Moorish architecture is a variation of Islamic architecture. There are many motifs, or repeated patterns, in Moorish architecture. This photo gallery illustrates just a few. The first slide gives an overview of the motifs: different styles of arches, calligraphy, vegetative design, and decorative tiles.
Moorish architecture is named after the Moors, North African people who conquered the Iberian Peninsula and many islands in the Western Mediterranean beginning in the 700s. The Moors controlled what is now Spain, Portugal, and the Pyrenees region of France for hundreds of years.
The Moors were Muslim and influenced by the Islamic architecture that developed in the Middle East. Although mosques are the most common examples of Moorish architecture, motifs spread to the design of homes and places of businesses. One of the most famous examples of Moorish architecture, the Mezquita or Grand Mosque of Cordoba, Spain, is today the region's Catholic cathedral.
Read the captions associated with the photo gallery and review the relevant vocabulary words in the "Vocabulary" tab. Then answer the questions in the "Questions" tab.
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Many buildings constructed in the Moorish architectural style are mosques, Muslim places of worship. What buildings included in the photo gallery are NOT mosques?
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Answer
The Ben Youssef Madrassa (slide 2), the Alhambra (slide 3), Cordoba Cathedral (slides 5 and 7), the gateway arch (slide 6), the Dome of the Rock (slide 8), and the Minaret of Jam (slide 9) are not mosques.
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What building, constructed as a mosque in the Moorish architectural style, is now a Christian church?
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The Cathedral of Cordoba, Spain, was originally built as a mosque.
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What photos depict minarets?
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Answer
Photos of the Minaret of Jam (slide 9) and the Imam Mosque (slide 11) include minarets.
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Most buildings constructed in the Moorish architectural style include Arabic script. Which photos do NOT depict such calligraphy?
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Photos of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque (slide 4 ), the prayer hall of Cordoba Cathedral (slide 5), the gateway arch (slide 6), the Royal Mosque (slide 12), Sepahsalar Mosque (slide 13), tile (slide 14), and Wazir Khan Mosque (slide 15) do not include calligraphy. All of these buildings, however, have calligraphy incorporated elsewhere on the building.
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Which of these buildings are in Europe?
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The Cathedral of Cordoba and the Alhambra are in Spain, and the Blue Mosque is in Istanbul, Turkey.
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arch
Noun
shape that looks like an upside-down "U."
architecture
Noun
style and design of buildings or open spaces.
calligraphy
Noun
decorative handwriting or script.
cathedral
Noun
important regional church.
cusped arch
Noun
arch with circular shapes cut into its interior.
Dome of the Rock
Noun
Islamic shrine in Jerusalem, Israel.
emirate
Noun
state or territory under the authority of an emir, or Islamic leader.
faience
adjective, noun
type of painted pottery that has a tin glaze.
grotto
Noun
natural or artificial cave.
intrado
Noun
interior (smaller) part of an arch.
Islam
Noun
religion based on the words and philosophy of the prophet Mohammed.
keyhole arch
Noun
arch that has a generally rounded shape, although it can be pointed or lobed. Also called a Moorish arch or horseshoe arch.
madrassa
Noun
school where Muslim theology is taught.
masonry
Noun
construction made of stone or brick.
Middle East
Noun
region of southwest Asia and northeast Africa.
minaret
Noun
tower used to call Muslim worshippers to prayer.
Moor
adjective, noun
people and culture native to North Africa, blending Arab and Berber cultures, who established a major civilization on the Iberian Peninsula between 756-1492.
mosque
Noun
place of worship in the Muslim or Islamic religion.
motif
Noun
theme or subject that reappears in a work of art.
muqarna
Noun
decorative stone or brickwork jutting out from a wall, used in Islamic architecture.
Quran
Noun
holy book of the Islamic religion.
tendril
Noun
narrow, thread-like part of some plants that usually winds around something to help support the stem or main part of the plant.
vegetative
Adjective
having to do with plants, or the non-reproductive parts of plants, such as vines and tendrils.