This collection features a series of maps&nbsp;of the old city (medina) of&nbsp;<a href="http://archnet.org/authorities/4016" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tunis</a>,&nbsp;created by architect&nbsp;<a href="https://archnet.org/authorities/3390" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Besim S. Hakim</a>&nbsp;with the assistance of students. The maps show the organization of neighborhoods and services, and uses of space in this historic part of the city.

Tunis in the Husaynid Period: Urban Design and Planning Principles in Traditional Islamic Cities

https://archnet-fairimage.staging.performant.studio//public/resources/0eb8fa51-cc8b-421f-b460-2c174d18d7e0/download

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digital graphic

IAA706528

A primary focus of Archnet is the development of the urban environment in Muslim societies. Archnet’s new place authorities are records for cities, towns, and other settled areas that link the sites located in that area.&nbsp;Depending on when the record was created or last updated, it may include variant and alternate place names, including ones no longer in use, in languages other than English, including those in non-Western alphabets, and variant spellings. Eventually, this will be the case with all city records. The most developed records in this collection also provide a brief description of the city and its significance, as well as a history of its development. From these records, you can navigate to sites in the city, publications, maps, and video relating to the city or specific neighborhoods thereof, aerial, general, and distant views, urban planning graphics relating to infrastructure, topography, and characteristics of the residents, and even street views or portraits known to be of the city or is residents, but for which we do not have an exact location. We hope you find these records useful. Users interested in the topic of urban history may wish to consult the collection of the <a href="http://archnet.org/collections/historic_cities" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme</a>, or to explore the results of keywords such as <a href="https://www.archnet.org/search?search_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJ5ZWFyIjp7fSwidGltZV9wZXJpb2QiOnt9fSwicGFnZSI6MSwicXVlcnkiOiJjaXRpZXMiLCJyZWZpbmVtZW50TGlzdCI6eyJrZXl3b3JkcyI6WyJjaXRpZXMiXX0sImlhdCI6MTc4NTUxMzEwMH0.JJHPyQckiM0KURTJqZWXF5-GSpS6sUE6Xa8bLIzJVU8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">cities,</a> <a href="https://www.archnet.org/search?search_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJ5ZWFyIjp7fSwidGltZV9wZXJpb2QiOnt9fSwicGFnZSI6MSwicXVlcnkiOiJjaXRpZXMiLCJyZWZpbmVtZW50TGlzdCI6eyJrZXl3b3JkcyI6WyJjaXR5IGFuZCByZWdpb25hbCBkZXZlbG9wbWVudCJdfSwiaWF0IjoxNzg1NTEzMTM2fQ.Q1z03tZmTEFvihTpojsCebGu7wjYrcOgorreQfRjKDQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">city and regional development</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/search?search_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJ5ZWFyIjp7fSwidGltZV9wZXJpb2QiOnt9fSwicGFnZSI6MSwicXVlcnkiOiJjaXRpZXMiLCJyZWZpbmVtZW50TGlzdCI6eyJrZXl3b3JkcyI6WyJ1cmJhbiBkZXNpZ24iXX0sImlhdCI6MTc4NTUxMzIyMn0.ozXSEhZe74cE3sJ6z8wSO8ZY9j04ttRK_oSoDzpG558" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">urban design</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/search?search_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJ5ZWFyIjp7fSwidGltZV9wZXJpb2QiOnt9fSwicGFnZSI6MSwicXVlcnkiOiJjaXRpZXMiLCJyZWZpbmVtZW50TGlzdCI6eyJrZXl3b3JkcyI6WyJ1cmJhbiBkZXZlbG9wbWVudCJdfSwiaWF0IjoxNzg1NTEzMjczfQ.aoqIJCVEIUz7aKd63IDX6VCNd6yXPDRPb-uHZ22VLXc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">urban