Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also:
Khirbet al-Mafjar, Qusayr Amra
Further reading:
M.Dow, 
Hammams of Palestine,
Oxford 1993. M.Ecochard
and C.Le Coeur, 
Les Bains de Damas,
Beirut 1943.
E.Pauty, 
Les Hammams du Caire,
Cairo 1963.
H.Terrasse, ‘Trois Bains marinides du Maroc’, 
Mélanges,
311–20, 1950.
haram
The private quarters of a house, sanctuary of a
mosque or more generally an area set apart.
Haramayn
Term used to refer to the two holy places of Mecca
and Medina. In Mamluk and Ottoman times this
term was sometimes also used to refer to Jerusalem
and Hebron.
haremlik
Turkish term for the private part of an Ottoman
house which is only open to members of the family
(from Arabic hareem).
Harran
Ancient city in south-eastern Turkey important as a centre
of learning and Umayyad capital.
Harran is located in the flat plain between the Tigris
and Euphrates rivers. The city was famous in early
Islamic times as the centre of the pagan Sabians who
worshipped the stars and achieved protected
(dhimini) status in return for their astro-logical and
scientific advice. The last Sabian temples were
destroyed by the Mongol invasion of the mid-twelfth
century. In 744 Caliph Marwan II established himself
at Harran and made it the Umayyad capital.
The site includes the remains of a city wall, a
castle and a congregational mosque. The most
important monument is the Great Mosque founded
by Marwan II between 744 and 750. Major
modifications were carried out during the twelfth
century under Salah al-Din who also fortified the
citadel. The building is badly ruined, so that only
the rough outline of the plan can be traced and the
date of different phases is not clear. The mosque is
roughly square measuring approximately 100 m per
side with a rectangular courtyard to the north and
the sanctuary to the south. There are two main
entrances to the complex, one on the east side and
one in the centre of the north side. The façade of
the sanctuary consisted of nineteen arches resting
on piers with engaged columns. In the centre of the
façade is a wide central arch approximately in line
with the deeply recessed mihrab in the south wall.
Roughly in the centre of the courtyard there is an
octagonal basin, above which there may have been
a domed chamber supported on columns which
functioned as the treasury (bayt al-mal). To the east
of the north entrance is a tall square tower or
minaret built in two distinct phases, the lower part
is built of stone whilst the upper part is made of
brick. The destruction of the mosque can be
attributed to the Mongol invasion in the mid-
twelfth century.
haram

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Harran is also noted for its characteristic
architecture which consists of houses and storerooms
covered with conical mud-brick domes.