Dictionary of islamic architecture

Further reading:
K.A.C.Creswell, 
Muslim Architecture of Egypt I,
Oxford
1952, 11–13.
R.Ettinghausen, 
From Byzantium to Sassanian Iran and the
Islamic World,
London 1972, 57–8.
G.R.H.King, ‘The nine bay domed mosque in Islam’,
Madrider Mitteilungen
30: 1989.
Nishapur
Famous medieval city located in the Khurassan region of
eastern Iran.
Nishapur was founded in Sassanian times as ‘New
Shapur’ and rose to prominence in early Islamic times
as capital of the Tahirid dynasty in the ninth century.
The city was at the height of its prosperity and
importance under the Samanid dynasty in the tenth
century. In 1037 the city was captured by the Seljuks
and remained a part of that empire until 1153 when it
was sacked by the Ghuzz. Despite the sacking and
several earthquakes the city continued to function
until 1221 when it was sacked by the Mongols. A
modern city of the same name has grown up near the
site based around an eighteenth-century shrine.
Although no standing architecture remains at the
site, excavation has revealed extensive architectural
remains together with a large number of finds
making this one of the best examples of a medieval
Islamic city. The remains were found mostly within
three mounds known as Tepe Madrasseh, Sabz
Pushan and Qanat Tepe. There is no evidence of
occupation at any of the sites before the eighth
century indicating that the Sassanian city may have
been elsewhere. The main materials of construction
were mud brick 
(khist)
and trodden earth or pisé
(chineh)
and baked brick. Wood was used as a
strengthening material in walls as well as for
columns. Many of the walls were covered with stucco
and painted plaster panels (frescoes). The remains
of several mosques were found on the site all with
rectangular recessed mihrabs. At Tepe Madrasseh
remains of a prayer-hall iwan were found together
with the base of a minaret. The minaret had an
octagonal shaft and was built of yellow fired bricks
with decorated with shallow vertical slots. Elsewhere
on the site columns built of baked brick were also
decorated with slots. At Qanat Tepe remains of a
mosque were found close to the remains of a bath
house. The bath house had hypocaust heating, a
plunge pool and a nine-sided octagonal basin in the
centre. The most remarkable feature of the bath
house was the frescoes which included
representations of human figures. At Sabz Pushan
remains of small houses were found which included
centrally placed sunken fireplaces made from
earthenware jars set into the ground. Among the
most important finds at the site were the remains of
eleven muqarnas panels excavated from a cellar.
These were prefabricated plaster panels which
would have been attached to the zone of transition
in the roof of the cellar and are some of the earliest
evidence for the use of muqarnas.
Nishapur

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ocak
Turkish word for a chimney hood, also used to
designate a unit of Ottoman troops of Janissaries.
The typical Ottoman ocak consists of a tall conical
hood set against the inside wall of a building. Some
of the best examples can be found in the kitchens in
the Topkapisarai.