The Great Mosque of Cordoba has a very complex history, combining elements of ancient Roman, old Christian, Islamic and modern Christian influences. The beginning of the structure date back to the end of 8th century and the figure of Abd al-Rahman I, who was the only member of Umayyad clan that escaped the Abbasid massacre in Syria. Upon his arrival to Spain occupied by the Arab military governors, he became the overlord, establishing a beginning of the Spanish Umayyad dynasty for the next three centuries. Since Cordoba served as a capital for the Spanish Umayyads, building a beautiful mosque was not only a way to provide a place to pray but also strengthened the position of the Umayyads as a sign of triumph of Islam in Spain. The Great Mosque was build on the site of a Christian …show more content…
However, depending on one’s religious background, these ideas can be very different from each other. Therefore, upon entering the Great Mosque of Cordoba, many people coming from a Christian faith might feel lost because of the difference between the idea of a temple in Islam and Christianity. Western viewers come with expectational baggage of what a religious space should look like and when they are subjected to different view, it might feel confusing, since they have a different idea of worship.
The Mosque of Cordoba presents an unique mixture of elements from various times, putting them together to form a story of this area through art of its people. This concept is best shown through the praying hall or “the forest of columns”, since
Once a person enters the praying hall, they are surrounded by “the forest of columns”, in which the most important advancement done in this structure could be seen, namely the famous striped double arches set on more than 500 columns differing in material and
In the following essay, I will be comparing the Hagia Sophia in the City of Istanbul, and the Suleymaniye Mosque of Istanbul. Both of these pieces of art are very significant to the in modern-day Turkey. The art pieces will be covered in more detail further on in this comparative essay, and finally, I will be judging the pieces at the end of this essay
Different religions have shaped the cultural landscapes throughout history. In most religions, they have what is known as a sacred site. Many of the sacred sites are near the founding of the religion or near a place where something significant had once occurred. The followers of these religions often build temples to worship their gods. One example, would be the Dome of the Rock, where Muhammad, a prophet of God in the Muslim culture, said to have ascended into heaven.The Dome of the Rock is a masterpiece of Islamic architecture and is the "Noble Sanctuary" by Muslims. The place of worship for Muslims is known as the mosque, but the Dome of the Rock is much more iconic and would be best identified as a Muslim shrine. The temple was originally made for pilgrims and took thirteen years to construct. This is also a significant place for the Muslim community
Pantheon and Hagia Sophia Pantheon and Hagia Sophia are two extremely outstanding architectural pieces of their times. They have been built according to the traditions of those particular times. The materials used to built these buildings and the purpose for which they were used are all very important aspects and have been briefly covered in this report. Pantheon The statesman Agrippa built pantheon in 27 B.C. Then it was completely rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian. The Pantheon is remarkable for its size, its construction, and its design. The dome was the largest built until modern times. The present structure was probably originally built as a temple for all the pagan gods. We do hear of it as being a law-court and a reception area for Emperor Hadrian meeting his quests too. Some say that the rotunda of the building was once a Roman bath. Due to all this mystery, the Pantheon is often referred to as the Sphinx of Rome. The visitor will probably not appreciate the construction as much as the Flavian amphitheatre, but it is still a great masterpiece of engineering and well worth a visit. Most Roman and Greek temples at the time of the Pantheon's construction were large, colonnaded, rectangular enclosures with sanctuaries situated in their centers. The Pantheon was different. It consisted of a large circular drum topped with a hemispherical dome. It is a masterpiece of both engineering and art a lasting memory of Ancient Rome’s might. Roman architecture is architecture of wall and enclosed tactile space. Individual column with entablature is no longer the basic architectural unity. Spatially, it shows a development from closed, simple space units and regular articulation to more complex spatial relations, more fluid interpenetrati...
The true greatness of the building is in the main room, the atrium is a huge open area in a radial style with a central point being in the center of the room. The room is filled with a combination of circles and squares which illustrates the Romans fascination with geometric shapes. Along with geometric shapes the inside of this building full of brilliant shades of oranges, blues and purples. There are ionic style pillars around the base of the room as well as sculptures of different gods. Just above the main room there is a frieze of false windows that make a band around the midlevel of the room. Although the windows are false there ar...
When it comes to the modern relationship that Islam shares with both Christianity and Judaism, it is not difficult to recognize mutual hostility. Islamic extremism has been gradually dominating the Western perception of Muslims—in the midst of this, the World Trade Center attacks could only exacerbate the situation. On that account, it was no surprise when these hostile attitudes were unmistakably revealed during the “Cordoba House” mosque controversy at which point in 2010, it was proposed that a mosque dubbed the Cordoba House be established near ground zero. Sure enough, the proposition was met with overwhelming opposition and rebuke (Barbaro). Most of the country objected to the mosque while many of those with more personal experiences regarding 9/11 felt deeply offended and unsettled. What is more, the event garnered picket signs, protests, and contempt from local civilians (Goodstein). Among the mosque’s prominent opponents was former house speaker Newt Gingrich. Speaking out against the proposal, he claims that the push for the Cordoba House mosque “is a test of the timidity, passivity and historic ignorance of American elites” (Gingrich). Gingrich goes on to say that calling the mosque the “Cordoba House” is a deliberate insult in that “it refers to Cordoba, Spain – the capital of Muslim conquerors who symbolized their victory over the Christian Spaniards by transforming a church there into the world’s third-largest mosque complex,” and “every Islamist in the world recognizes Cordoba as a symbol of Islamic conquest. It is a sign of their contempt for Americans.” However, an investigation into Cordoba’s state of affairs during Muslim rule might lead one to believe that the existing hostility between these cultures has not ...