development</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/search?search_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJ5ZWFyIjp7fSwidGltZV9wZXJpb2QiOnt9fSwicGFnZSI6MSwicXVlcnkiOiJ1cmJhbmlzbSIsInJlZmluZW1lbnRMaXN0Ijp7ImtleXdvcmRzIjoiIn0sImlhdCI6MTc4NTUxMzMzM30.cA5r5rUd6eCx2V_HLoimgAvuLdJTS6rncVZ4hfKE3EI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">urbanism</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/search?search_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJ5ZWFyIjp7fSwidGltZV9wZXJpb2QiOnt9fSwicGFnZSI6MSwicXVlcnkiOiIiLCJyZWZpbmVtZW50TGlzdCI6eyJrZXl3b3JkcyI6WyJ1cmJhbiBwbGFubmluZyJdfSwiaWF0IjoxNzg1NTEzNDE0fQ.l7zBf7mVWNWIKytF3Vs3WrLR-rcoi4QfWov7DINmd4I" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">urban planning</a>, or <a href="https://www.archnet.org/search?search_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJ5ZWFyIjp7fSwidGltZV9wZXJpb2QiOnt9fSwicGFnZSI6MSwicXVlcnkiOiJ1cmJhbiByZWdlbmVyYXRpb24iLCJyZWZpbmVtZW50TGlzdCI6eyJrZXl3b3JkcyI6WyJ1cmJhbiByZWdlbmVyYXRpb24iXX0sImlhdCI6MTc4NTUxMzQ4M30.Bg6VrH3hbuHHnVbr5nIxFyoInER16qtlKvgHQFvX9Yo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">urban regeneration</a>. In addition, there are site records for <a href="https://www.archnet.org/search?search_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJ5ZWFyIjp7fSwidGltZV9wZXJpb2QiOnt9fSwicGFnZSI6MSwicXVlcnkiOiJ1cmJhbiByZWdlbmVyYXRpb24iLCJyZWZpbmVtZW50TGlzdCI6eyJrZXl3b3JkcyI6IiIsImJ1aWxkaW5nX3VzYWdlcyI6WyJjb21tdW5pdHkgZGV2ZWxvcG1lbnQiXX0sImlhdCI6MTc4NTUxMzYzOH0.LuQAv0nhyzzBVAcz-diTJL0tqxpiLcAxWOJV665S_UE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">community development,</a> <a href="https://www.archnet.org/search?search_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJ5ZWFyIjp7fSwidGltZV9wZXJpb2QiOnt9fSwicGFnZSI6MSwicXVlcnkiOiJ1cmJhbiByZWdlbmVyYXRpb24iLCJyZWZpbmVtZW50TGlzdCI6eyJrZXl3b3JkcyI6IiIsImJ1aWxkaW5nX3VzYWdlcyI6WyJ1cmJhbiB1cGdyYWRpbmciXX0sImlhdCI6MTc4NTUxMzg1OX0.SyW_uYoCDTpPCIV8GDWnFvTysAQ3GJg7hk3ZckfxofY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">urban upgrading,</a> <a href="https://www.archnet.org/search?search_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJ5ZWFyIjp7fSwidGltZV9wZXJpb2QiOnt9fSwicGFnZSI6MSwicXVlcnkiOiJ1cmJhbiByZWdlbmVyYXRpb24iLCJyZWZpbmVtZW50TGlzdCI6eyJrZXl3b3JkcyI6IiIsImJ1aWxkaW5nX3VzYWdlcyI6WyJhcmVhIGNvbnNlcnZhdGlvbiJdfSwiaWF0IjoxNzg1NTEzOTE3fQ.lA8j1vDRE1HIaI5DblbO5MTtV65EtUC9iAgcexANEXQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">area conservation,</a> <a href="https://www.archnet.org/search?search_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJ5ZWFyIjp7fSwidGltZV9wZXJpb2QiOnt9fSwicGFnZSI6MSwicXVlcnkiOiJtYXN0ZXIgcGxhbiIsInJlZmluZW1lbnRMaXN0Ijp7ImJ1aWxkaW5nX3VzYWdlcyI6WyJuZXcgdG93biBwbGFubmluZyJdfSwiaWF0IjoxNzg1NTE0MDM3fQ.0hUrzEW8Ub3EagAbJQDTFDKCWDutw3xFCDt8uF9qe0o" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">infrastructure upgrading,</a> <a href="https://www.archnet.org/search?search_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJyYW5nZSI6eyJ5ZWFyIjp7fSwidGltZV9wZXJpb2QiOnt9fSwicGFnZSI6MSwicXVlcnkiOiJtYXN0ZXIgcGxhbiIsInJlZmluZW1lbnRMaXN0Ijp7ImJ1aWxkaW5nX3VzYWdlcyI6WyJuZXcgdG93biBwbGFubmluZyJdfSwiaWF0IjoxNzg1NTE0MDM3fQ.0hUrzEW8Ub3EagAbJQDTFDKCWDutw3xFCDt8uF9qe0o" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">new town planning</a> and other types of projects. This collection will continue to develop over time, so check back regularly.&nbsp;We also welcome contributions, including corrections and additions. Please use the 'Feedback' button at the lower right or <a href="https://www.archnet.org/pages/contribute" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">contact us.</a>

