[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Introduction

• Great Mosque of Córdoba also known as

Cathedral of Our Lady of the
Assumption.

• Located in the Spanish region

of Andalusia.

• Originally this structure was a catholic

church.
Introduction
• According to traditional accounts,
the Catholic basilica of Vincent of
Lérins was built by the Visigoths during the
rule of the Visigothic Kingdom.

• During the Umayyad conquest of Hispania,

the basilica was divided in half for
Christian and Muslim worship in 711.

• In 784, Abd al-Rahman I, ordered

the conversion of the church into a mosque.
Introduction

• The structure regarded as the most accomplished

monuments of Moorish architecture.

• Moorish architecture is an architectural style which

historically developed in the western Islamic world.

• Moorish style is known for its horseshoe arches,

domes and muqarnas.
Introduction

• Nearly 250 years took to complete the

building.
• Have a 54m high bell tower.
• Declared World Heritage Site by the
UNESCO.
• The Great Mosque of Cordoba is one of the
oldest structures still standing from the 8th
century.
• The building is most notable for its arcaded
hypostyle hall.
 THE HYPOSTYLE HALL

The building itself was expanded over two hundred years. It is comprised of a large hypostyle prayer
hall (hypostyle means, filled with columns), a courtyard with a fountain in the middle, an orange
grove, a covered walkway circling the courtyard, and a minaret (a tower used to call the faithful to
prayer) that is now encased in a squared, tapered bell tower. The expansive prayer hall seems
magnified by its repeated geometry. It is built with recycled ancient Roman columns from which
sprout a striking combination of two-tiered, symmetrical arches, formed of stone and red brick.
THE MIHRAB

The focal point in the prayer hall is the famous horseshoe arched mihrab or prayer niche. A
mihrab is used in a mosque to identify the wall that faces Mecca—the birth place of Islam in what
is now Saudi Arabia. This is practical as Muslims face toward Mecca during their daily prayers. The
mihrab in the Great Mosque of Cordoba is framed by an exquisitely decorated arch behind which
is an unusually large space, the size of a small room. Gold tesserae (small pieces of glass with gold
and color backing) create a dazzling combination of dark blues, reddish browns, yellows and golds
that form intricate calligraphic bands and vegetal motifs that adorn the arch.
The ribbed dome above the mihrab represents a technical and aesthetic breakthrough. A
forerunner to Gothic vault construction, the intricate cross-ribbed structure of the dome creates a
sense of ethereal lightness — further accentuated by the use of dazzling mosaics and multi-lobed
arches that blur the line between architecture and sculpture. The dome was intended not as an
exterior monument, but rather meant to be experienced from the inside, signaling the climax of
the procession toward the mihrab.
THE HORSESHOE ARCH AND THE DOME

Thehorseshoearch,alsocalledtheMoorisharchandthe
keyholearch,istheemblematicarchofIslamicarchitecture.
Horseshoearchescantakerounded,pointedorlobedform.
Inthistypeofarch,thediameterofthearciswiderthanthe
spacebetweenthepillarsthatsupportit.Insome

casesthejointsandclaeveauxdonotconvergetowardsapoint
lowerdown.
Thesearchescontributegreatlytothelightandairyeffect
ofthemosuesinterior.
TheearlyIslamicbuildingsmainlyconcentratesoncreating
richandvariedvisualeffectsandlessonstructuralnecessity.
Visually,thesearchesseemtobillowoutlikesailsblownby
thewind,andcreatesabeautifulexpression.
The Horshoe Arch And The Dome
 LAYOUT
o The building's floor plan is seen to be parallel to some of the earliest mosques built from the very beginning
of Islam. It had a rectangular prayer hall with aisles arranged perpendicular to the qibla, the direction
towards which Muslims pray.The prayer hall was large and flat, with timber ceilings held up by arches of
horseshoe-like appearance.

o Hisham's mosque covered an area of 460 by 280 feet (140 m × 85 m). It was flanked by stout, fortified
walls, with watch towers and a tall minaret. There were nine outer gates and eleven inner doors. Each door
led to an aisle within the mosque. The court had spacious gates on the north, west, and east sides, and
fountains for the purification of the pious. The eleven north-to-south aisles were crossed by twenty-one
narrower ones running from east to west.

o One hundred and fifty years after the mosque's creation, a staircase to the roof was added, along with a
southward extension of the mosque itself. A bridge was built linking the prayer hall with the Caliph's
palace.The mosque was later expanded even further south, as was the courtyard which surrounded it. The
mosque was built in four stages, with each ruler and his elite contributing to it.
o Until the 11th century, the courtyard was unpaved earth with citrus and palm trees irrigated – at first by
rainwater cisterns, and later by aqueduct. Excavation indicates the trees were planted in a pattern, with
surface irrigation channels. The stone channels visible today are not original.

o Abd al-Rahman III added a new tower. The minaret contained two staircases, which were built for the separate
ascent and descent of the tower. On the summit there were three apples, two of gold and one of silver, with
lilies of six petals. The minaret is four-faced, with fourteen windows, having arches upon jasper columns, and
the structure is adorned with tracery
A CATHOLIC CHURCH

Córdoba returned to Christian

rule in 1236 during the
Reconquista, and the building
was converted to a Roman
Catholic church, culminating
in the insertion of a
Renaissance cathedral nave in
the 16th century.
 LEGACY
They also left us a legacy of great informative value; one that
defines new issues and directions in the investigation of
medieval Islamic mechanisms.

