Cordoba - Spain - Lecture 7

Jordan University of Science and TechnologyCollege of Architecture and Design Department of Architecture

Islamic Architecture

Islamic Architecture

Dr. Raed Al Tal

Jordan University of Science and TechnologyCollege of Architecture and Design Department of Architecture

Islamic Architecture

Dr. Raed Al Tal

Cordoba Spain

The ruling Umayyad were overthrown in 750 by the rising of the Abbasids .

Abd ar-Rahman managed to escape to southern Spain and established a seat of power in Cordoba

He took the title of Abd ar-Rahman I I ad-Dakhil ( the Immigrant) ( 756-788)

In 785 ABD AL RUHMAN AL DAKHIL built the Great Mosque of Cordoba

•It was built to be a state mosque in terms of size area program

•70 meter square – perfect square divided into two equal areas

•consisted of an oblong hall praying area the north part as an open area

•Several Roman columns were reused •Double tiered system arcades was devised

(taken from the Great Mosque of Damascus ) except here single arches were used in the upper

tier

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Prayer hall

Court yard

No modification on the mosque ( Hisham I ( 788-796) , al-Hakam (796-822) ) until the reign of Abd ar-Rahman II

(822-852)

• Mathematics and perfection, expansion wasn’t random- 3ilaqet watar ma3 dile3

• Proportions and dimensions of its original plan were based on mathematics

The 1st enlargement 200 columns to the hypostyle hall (Abd al Rahman II)

- the area was doubled

- the qibla was moved south-west

Why there was an enlargement?1. Needs

2. Each caliph must add somthing

Expansion was south east and they

considered the radius of the circle is the root

of 2

Abd al-Rahman III ( 912-961)Second round of enlargement Placed a square minaret 34 meters high

The minaret

-Blind arches-One opening to the south-Spiral staircase-Square in plan -Relatively bulky

The system of columns supporting double arcades of piers and arches with alternating red and white voussoirs is an unusual treatment that, structurally, combined striking visual effect with the practical advantage of providing greater height within the

hall .

Alternating red and white voussoirs are associated with Umayyad monuments such as the Great Mosque of Damascus

and the Dome of the Rock. 

-trefoil arches

Distinctive features in the great mosque of Qurdoba:

1. Mihrab in this mosque was special it was in a room, and no reason was behind this

2. Treatment of double tiered arcades was different

3. A cathedral was built by sharleman inside this mosque which is still up to date

-orientation of the cathedral is east west4. Minaret is not within the body of the mosque5. Mihrab is a structure in special space6. Coloring with 2 materials: white stone, red

brick and this is called ABLA : alternation of coloring

7. Richly incraved and floral patterns in marble

• Pitched roof, gabled roof• High water technique channels, water drain system• As a result of enlargement there were too many

entrances but one of them was the royal entrance• Double tiered : two layers of arches but architecture

appearance and structure behavior is different • Here both layers were of main arch• Different capitals of columns – collective –• Architectural solution for column height – part left as it is

and another was completed• It is a forest of marble columns

• Special treatment of the Netch, out square inside 8 sides

• In Andalusia the influences were

1. Horse shoe arch

2. Blind arches

3. Influence of square minaret from Syria

• So this mosque was built by abd al ruhman I and expansion made by abd al ruhman II

• And it also included:1. Treasury houses: they are rooms within

the mosque2. Maksoora: a place for the caliph and his

followers, could be screened• And there was a bridge between the

palace and the mosque connecting them, over hanging above the road called SABAT

• Bulky minaret by Abd al Rahman III• The four sides are solid walls and if there is any

opening it would be blind arches and trefoil arches

• Trefoil arches is something distinctive that showed in Spain and flourished there\

• In these doubled tiered arches there was a political message that Abbasids when they came they put this to tell the Umayyad now we are the rulers

The decorative program of the mosque based on

“dread of emptiness” ( horror vacui)

The Mihrab

-trefoil arches-horseshoe arch

-polychrome mosaics-Gold background

-the large stone arch of the mihrab contains abstract fruit and flowers motifs

-Kofi script-Monochrome ornamentation

-horseshoe arch

Kuifc script -trefoil arches

abstract fruit and flowers motifs

-The cupola :

- ribbed vaults ; complex ceiling covered with magnificent mosaic on golden background

-

The Madinat al-Zahra (936-978):

Outside of Cordoba, Spain, founded by Abd al-Rahman III, the first Umayyad to declare himself a caliph.

Its "Salon Rico" has a basilical plan and overlooks a huge pool to the south.

Established on a hilly side

landscaping

The palace of Medina al-Zahra

By Abd al-Rahman III 936 and then completed during the reign of al-Hakem II

Rectangle of 1500 by 750 meters

A south facing slope of Bride’s Mountain

Regularity of the palace counter the terrain of the site except in the sharp drop toward

Guadalquiver River the palace placed on terraces

The Alhambra:

A name retained from the original al-Qal‘a al-Hamra (the Red Fort), this royal city was the seat of the Nasrids (1238-1492), the last Islamic dynasty in Spain who took Granada as capital.

The enclosure is divided into two parts: the Alcazaba, or the fort proper to the west andthe Madina, or the royal city to the east.

The Alhambra boasted of numerous PalacesResidencesGardensSuqscemeteries

Aerial view of the Alcazaba part of the Alhambra

The most important palaces are:

The court of the myrtlesThe court of the lionsGenera life of genan al arif

The Court of Myrtles: Built around 1333 and attributed to Yusuf I, it follows the same general organization of a Granadine regular residence with a rectangular pool surrounded by four units on the longitudinal sides and a main reception hall called the Hall of the Ambassadors to the north that overlooks the city

A section through the Court of Myrtles showing the lines of view from the Hall of the Ambassadors

Court of Myrtles: view across the basin towards the Hall of the Ambassadors

The Court of the Lions:

Attributed to Muhammad V (1354-59, 1362-91), it is a marvelous structure arranged around the famous fountain of the lions.

Court of Lions; perspective view

Generalife or Jinane al-'Arif,

Arabic for the Gardens of the Superintendent is the external, terraced garden with a villa rustica attached to the Alhambra by a special passage

Muqarnas in the Hall of the Two Sisters

Generalife Summer palace; perspective

Generalife or Jinane al-'Arif,

Architectural Properties:

- Garden as rectangular enclosure surrounded by high walls - Quadripartite division through a cruciform plan

- The importance of vistas from centrally-located pavilions - the soliloquies of the architectural elements

Water Uses:

- Central collecting, deep pool or distribution point (taqsim) -Irrigation by channels incorporated in walkways

-Sunken bowls at end of channels

- Single-stream jets.

Character of the Garden:

Contains flowers and medicinal herbs, evergreen and fruit trees and vines. Flower beds are sunk both for aesthetic and irrigation purposes