The Story of Islamic Architecture - visual meditations & a thoughtful story Richard YeomansInterweaving history with detailed descriptions of the monuments & mosques, Richard Yeomans studies the flowering of Islamic architecture from Spain to India.
Introducing us to The Mosque, The Ministry, the Sectarianism, The Five Pillars of Islam, Sacred Scripture, The Sharia & Sufism, this large book of maps & a multitude of bright photographs traces the spread & cultural influences of the Muslim Faith from its origins through the Medieval ages. Here we discover that mosques are far more than mere houses of worship occasionally visited.
In The Religious Basis of Form & Function in Islamic Architecture we learn the hows & the whys of this unique & elegant style of building. In the beginning, naturally, was the Umayyad Architecture, in that melting pot we now call the Middle East where three religions built upon each other over centuries of surges in populations, wars & economics.
From Spain to India, Islamic architecture is represented by both the exotic & the simple. From the encrusted Topkapi Palace in Istanbul to the plain stone Palace of the Winds in Jaipur the full rhythmic designs of this religious expression of beauty is explored & explained.
A reverential encyclopedia of a spiritual path that has broadened my appreciation of what stirs the Muslim sense of the sublime, the majestic & the beautiful.
A prime example of one man's pursuit of his bliss. A joy of a book!