Fountains predestined for goodness
“Water is life.” Following the advice of the Prophet (asw) “The best charity is to give water to drink”, Muslims have made great efforts to deliver water to people and...
Symbol of the Conquest: THE HAGIA SOPHIA MOSQUE
After the conquest of Istanbul, Sultan Mehmed II added a mihrab, minbar and minaret to Hagia Sophia and turned it into a mosque and built a madrasa to the north...
Bukhurdan (Censer)
Bukhur, which comes from the Arabic word “bakhur,” is the name given to substances such as plants, roots and seeds that emit good odours or fragrant smoke when burned. In...
Scribble (Karalama) in Islamic Calligraphy
Mustafa YILMAZ The art of calligraphy is a branch of fine art mastered by means of its own methods and principles in a teacher-student relationship. Calligraphy is a challenging way...
Kufic script
The origin of the Islamic style of writing goes back to the Nabati script of Aramaic origin. Kufic was developed from the Nabati script over the course of a historical...
The art of paper and leather cutting: Qat‛ı
Qat or qat‛ı means “to cut” in the dictionary. Qat‛ı is the art of decoration which is done by gouging out a writing, motif or figure on a paper or...
Bookbinding
Bookbinding dates back to very old times. Before the invention of paper, the texts written on parchment and papyrus were kept as roll in wooden cases or boxes. In order...
Namazgâh and prayer in the open field
The word “namazgâh” – which means ‘place of prayer’ – is a compound of Persian word ‘namaz’ and preposition ‘gâh’ – which mean prayer and place respectively. Muslims have esteemed...
Edirne historical hospital: Dar al Shifa
Dar al Shifa , as it is used in the Ottoman, can be described in the simplest term as the place that offers health service to public. “Darussifa” is also...
Qur’an Copies from Revelation to Ottoman Era
The writing of the Qur’an took its finest form in the 19th and 20th centuries with “Ayat Barkanar” and “Tawafuq” styles. As it’s known, our Holy Qur’an began to be...