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2550 BCE
The Great Pyramid of Giza
This wonder of the world is located in Egypt and was built as a tomb for a great pharaoh, Khufu. It took about 20 years to build all three structures and there are three burial chambers available inside of them for the pharaoh and the queens. It is made up of limestone blocks and originally very plain. After a couple years, the Egyptians then added the hieroglyphic texts to it, which also told stories. -
601
The beginning of the Arab Architecture
The majority of the Arabs way back when as well as right now, are Muslims. Which leads to the reason behind all the Islamic meanings behind the Arab architectures we now see. Before the Muslims conquered the land that they have now, it was full of Byzantines, Romans and Persians. Which lead to the Arab architecture to become very similar to their styles of architecture, with a twist of an Islamic style in it. This happened in the 7th and 8th centuries when the Muslims took over. -
624
Kaaba
The Kaaba is the holiest place in the world for Muslims. The structure is made of granite and has a cube shape. Muslims all around pray in it's direction as it is believed to be the "House of God". The designs all around it as well as on it are Arabesque or similar to it after it was invented. There are also words of the Quran or the holy book written on it with gold, with the same writing style as Arabesque. It has been rebuilt as it was destroyed as a result of war on Muslims. -
632
Arab/Islamic Twist to the Designs
The Muslim's were told by their prophet two important things that really changed the way the designs were made. The first one was to never draw god or an imitation of him as it was seen as very wrong. Which lead them to leave out faces and animals out in general just in case. The second thing was that the artists were to use inexpensive things to make designs which is the reason why they mainly used brass, clay and wood. But they eventually figure out ways to make them look more expensive. -
692
The Dome of the Rock
Located in Jerusalem, The Dome of the Rock is one of the oldest and most beautiful structures in Arabic history. It has Byzantine architectural characteristics (circular or polygonal structure), with an Islamic artchitectural style (octagonal base and arabic calligraphy), as well. -
801
Arabesque Art
This type of art was invented as it was a way of designing architectures without the use of faces or animals because of one of the two restrictions the prophet Mohammad placed upon the artists. It's a beautiful and complicated design that is made up of flowers, vines, leaves and circles that catches the eye. It also has Arabic writing within it, depending on the structure. -
850
Great Mosque of Samarra
This structure was built in Iraq with bricks on the outside and blue glass on the inside and is the largest Mosque in the world. Though it was destroyed after an invasion, the most important part of it survived, being the minaret which was around 52 meters long. That would be the part in the middle that is in the shape of a cone. This is where the structures of the mosques kind of started to change with the minarets started getting built kind of like this one that is shown. -
1557
Suleymaniye Mosque Complex
This mosque is the most beautiful mosque in all of Istanbul. It is a single room in the shape of a square and the designs all around show the influence of the Byzantine architecture is still there. There are lots of circular shapes in the designs as well as many, many windows to light the place. It was built for Sultan Suleyman the Magnificient, in order to show off the talents that the architect, Mimar Sinan, had. -
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal, though it was built in India, had lots of Arab influence as it was for a Muslim. It was for a rich, Muslim Indian man who lost his wife. He made servants build it, which took about 20 years to complete, for his wife. It was all hand made and one of the best structures built in the world. It does include a mosque and it is a tomb for his wife. If you look closely, you can see that the handmade designs look like the arabesque art that was invented by Arab Muslims. -
Al Shaheed Monument
This structure is built in Iraq and is a monument for all the soldiers who died in the Iran-Iraq war. It shows the pride the nation has to it's country and shows respect to the people who fought for it. It's structure is unique and unusual and is made so that it protects 2 other smaller structures inside. -
Burj Al Arab
This 7-star hotel is located in UAE. It is the third talllest building in the world and was built to look like a sailing ship. It is a reserved island that was artificially made. It has the most expensive stores and restaurants. It's design and construction was managed by a Canadian engineer (WOO!!). It is also the only certified 7-star hotel in the world. -
Burj Khalifa
This is the tallest building in the world and is located in Dubai. It has the highest number of stories in the world (160+) and is considered a skyscraper. It has the newest technology and has broken many records. It contains shopping store, restaurants, rooms, swimming pools, etc. -
Conclusion
In the end, the Arab architectures have become more innovative and have become more dependent on technology to save, rebuild and reserve the historical architectures. Now a days, for Arabs, to have mosques all around the world and to have artists from all around the world use their invention and their technology is an accomplishment. They keep making new things and being innovative in modern day to day lives. It might seem as though they didn't do much but they influenced lots
