Moorish Architecture

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.
1. Many buildings constructed in the Moorish architectural style are mosques, Muslim places of worship. What buildings included in the photo gallery are NOT mosques?
  
  Show 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.
2. What building, constructed as a mosque in the Moorish architectural style, is now a Christian church?
  
  Show Answer
  
  The Cathedral of Cordoba, Spain, was originally built as a mosque.
3. What photos depict minarets?
  
  Show Answer
  
  Photos of the Minaret of Jam (slide 9) and the Imam Mosque (slide 11) include minarets.
4. Most buildings constructed in the Moorish architectural style include Arabic script. Which photos do NOT depict such calligraphy?
  
  Show Answer
  
  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.
5. Which of these buildings are in Europe?
  
  Show Answer
  
  The Cathedral of Cordoba and the Alhambra are in Spain, and the Blue Mosque is in Istanbul, Turkey.

Term	Part of Speech	Definition
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.

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Producer

Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society

Last Updated

Aug. 10, 2012

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