Dictionary of islamic architecture

particular Jahangir and Shah Jahan. Jahangir was
responsible for the most magnificent example of
ceramic art in Pakistan which is the ‘Picture Wall’.
This is an area of more than 6,000 m square decorated
with human and animal figures besides the more
usual geometric and figural designs. Areas of the
palace built by Shah Jahan are characterized by the
use of white marble and intricate decoration. One of
the most extravagant rooms in the building is the
Sheesh Mahal, is a half-octagonal room decorated
with mirror tiles. Outside the fort, Lahore contains a
number of important Mughal buildings including
the Badshahi Mosque, Ja-hangir’s tomb, the Shalimar
Bagh and the Shahdara complex. In addition to the
imperial Mughal buildings there are a number of
Mughal period buildings which exhibit a mixture of
Mughal, Persian and local design. One of the most
famous examples is the mosque of Wazir Khan built
in 1634 which is profusely decorated with brightly
coloured tile mosaic. At each corner of the courtyard
is a thick octagonal minaret of a type which later
became characteristic of Lahore. Several mosques of
the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century
exhibit the influence of Sikh architecture from nearby
Amritsar. One of the best examples is the Sonehri
Masjid (Golden Mosque) built by Bhikari Khan in
1753 which has bulbous gilded copper domes with
miniature domed chatris.
See also:
Mughals, Pakistan
Further reading:
M.A.Chughtai, 
Badshahi Mosque,
Lahore 1972.
—— 
Tarikhi Masjid,
Lahore 1974.
—— 
The Wazir Khan Mosque,
Lahore 1975.
S.R.Dar, H
istorical Gardens of Lahore,
1972.
M.W.U.Khan, 
Lahore and its Important Monuments,
Karachi
1964.
S.M.Latif, 
Lahore: Its History, Architectural Remains and
Antiquities,
Lahore 1956.
Lamu
Town on an island off the north Kenya coast, noted for its
fine eighteenth- and nineteenth-century houses.
The origins of Lamu are uncertain although
archaeological evidence suggests that there has been
a settlement on the site since well before the sixteenth
century. However, the present town of Lamu
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developed largely in the eighteenth and nineteenth
century, eventually taking over from its rival city of
Pate. Like all Swahili towns the wealth of Lamu was
built on the Indian Ocean dhow trade and the main
focus of the town is still the sea front or quay. The
town is built on a gentle slope which runs down
towards the sea and at its centre is the old fort
constructed by the Omanis, who controlled the area
from the eighteenth century onwards. Unlike most
other towns Lamu has survived as a traditional
Swahili town with a dense network of streets
between tall stone mansions and over twenty-two
mosques. In addition to the stone buildings of the
town are suburbs of mud and thatch houses in which
many of the population of Lamu live, as was
probably the case in the past. The stone houses are
built of out of coral stone and mangrove poles in the
manner typical of East Africa until the twentieth
century. Most were originally single storey, and
upper floors were added subsequently as separate
living units. The typical eighteenth-century Lamu
house has a small entrance porch, or 
daka,
with stone
benches either side which forms the main reception
area of the house. The outer porch opens on to a small
inner porch 
(tekani)
and at right angles to this is the
main courtyard of the house 
(kiwanda)
thus forming
a bent entrance to ensure privacy. Next to the inner
porch, on the same side of the courtyard, is the guest
room 
(sabule).
Also contained within the courtyard
is a bathroom or toilet, stairs to the upper floor and
a semi-open kitchen covered with thatch. The main
residential part of the house is located on the side of
the courtyard away from the entrance and consists
of a series of rooms of increasing privacy. Thus next
to the courtyard is an outer living room followed by
an inner living room behind which is the harem. The
inner and outer living rooms are open to each other
and the courtyard, whilst access to the women’s area
or harem 
(ndani)
is via a pair of doors. The remarkable
feature of these rooms is the use of decorative carved
plaster and wall niches on the outward-facing walls
of the living rooms and harem. The most elaborately
decorated area is the harem, followed by the inner
and outer living rooms. The wall niches are usually
arranged in tiers and may cover the entire wall of
the harem. The purposes of the niches is not fully
Wall panels and niches in eighteenth-century house, Lamu, Kenya (after Allen)
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understood although they are often used to display
valuable pottery. Behind the harem are the inner
bathroom and a room known as 
nyumba ya kati
which
may be for laying out and washing the dead.
Access to the upper floor is via a staircase which
also has its own porch which may be used for
receiving visitors. The arrangement of the upper
floor is similar to downstairs except that there is no
room for the dead and the kitchen is raised above
the rest of the building on one side of the courtyard.