Cities and Towns

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collage (digital photographs)

Collage maker project - July 31, 2026 at 11.40.21.png

Qamar 717 is&nbsp;a deeply moving work that inspired by the childhood paper “chatterbox” game once shared between the artist and her grandmother, this piece transforms nostalgia into testimony. At its heart is a 1967 letter her grandmother wrote, pleading for the release of her imprisoned husband. Only the draft survives, crossed-out lines, urgent revisions, unanswered questions.Handmade Unryu paper, embroidered with Palestinian tatreez (“Moon of Bethlehem” motif), carries her grandmother’s handwritten words, carefully traced into its folds.“717 Moons” marks the lunar months between that letter and her grandmother’s passing in 2024. A paper game becomes an archive. Memory becomes form.&nbsp; More about the work&nbsp;Qamar 717 centers on a letter that the artist’s tata (grandmother) wrote in January 1967 to the Jordanian authorities, appealing for the release of the artist’s sedo (grandfather), who had been arrested in the West Bank due to his role as a political figure working toward Palestinian liberation. The artist’s grandmother had traveled to Jordan to see him in prison but was denied visitation and feared for his life. While waiting, she wrote a letter in the hope that it would reach the person in charge. Her handwritten words—poignant and unyielding—reveal both urgency and resolve. The crossed-out lines and revised thoughts offer a rare glimpse into a critical moment otherwise unrecorded in family memory.The final version of the letter was most likely given to someone at the prison. Only this draft remains, discovered after the grandmother’s death by the artist’s mother and aunt while they were sorting through her belongings. None of the siblings have memories of what happened afterward, leaving the family with unanswered questions.This work adopts the form of a Chatterbox/Fortune Teller, a childhood game once shared between the artist and her grandmother. When her grandmother visited, the artist would excitedly set up a “shop” and sell her drawings and artworks—the chatterbox being one of them. Her grandmother always bought everything, and with the coins she gave her, they would walk to the corner store where the artist would spend it all on candy. Reanimating that memory, the artist folds this structure once again, but this time as a vessel for the unknowable.The artist embroidered the outer corners of the paper with tatreez, the Palestinian cross-stitch tradition, using the “Moon of Bethlehem” motif. This serves as a homage to the landscape that shaped her grandmother and to the garments and textiles that surrounded her, which remain etched in the artist’s memory. Her grandmother was always wearing bright, colorful tops adorned with tatreez.Inside, the artist hand-traced passages from her grandmother’s letter using carbon paper to transfer them onto the paper, following the forms of her Arabic handwriting so that her voice is, in a way, inscribed within the folds. On the innermost flaps are the unanswerable questions the artist wishes she could have asked her grandmother. The book is available for viewing by request at AKDC/DDC, MIT Libraries: <a href="https://mit.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma9935979835306761&amp;context=L&amp;vid=01MIT_INST:MIT&amp;lang=en&amp;search_scope=all&amp;adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&amp;tab=all&amp;query=any,contains,Qamar%20717" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1578194678</a>

Qamar 717 (717 Moons ago) by Reem Salloum 2025

https://archnet-fairimage.staging.performant.studio//public/resources/b3449968-10bb-4c65-8015-d43d272333bf/download