Islam, a religion of people submitting to one God, seeking peace and a way of life without sin, is always misunderstood throughout the world. What some consider act of bigotry, others believe it to be the lack of education and wrong portrayal of events in media; however, one cannot not justify the so little knowledge that America and Americans have about Islam and Muslims. Historically there are have been myths, many attacks on Islam and much confusion between Islam as a religion and Middle Easter culture that is always associated with it. This paper is meant to dispel, or rather educate about the big issues that plague people’s minds with false ideas and this will only be touching the surface.
The Italian Architects of the seventeenth century faced a huge volume of orders to carry out. The most required orders were churches. (Bazin 15) When Urban VIII became pope he asked Bernini to design a baldachino, also known as a canopy, to define the altar area. Bernini built something that was half sculpture and half architecture that had four columns that were very detailed. The columns were designed with spiraling grooves and vines made of bronze. The spiraling and decorative effects were made to symbolize the union of the new and Old Testaments, the vine of the Eucharist climbing the columns of the temple of Solomon. The Eucharist was the Christian ceremony commemorating the Last Supper. The elements of the Ionic and Corinthian orders are at the top of the columns. Angels are along the entablatu...
During the period of Renaissance, human’s thought and intelligence has reached its highest and its effect on the architectural form, it became clear and its engagement of rational aspect on the building. Mainly geometrical forms are the characteristics which can be identified. Not so long after Renaissance period of Baroque architecture was introduced, rather than logic and reasoning they wanted to capture the emotional atmosphere by using the architectural elements such as light, height, crafted art, costly materials and so on as being mentioned by(Scotti 2007, 5-10).
“Culture belongs to the imagination; to judge it rationally is to misunderstand its function” (Wilson 79). In “The Butterfly Mosque” by G. Willow Wilson, she acknowledges culture and explains why cultures can differ so greatly. She emphasizes why its highly inconclusive to try to find a meaning behind ones culture. As a young American Muslim women she is faced with cross cultural ironies as she tries to find her identity and where she fits in. Her conversion to Islam brings into light her internalized prejudice and the different perspectives of Westerners towards the Middle East and vice versa. In her memoir, she depicts both positive and negative aspects of both cultures and, her struggle to find a common ground between the two.
Abd-al-Malik changes the common Byzantine coins that have icons and figures on it to Arabic script from the Quran. This is one of the most important change the Umayyad brought to the Islamic Empire. In some ways it set a precedence of the importance of calligraphy in Islamic art, which continues to be used to this day. By replacing the coins that had leaders on them to Quranic verses, the Umayyad caliphate unified the Islamic Empire and emphasized the power of God and not humans. When the Abbasid Dynasty came into power, the last ruler of the Umayyad dynasty fled to Spain and became the ruler there and became the Amir of the state and ruled for a long time. The Islamic Empire there adapted to the arts influenced by the majority non-Muslims in
To begin with, the history of Christian church architecture is, obviously, a highly complex one, but it is important that one understands the evolution of the floor plans of Catholic churches to see how the changing shapes of churches reflects an extended analysis of Catholic belief and practice. According to Cunningham, the architecture of a church building was designed in a certain way and it had a certain
In The Sacred & The Profane: A Nature of Religion, Mircea Eliade attempts to define the sacred by stating it is “the opposite of the profane” (pg. 10). Through out the book he tries to explain this statement through the concept of hierophany (the idea that one can experience, sensorily, the manifestation of the holy/sacred), however his main explanation of the sacred being “the opposite of the profane” is the comparison of a modern religious man and a modern non-religious man (a profane man). Eliade compares the two by explaining how each would react to space, time, nature, and life. This essay will explain the idea of sacred space, how a religious and a profane man would experience it, and how the idea of sacred space might be applied to the study of medieval art and architecture.
At the first glance, Islam and Christianity appear to have nothing in common, however; as you go beyond the surface, they appear to have many similarities such as their beliefs of God, their beliefs of life after death, their holy scriptures, and their prayers. These religions, although two entirely different beliefs, share a similar origin. Like many other religions, they both claim to be the one and only true way to God. In order to truly see and understand their similarities, one must date back to the rise and birth of Christianity and Islam. Throughout the course of this essay, I will compare the many facets that show the alikeness between these two growing religions.
...f frescoes painted by the most famous of artists. There isn’t a religious building in the world that compares to the magnificently detailed stories that line the walls. To stand inside such a building is to feel the presence of God, and that is something that cannot be put into words.
When I was a child I used to be frightened of entering such a place for it seemed so imposing and somewhat dangerous, especially when music was being played. One day, in order to keep a promise I had made, I saw myself forced to enter. It took me quite a while to get the courage to pass through the old oak door, but the moment I stepped in, I realized just how enchanting and breathtaking this building could be. Its fantastic architecture and exquisite frescoes reflect perfectly the unity between this earth and the unseen kingdom of angels in such a manner that one cannot say where one ends and the other begins. The way in which the church was built is also the vivid testimony of a medieval period. Although it is a place that can sometimes be cold and ask for respect it is where prayers are answered and magic is done. An overwhelming feeling of inner harmony takes over you once you enter and God seems much closer. Darkness and light are welded perfectly together creating Redemption’s house. The tower allows you to see the entire town from the smallest river to the biggest building site, offering you its mightiness.