Stained glass window with geometric patterns
Architecture,  Art,  Squares,  Themed galleries

Gallery: finding geometry in Islamic design

January 7, 2025 / 41 Comments

Mighty is geometry; joined with art, resistless.

Euripides

I’m starting this post by repeating some paragraphs from a previous one, about Marrakesh:

Islamic art shuns the depiction of living figures, whether human or animal, partly to avoid any suggestion of idolatry and partly because it is believed that the creation of living forms is Allah’s prerogative. Instead the emphasis is on geometric forms as well as calligraphy and abstract floral motifs.

The designs employ everything from simple circles and squares through more complex lozenges and stars. Typically the shapes will be repeated and overlapped to create more elaborate and intricate patterns. For instance, two squares can be overlapped and one turned through ninety degrees to form an eight pointed star, a very common motif. Octagons can be tessellated with small squares, or triangles linked in chains with star shapes formed between them. Circles are used extensively too, symbolising unity and diversity in nature.

Finding geometry in the buildings of Marrakesh

In that 2021 post I focused on some of my favourite buildings in the city. Today I’m widening my scope to also include Islamic architecture from a number of different countries, and I’ve squared all the shots to link to Becky’s January Squares theme of geometry.

My feature photo was taken in the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman, as were several others below. But let’s start with just a few from Marrakesh …

Tile ceiling with star and hexagon shapes

A ceiling at the Palais de la Bahia, Marrakesh

In the Medersa Ben Youseff, Marrakesh

Plaster arches with elaborate carving
Part of a staircase with blue and white tiles

Stairs at the Musee Tiskiwin, Marrakesh

Wall detail, Musee Dar Si Said, Marrakesh

Band of mosaic tile-work
Walls and pillars with intricate tiled patterns

Walls in the part-ruined kasbah of Telouet, Morocco

Ceiling of the Banya Bashi mosque in Sofia, Bulgaria

Delicately painted domed ceiling
Wall with intricately carved stone work and simple black and white tiles

Detail of a wall in the Real Alcazar, Seville, Spain

A ceiling in the Real Alcazar, Seville, Spain

Domed ceiling with gold tiles
Metal gate with star pattern

Looking through a gate of the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi

Door detail, Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat, Oman

Wood carved with intricate patterns
Pointed arched niche with elaborate tiled mosaics

In the gardens of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat, Oman

Mihrab in the Sultan Qaboos* Grand Mosque, Salalah, Oman

* Not an error – both mosques are named for the late sultan who financed their construction as well as a number of others in the country

Tiled arched niche
Cream and gold tiled dome with a chandelier

A ceiling light and dome in the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Salalah, Oman

Window detail, Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Salalah, Oman

Carved window lattice
Tiled dome with blue and turquoise tiles

Dome of the Tuman Aka Mosque in the Shah-e-Zinda complex, Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Detail of the Emir Zade Mausoleum in the Shah-e-Zinda complex, Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Tiles with star and flower motifs
Bright turquoise and blue tiles in star patterns

Detail of the dome of the Kalon Mosque in Bukhara, Uzbekistan

The Madrasah Muhammad Amin Khan in Khiva, Uzbekistan

(now a luxury hotel but when we stayed there a very basic one!)

Bands of turquoise and white tiles
Small dome tiled in blue and brown

Detail of Humayan’s Tomb, Delhi, India

Inside the Itmad-ud-Daulah, Agra, India

Rooms tiled in shades of brown with connecting doorways

41 Comments

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