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3.jpg

Cities of Islamic Art: Volume Two by <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/12043" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Laurelie Rae</a>, an artist book that rethinks how we see and connect with the visual cultures of the Islamic world today.It responds to and critiques earlier canonical representations of Islamic art by expanding its scope beyond limited geographic and categorical frameworks, offering a more nuanced and accurate visual mapping of diverse cities and their artistic traditions.The book brings together 31 carefully researched cities across a wide geographic and cultural span to present Islamic art as a connected, multi-layered visual network that includes diverse religious and artistic traditions, emphasizing both accuracy and the shared yet distinct creative histories across regions beyond imperial and geographic boundaries.Each page is individually sketched and illustrated through hand-drawn processes, with every motif carefully researched, selected, and translated through layers of drawing and painting. Made with watercolor and gouache, with ebru on the reverse, the accordion-format book sits between research and material practice as both a teaching tool and a tactile artwork.On its way to Boston, the work was exhibited at the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival “26” highlighting its international relevance within contemporary Islamic art discourse.This acquisition underscores the importance of contemporary artists engaging with the legacy of Islamic art and architecture as a living, evolving field. The book is available for viewing by request at AKDC/DDC, MIT Libraries: <a href="https://mit.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma9935975256006761&amp;vid=01MIT_INST:MIT&amp;context=L&amp;search_scope=all&amp;lang=en&amp;tab=all" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1591244786</a>

Cities of Islamic art. Vol. 2 by Laurelie Rae 

https://archnet-fairimage.staging.performant.studio//public/resources/0dfba84d-b690-4eed-88c1-618c9a4c38b4/download

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color digital photograph

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<s>UN</s>KNOWN is a publication of A3: Archives of African Architectures that documents and valorizes the moden and contemporary architecture of Nigeria.

UNKNOWN

https://archnet-fairimage.staging.performant.studio//public/resources/e153325e-edac-4580-a732-d7554cf1c145/download

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cover

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<a href="https://www.a3africa.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A3 /&nbsp;Archives of African Architectures</a>, a project led by Nigerian architect&nbsp;<a href="http://archnet.org/authorities/8858" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Baba Oladeji</a>, aims to create multimedia archives documenting African architecture across the continent.&nbsp;The project focuses on heritage at risk, regardless of time period and regardless of cause. According to Oladeji, there are important contemporary projects that may never be fully realized in spite of their architectural merit,&nbsp;and there are historic sites that are forgotten and left to ruin.&nbsp;He argues that when these projects are un(der)documented, a culturally important part of a community's collective memory risks being lost to oblivion. Risk factors that cause this are diverse, including changing aesthetics and construction techniques, natural and manmade disaster, conflict, neglect, inaccessibility, gentrification and development, banditry and vandalism.&nbsp;A3 already has a vibrant online presence and is actively developing a mobile-friendly online presence that will bring architecture alive to the local community.&nbsp;The aim, according to Oladeji, is to foster a popular appreciation of architecture and "a culture of archiving" that ensures knowledge of the built environment remains accessible for generations. The African continent is underrepresented on Archnet. Addressing that has long been a priority for me as Archnet Digital Librarian. We have made great strides in relation to the Maghreb, but progress has been slower from the Sahel southward. As of this writing, 60% of the 2,579 Archnet sites located on the African continent are in the 5 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. I am very enthusiastic about A3's ambitious initiative because it allows Archnet to address this imbalance by offering a platform for this important scholarly project.&nbsp;The&nbsp;<a href="http://archnet.org/authorities/7195" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT Libraries</a>&nbsp;(AKDC@MIT) has agreed to support A3 with training and a repository for the digital documentation they produce. Mr. Oladeji and his team will be the intellectual curators of this project, and developers of the content contained within this collection.&nbsp;I am excited they have chosen us to host this content, and I am eager to offer whatever help we can provide.&nbsp;&nbsp; Additional thanks are due to&nbsp;<a href="https://misti.mit.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives</a>&nbsp;(MISTI), to the&nbsp;<a href="https://jwel.mit.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab</a>&nbsp;(J-WEL)&nbsp;for their support of this project, as well as all the scholars and practitioners involved in the project.&nbsp;You will enjoy getting to know them as this collection develops.&nbsp; -<a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/2691" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Michael A. Toler</a>, Archnet Digital Librarian, 2021

