Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also:
Indonesia, Java, Malaysia, Sumatra
Further reading:
A.Abbahil, ‘The Maranao Mosque: its origins, structure
and community role’, 
Danslan Quarterly
1(20): 85–103,
1980.
E.G.Giron, ‘A mosque in Quiapo’, in 
Philippine Panorama,
1977, 5–6.
P.Gowing, 
Muslim Filipinos: Heritage and Horizon,
Quezon
City, Philippines 1979.
W.Klassen, 
Architecture in the Philippines,
Cebu,
Philippines 1986, 125–52.
Philippines

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pisé
A form of mud brick where the brick is moulded in situ on
a wall.
This technique is quicker than mud-brick construction
because larger bricks can be produced which could
not be transported under normal circumstances.
Because pisé allows high-speed (and therefore
cheaper) construction it was often used for large-scale
works such as enclosures or city walls.
pishtaq
Iranian term for a portal projecting from the façade of a
building.
This device is most common in Anatolian and Iranian
architecture although it also occurs in India. In its
most characteristic form this consists of a high arch
set within a rectangular frame, which may be
decorated with bands of calligraphy, glazed tilework,
geometric and vegetal designs.
pisé

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235
qa
a
A reception hall in Cairene houses.
qabr
A grave. It may also refer to the structure erected
above the grave.
qabrstan
An Iranian term for a cemetery, equivalent to
maqbara.
Qairawan
City in north-west Tunisia which functioned as the
capital of the province of Ifriqiyya (roughly equivalent to
modern Tunisia) during the early Islamic period.
Qairawan was founded in 670 by ‘Uqba ibn Nafi,
the Arab general in command of the Muslim
conquest of North Africa. The principal monument
in the city is the Great Mosque also known as the
mosque of Sidi ‘Uqba after the general who founded
it. The first mosque on the site was begun
immediately after the Arab conquest and consisted
of a square enclosure containing a courtyard and
prayer hall or sanctuary. This first building was made
of mud brick and had to be restored in 695. There
was another major reconstruction in 724–43 when a
Q
Great Mosque, Qairawan, Tunisia, © Creswell Archive: Ashmolean Museum

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236
minaret was added. The present minaret was added
by the Aghlabids in 836. It is a giant three-tier
structure built of baked bricks on a base of reused
ashlar blocks. At present the minaret stands on the
north wall of the courtyard but in the ninth century
it would have been outside the mosque courtyard
in a manner similar to the contemporary Abbasid
mosques of Samarra.
The mosque took its present form from the major
rebuilding which took place under the Aghlabids
which was completed in 862. The present mosque
enclosure forms a large rectangle measuring 125 by
85 m. The prayer hall is one third of the mosque
area and comprises seventeen aisles perpendicular
to the qibla wall with another aisle parallel to the
wall. Aghlabid modifications included the present
mihrab, the dome in front of the mihrab and the
minbar. The mihrab niche is lined with perforated
marble panels decorated with vegetal designs.
Surrounding the mihrab are a series of polychrome
lustre tiles which are believed to have been
imported from Baghdad. The dome covering the
area in front of the mihrab is built of stone and rests
on a drum supported by large shell-shaped
squinches. The dome has a gadrooned form which
internally takes the form of thin radiating ribs. The
inside of the drum is circular and decorated with a
series of sixteen blind niches and eight arched
windows. The minbar is the oldest in existence and
consists of a high staircase with a series of intricately
carved panels on the side decorated with geometric
and stylized vegetal designs. The present maqsura
(screen) was added in restorations of the eleventh
century. Further restorations were carried out in
1294 when the arches of the arcades were
remodelled and the projecting portal of Bab Lalla
Rayhana was added. Other Aghlabid monuments
at Qairawan include the Mosque of the Three Gates,
and the famous polygonal cisterns or artificial lakes.
Outside Qairawan three satellite cities were
established known as al-Abbasiya, Raqqada and
Sabra al-Mansuriyya. Nothing remains of Abasiyya,
although at Raqqada there are huge reservoirs and
the remains of a large palace built of baked brick.
Other cities with Aghlabid monuments include
Tunis, Susa, Sfax and Monastir. In 1052 the city was
enclosed with a crenellated brick wall which was
extensively restored in the eighteenth century.