Celebrated for its harmony, balance, dramatic use of light and

decoration, and its overall unity and aesthetic sensitivity, the
hypostyle mosque, amounts to more than a mere type.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
 KING HASSAN II MOSQUE
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
KING HASSAN II MOSQUE
 INTRODUCTION
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-

The Hassan II Mosque is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the

largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the 7th largest in the
world. Its minaret is the world's second tallest minaret at 210 metres
(689 ft). Completed in 1993, it was designed by Michel Pinseau under the
guidance of King Hassan II and built by Moroccan artisans from all over
the kingdom.
LOCATION
• It is located at Casablanca
Morocco.
• The mosque stands on a
promontory looking out to
Atlantic Ocean the sea bed
visible through the glass floor
of the buildings hall.
It’s environmental advantage is
that it is free of noise and
pollution and receives a fresh
breeze from the sea.
........................................................................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................................................................
 LOCATION
o Mosque rises above the Atlantic ocean
o The building is build partially on land and partially over the ocean
It’s environmental advantage is that it is free of noise and pollution and
receives a fresh breeze from the sea.
o Two large breakwaters were also built, to protect the mosque from the
erosive action of the ocean waves, which can be up to 10 meters (33 ft) in
height
o The garden around the mosque is well tended and is a popular location
for family picnics.
 HISTORY
The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba :
also known as the Great Mosque of Córdoba and the Mezquita, whose ecclesiastical name is the Cathedral of Our
Lady of the Assumption (Spanish: Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción), is the Catholic cathedral of
the Diocese of Córdoba dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and located in the Spanish region
of Andalusia. The structure is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture.
According to a traditional account, a small Visigoth church, the Catholic Basilica of Saint Vincent of Lérins,
originally stood on the site. In 784 Abd al-Rahman I ordered construction of the Great Mosque, which was
considerably expanded by later Muslim rulers. Córdoba returned to Christian rule in 1236 during the Reconquista,
and the building was converted to a Roman Catholic church, culminating in the insertion of
a Renaissance cathedral nave in the 16th century.
Since the early 2000s, Spanish Muslims have lobbied the Roman Catholic Church to allow them to pray in the
cathedral. This Muslim campaign has been rejected on multiple occasions, both by the church authorities in Spain
and by the Vatican
 DESIGN

o The building blends Islamic architecture and Moroccan elements, and reflects
Moorish influences, while featuring an urban design
o There are features from an old Roman fort converted into the tomb of King
Mohammed V of Rabat.
o The sea bed is visible through the glass floor of the building’s hall
o The walls are of hand crafted marble and the roof is retractable.
o The qibla wall is perpendicular to the naves which is said to be an unconventional
layout, given that it is customary for the rows of worshipers facing Mecca to be as
wide as possible rather than extend farther back.
 ARCHITECTURE
In the words of the authors of the book Morocco
Country Study Guide, the Hassan II Mosque
"undeniably marks the continuity of a modernized
ancestral art and bears the sign of innovations that are
due not only to technical reasons but also to a fertile
exploration of new aesthetic possibilities.

*The building dimensions are 200 metres (660 ft) in

length and 100 metres (330 ft) in width.
* Six thousand traditional Moroccan artisans worked
for five years to create the abundant and
beautiful mosaics, stone and marble floors and
columns, sculpted plaster moldings, and carved and
painted wood ceilings.
* It is ornamented with pale blue marble
and Zellige tilework.
The construction work involved engagement of 35,000 workers and
working of over 50 million hours.
*The mosque has capacity to accommodate 25,000 devotees for
prayers in the main hall and another 80,000 in the plaza squares
around it.
*The first-class sound system is discreetly hidden.
* The ablution room and a vast public hammam are in the basement,
with its own entrance.
*Tadelakt, a plastering technique which adds egg yolks and black
soap into mixed plaster, was used in the hammam baths.
FEATURES
❖ MINARET

❖ PRAYER HALL

❖ WOMENS GALLERY

❖ BATH AND FOUNTAINS

 MINARET

❖ The minaret is considered as the tallest in

the world, standing at 689 feet or 210
meters
❖ At night, lasers shine a beam from the top
of the minaret toward Mecca, to point the
way to god
❖ The concrete used for the minaret was a
special high-grade type, which could
perform well under severe conditions of a
combined action of strong wind and
seismicity.
 PRAYER HALL
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✓ The prayer hall is built to a rectangular plan of 200 meters (660 ft) length and 100 meters
(330 ft) width with three naves, which are perpendicular to the qibla wall.
✓ The central hall is undulating with a succession of numerous domes from which
glass chandeliers
✓ Such panels built with multicolored arches, engraved with ornamented floral designs,
appear like geometrical framework when viewed from the outside
✓ The roof is retractable, illuminating the hall with daytime sunlight and allowing
worshippers to pray under the stars on clear nights
✓ The prayer hall is also illuminated by light from the glass gates on the northern wall.
THANK YOU
Archana G Nair
Annet Sangeeth
Aswin Jeba
Hina Haris
M.Aswath
Shyam
Sandeep
Subina
Kavya
Niranjana