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This lecture focuses on: one of the crucial building types that evolved under Islam, the mosque; the collegiate mosque, madrasa; the variety of architectural adaptations of the mosque to local contexts through the presentation of examples from both ‘high’ and ‘peripheral’ Islamic traditions aiming at providing a comprehensive understanding of such significant heritage and living architecture; and the historical background, architectural details and regeneration projects of Masjid al-Ayn in Oman, Aqsunqur Mosque (blue mosque) in Cairo and Amiriya Madrasa in Yemen.

The first lesson in a 22 lesson course on Monuments of Islamic Architecture developed by Professors Gulru Necipoglu and David Roxburgh at the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University. This lesson covers the early Ummayad Dynasty and the Dome of the Rock. Citation Necipoglu, Gulru and David Roxburgh. “The Dome of the Rock.” Lesson 1/22 presentation developed for the Aga Khan Trust for Culture Education Programme, 2019.

The third lesson in a 22 lesson course on Monuments of Islamic Architecture developed by Professors Gulru Necipoglu and David Roxburgh at the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University. This lesson covers the late Ummayad Dynasty in Spain and the Great Mosque of Cordoba. Citation Necipoglu, Gulru and David Roxburgh. “The Great Mosque at Córdoba and Umayyad Spain.” Lesson 3/22 presentation developed for the Aga Khan Trust for Culture Education Programme, 2019.

The seventeenth lesson in a 22 lesson course on Monuments of Islamic Architecture developed by Professors Gulru Necipoglu and David Roxburgh at the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University. In this lesson, by way of focusing on a single monument, namely the Süleymaniye mosque complex in Istanbul (1550s) commissioned by Sultan Suleyman (r. 1520-66) from his Chief Court Architect Mimar Sinan, we will discuss 16th century Ottoman architectural culture and practices. In which ways were elements from the Roman-Byzantine and Italian Renaissance architectural traditions selectively integrated into the Ottoman architectural idiom? How did the Ottoman sultanic mosques of Constantinople/Istanbul make direct references to the international prestige of the city’s premier 6th century Byzantine church, Hagia Sophia (Ayasofya, now functioning as the leading Friday mosque of their new capital)? How does the Süleymaniye complex differ from the Hagia Sophia and previous Ottoman mosques in terms of spatiality, scale, materiality, and ornament? What are the novelties of mosques designed by Sinan, who served as the Ottoman chief court architect for half a century (between 1539 and 1588) during the reigns of three sultans (Suleyman I, Selim II, Murad II)? Citation Necipoglu, Gulru and David Roxburgh. “ The Mosque Complex of Sultan Süleyman.” Lesson 17/22 presentation developed for the Aga Khan Trust for Culture Education Programme, 2019.

The second lesson in a 22 lesson course on Monuments of Islamic Architecture developed by Professors Gulru Necipoglu and David Roxburgh at the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University. This lesson covers the late Ummayad Dynasty and early mosque architecture.