A3-Archnet Collaborative for the Documentation of Africa's Built Heritage

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IAA706530

This web-based research tool offers selected catalogues, glossaries, and bibliographies on <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2350" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Umayyad</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2352" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Abbasid</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2524" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Andalusian</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2368" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ottoman</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2349" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mughal</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2529" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">North African</a>, and <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2370" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Safavid</a> gardens from the eighth century to the present. <a href="https://www.archnet.org/publications/15073" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A history of the project</a> An international roster of garden and landscape historians have culled invaluable inventories from temporally and regionally diverse primary source materials, which they believed would be indispensable to researchers in the early stages of their academic inquiries or course design. Moreover, the regional, architectural, and horticultural diversity of the sites outlined in these inventories also allows for researchers to take comparative approaches to the study of garden cultures of the larger Mediterranean and Islamic world.This project, which was originally created in between 2004 and 2007, is related to a symposium that was jointly sponsored by Dumbarton Oaks and the Freer and Sackler Galleries and the subsequent publication of a volume of essays:&nbsp;Middle East Garden Traditions: Unity and Diversity; Questions, Methods and Resources in a Multicultural Perspective, edited by Michel Conan (Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks; distributed by Harvard University Press, 2007). Transliteration ConventionsMiddle East Garden Traditions&nbsp;has been updated to follow the transliteration conventions of the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/roman.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ALA-LC romanization tables</a>. Ottoman Turkish terms have been romanized according to the principle of&nbsp;conversion, detailed under “<a href="http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/ottoman.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rules of Application</a>.”&nbsp;Proper names, including those of people, places, and gardens, use a simplified scheme.Please note that the names of gardens or garden areas do not use diacritical marking, even if using technical vocabulary (e.g.,&nbsp;chahārbāgh,&nbsp;bāgh,&nbsp;dawlatkhānah,&nbsp;ṭavīlah, etc.).1 Navigating the ProjectThe core of the project is a searchable&nbsp;catalogue&nbsp;of the most well-known gardens that existed under the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2528" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Umayyad, Abbasid</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2525" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ottoman</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2526" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mughal</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2527" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Safavid</a>&nbsp;dynasties, as well as in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2524" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">al-Andalus</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2529" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">North Africa</a>.&nbsp;No complete catalogue of the gardens included in&nbsp;Middle East Garden Traditions&nbsp;will ever be produced. Travelers like Evliya Çelebi sometimes mentioned the existence of hundreds of gardens in a single city without mentioning their names or their precise locations. However, the number of gardens whose names we know is itself staggering. The garden catalogue provides a sense of these numbers and of the distribution of these gardens, at least in the regions and for the periods studied by the initial authors. The garden catalogue results from very different approaches: archaeological studies of gardens are not numerous but provide extremely precise information, while archival studies discover larger number of gardens but are very often much less detailed. A template for presenting the information was prepared by Deniz Çalış, Michel Conan, and Yücel Dağlı, and the first catalogue, by Antonio Almagro and Luis Ramón-Laca, provided a useful and practical guideline. The authors composed&nbsp;short narratives&nbsp;of the histories of garden making in the region they surveyed as an introduction to a dictionary presentation of the gardens they have selected. The site includes updated versions of these introductions, with the original versions available as <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2629" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">downloadable PDFs</a>. Each catalogue entry provides the name, location, and the dates of the garden’s creation, destruction, and/or attestation in the primary sources and archaeological record. The entry also provides the major sources of information available for this garden, a short commentary