Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also:
Aghlabids, Baghdad, Balkh, Iraq,
Samarra, Tulunids, Ukhaidhir
ablaq
Term used to describe alternating light and dark courses
of masonry.
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Afghanistan
It is thought that the origin of this decorative
technique may derive from the Byzantine use of
alternating courses of white ashlar stone and orange
baked brick. The technique of ablaq seems to have
originated in southern Syria where volcanic black
basalt and white limestone naturally occur in equal
quantities. The first recorded use is in repairs to the
north wall of the Great Mosque of Damascus which
are dated to 1109. In 1266 Sultan Baybars built a
palace known as Qasr Ablaq which was built out of
bands of light and dark masonry. Although the
building has not survived, it demonstrates that the
term ablaq was used to describe masonry of this type.
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries this became
a characteristic feature of Mamluk architecture in
Egypt, Syria and Palestine. At this stage red stone is
also used so that some buildings are striped in three
colours, red, black and white. Ablaq continued to be
used in the Ottoman period and can be seen in
buildings such as the Azzam palace in Damascus. A
difference between its use in the Mamluk and the
Ottoman periods is that earlier on it was restricted
to façades, doorways and windows whereas in the
Ottoman period it is used for overall decoration,
sometimes including the floors. The technique was
also used in Spain and can be seen in the voussoirs
of the arcades of the Great Mosque in Córdoba which
are red and white.
The technique also seems to have been invented
in Europe in the mid-twelfth century although it
is not certain whether it was invented
independently or copied from Syria. Important
European examples are the thirteenth-century
churches of Monza, Siena and Orvieto and a four-
storey palace in Genoa.