Cordoba, construction beginning in 784 under the supervision of the emir of Cordoba, Abd ar-Rahman I. The site was long a sacred one; first a Roman temple, then a cathedral, then mosque and then again cathedral after Christians reconquered Cordoba in the thirteenth century. At one time the mosque was the second largest mosque in the Muslim world. Photo courtesy Dorothy and C. Wayne Miller. Below are three detail photos of the mosque.

Cordoba Mosque Detail

Cordoba Mosque Detail

Cordoba Mosque Detail

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Sultan Ahmed Mosque

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque (aka the "Blue Mosque") is a masterpiece of Islamic architecture. The mosque was built between 1609 and 1616 by Sultan Ahmed I, who is also buried at the mosque, and is located in the old part of the city, near the Topkapi Palace and not far from the Hagia Sophia. "The mosque was deliberately sited to face Hagia Sophia, to demonstrate that Ottoman and Islamic architects and builders could rival anything their Christian predecessors had created." (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Ahmed_Mosque)

Hagia Sophia

Well, you don't always get the greatest pictures when you are traveling! The Hagia Sophia today is a museum (aka the Ayasofya Museum), but it started as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral before being converted to a mosque. The current structure originated with the emperor Justinian I (aka Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Justinianus, 483-565, r 527-65) and was dedicated in 537. The building has suffered much damage, including the collapse of the dome, over the years from earthquakes, fires, wars, etc, and been restored numerous times.

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Church or Mosque in Istanbul

Church or mosque in Istanbul? Identify for extra credit.