Arabic architecture

The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is considered by Muslims to be the Baytullah () and determines the qibla () for Muslims around the world.

Petra (; ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu ( or ), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, Petra is also called the "Rose City" because of the colour of the sandstone from which it is carved. The city is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Islam's holiest mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

the main prayer hall of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem

thumb|Minaret at the Umayyad Mosque in [[Damascus]]

alt=|thumb|upright=1.25|The three madrasas at the Registan of [[Samarkand, built during the Timurid Renaissance]]

public university in Cairo, Egypt

Islamic building in Al-Aqsa, Jerusalem

Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( , ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661–680); this is when it became an important centre for Sunni Islamic scholarship and Quranic learning, attracting Muslims from various parts of the world. The Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city.

building complex in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

thumb|340px|Stone relief with arabesques of tendrils, palmettes and half-palmettes in the [[Umayyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria]] thumb|Part of a 15th-century ceramic panel from Samarkand ([[Uzbekistan) with white calligraphy on a blue arabesque background]]The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ornament, used in the Islamic world, typically using leaves, derived from stylised half-palmettes,

Zabid () (also spelled Zabīd, Zabeed and Zebid) is a town with an urban population of around 52,590 people, located on Yemen's western coastal plain. It is one of the oldest towns in Yemen, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. However, in 2000, the site was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The town was the capital of several ruling dynasties in Yemen over many centuries.

library, translation institute and research center in medieval Baghdad

series of caves located in the heart of the old city of Hebron

urban district

Diriyah (; formerly romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya) is a town and governorate in Saudi Arabia. Located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Diriyah was the original home of the House of Saud, and served as the capital of the Emirate of Diriyah under the first Saudi dynasty from 1727 to 1818. Today, the town is the seat of the Diriyah Governorate, which also includes the villages of Uyayna, Jubayla, and Al-Ammariyyah, among others—and is part of Riyadh Province.

medieval Islamic fort in Oman

Zubarah (), also referred to as Al Zubarah or Az Zubarah, is a ruined, ancient town located on the northwestern coast of the Qatar peninsula in the Al Shamal municipality, about from the capital Doha. It was founded by the Bani Utbah tribal confederation who migrated from Kuwait in the mid-eighteenth century. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.

Fustat (), also Fostat, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, though it has been integrated into Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by the Rashidun Muslim general 'Amr ibn al-'As immediately after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641, and featured the Mosque of Amr, the first mosque built in Egypt.

Wadi-us-Salaam is an Islamic cemetery, located in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq. It is the largest cemetery in the world. The cemetery covers and contains more than 6 million bodies. It also attracts millions of pilgrims annually.

mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia

thumb|upright=1.3|Muqarnas as seen from below in the iwan entrance to the Shah Mosque in [[Isfahan, Iran (17th century)]] thumb|upright=1.3|Muqarnas dome in the Sala de Dos Hermanas at the Alhambra in [[Granada, Spain (14th century)]] Muqarnas (), also known in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe (from ), is a form of three-dimensional decoration in Islamic architecture in which rows or tiers of niche-like elements are projected over others below. It is an archetypal form of Islamic architecture, integral to the vernacular of Islamic buildings, and typically featured in domes and vaults, as well

distinct city section found in many North African cities

historic city centre of Aleppo, Syria

architectural style historically developed in the western Islamic world

historic city centre in Damascus, Syria

Al-Aqsa (; ) or al-Masjid al-Aqṣā () is the compound of Islamic religious buildings that sit atop the Temple Mount, also known as the Haram al-Sharif, in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Dome of the Rock, many mosques and prayer halls, madrasas, zawiyas, khalwas and other domes and religious structures, as well as the four encircling minarets. It is considered the third holiest site in Islam. The compound's main congregational mosque or prayer hall is variously known as Al-Aqsa Mosque, Qibli Mosque or al-Jāmiʿ al-Aqṣā, while in some sources it is also known as al-Masjid al-Aqṣā; the wi

thumb|300px|A mashrabiya in Tunisia

university in Baghdad, Iraq

dam in Yemen

cultural interaction in Medieval Sicily

thumb|right|260px|Large sahn of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, surrounded by riwaq (arcades), in [[Tunisia.]]

historical city center controlled by Palestinian Authority

traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or courtyard

In traditional Persian architecture, a howz () is a centrally positioned symmetrical axis pool. If in a traditional house or private courtyard, it is used for bathing, aesthetics or both. If in a sahn of a mosque, it is used for performing ablutions. A howz is usually around deep. It may be used as a "theatre" for people to sit on all sides of the pool while others entertain.

thumb|Reception hall of Azm Palace|Azem Palace in [[Damascus, Syria, using ablaq technique (18th century)]]Ablaq (; particolored; literally 'piebald') is an architectural technique involving alternating or fluctuating rows of light and dark stone. It is an Arabic term describing a technique associated with Islamic architecture in the Arab world. The technique is used primarily for decorative effect. It may have its origins in earlier Byzantine architecture in the region, where alternating layers of white stone and orange brick were used in construction. Its use began early in the history of Is

Egyptian architectural style (13th-16th centuries)

thumb|upright=1.2|Girih pattern with inlaid floral decoration from :en:Shah-i-Zinda|Shah-i-Zinda in [[Samarkand, Uzbekistan]]

UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bosra, Syria

historical place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

madrasa in Algiers, Algeria

islamic architectural feature

Ancient Near East construction style

old city in Gaza Strip

thumb|right|350px|An architectural drawing of a typical Levantine house, with the liwan area in grey. Liwan (, , from Persian ) is a long narrow-fronted hall or vaulted portal in ancient and modern Levantine homes that is often open to the outside. An Arabic loanword to English, it is ultimately derived from the Persian , which preceded by the article al ("the"), came to be said as in Arabic, and later, English.

thumb|right|Banna'i brickwork in the [[Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi. The blue brickwork spells out the names of Allah, Muhammad and Ali in square Kufic calligraphy.]] In Iranian architecture, '''banna'i''' (, "builder's technique" in Persian) is an architectural decorative art in which glazed tiles are alternated with plain bricks to create geometric patterns over the surface of a wall or to spell out sacred names or pious phrases. This technique originated in Syria and Iraq in the 8th century, and matured in the Seljuq and Timurid era, as it spread to Iran, Anatolia and Central Asia.

thumb|A traditional dakkah in Doha, [[Qatar]] Dakkah (, also spelled dikka) is a type of elevated earthen platform attached to the house that is typically found outside. Sometimes situated in a public area, the dakkah is covered with mats and can be shaded by palm frond walls or a tent. It could also take the form of benches or couches along the outside of a structure. Dakkahs were very common in the traditional buildings of the Arab World, particularly in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, with people gathering on dakkahs to socialize and drink Arabic coffee, functionally serving as an outd

Old city in the West Bank, Palestine