about the history of the garden, and key bibliographical references.In 2014, the original catalogue entries were recreated on the Dumbarton Oaks website by the William R. Tyler Fellows Deniz Turker Cerda (2013–2015) and Aleksandar Shopov (2012–2014) and the Graduate Digital Humanities Fellow Lain Wilson. The structure and view of the catalogue entries were created by the Database and CMS Developer Prathmesh Mengane and the Web and Graphic Designer Michael Sohn. In addition to the the garden catalogue, a number of other&nbsp;resources&nbsp;are available to scholars. A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archnet.org/pages/doaks-introduction-to-multilingual-glossary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">multilingual glossary</a>&nbsp;of plant and gardening terms (arranged <a href="https://www.archnet.org/pages/doaks-multilingual-glossary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">alphabetically</a> and by <a href="https://www.archnet.org/publications/15202" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">language</a>) allows users to trace the transformation of these terms as they were adopted into various languages (Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hebrew, and Ottoman Turkish). The botanical texts of al-Andalus serve as the basis for the&nbsp;glossary of <a href="https://www.archnet.org/pages/doaks-al-andalus-glossary-introduction" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ornamental tree and shrub species of Andalusia</a>, which includes wherever possible the identification of the species and their use. A Turkish-language&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archnet.org/pages/doaks-ottoman-turkish-terms-for-gardens-and-gardening" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">historical dictionary of Ottoman Turkish terms for gardens and gardening&nbsp;</a>includes over twelve thousand individual entries, available here as a <a href="https://www.archnet.org/publications/14963" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">downloadable PDF</a>. A project&nbsp;bibliography&nbsp;includes primary source and secondary literature references for all sections of&nbsp;Middle East Garden Traditions. Finally, the William R. Tyler Fellows have created new content since the project’s migration to the Dumbarton Oaks website. Aleksandar Shopov (2012–2014) explored the&nbsp;market gardens (bostans) of Istanbul&nbsp;as they were depicted in photographs of Nicholas Artamonoff, Robert Van Nice, Cyril Mango, and the Byzantine Institute. Abbey Stockstill (2016–2018) added North African gardens and essays on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archnet.org/pages/hydraulicsinmaghrib" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hydraulics</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archnet.org/pages/atlas-mountains" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Atlas Mountains</a>.&nbsp;Sasson Chahanovich (2018–2020) expanded the <a href="https://www.archnet.org/pages/doaks-introduction-to-multilingual-glossary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Multilingual Glossary</a> and <a href="https://www.archnet.org/pages/doaks-bibliography" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bibliography</a> to incorporate new terms and literature, respectively. Rachel Hirsch (2024-2026) contributed an <a href="https://www.archnet.org/publications/15759" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">essay on the language of Timurid gardens</a>. MEGT now accepts public contributions of essays and encyclopedia-style entries for peer-review as well as submisison of crowd-sourced images of historical sites. Interested parties should visit <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2973" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this page</a>. Source:Atasoy Nurhan, Atasoy, Seyit Ali Kahraman , Yücel Dağli, Antonio Almagro , Luis Ramón-Laca, Abbey Stockstill, Abdul Rehman, Munazzah Akhtar, Alemi Mahvash, and D. Fairchild Ruggles. “Middle East Garden Traditions.” Middle East Garden Traditions. Dumbarton Oaks, October 25, 2022. https://www.doaks.org/resources/middle-east-garden-traditions.&nbsp;Archived at: <a href="https://perma.cc/4L9R-Y6EW" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://perma.cc/4L9R-Y6EW</a> Related Archnet Resources:<ul><li><a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/75" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme: Parks and Gardens </a></li><li>Petruccioli, Attilio, ed. 1997.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.archnet.org/publications/4275" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gardens in the Time of the Great Muslim Empires: Theory and Design</a>. Leiden; New York: E.J. Brill.</li><li>Petruccioli, Attilio, editor.<a href="https://www.archnet.org/publications/4437" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Environmental Design: Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre 1. The Garden as a City, the City as a Garden</a>. Rome: Carucci Editions, 1986.</li><li>Petruccioli, Attilio, editor. <a href="https://www.archnet.org/publications/4438" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Environmental Design: Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre 2. The Garden as a City, the City as a Garden</a>. Rome: Carucci Editions, 1986.</li><li>Petruccioli, Attilio, editor. <a href="https://www.archnet.org/publications/4436" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Environmental Design: Journal of the Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre 2. Water and Architecture</a>. Rome: Carucci Editions, 1985.</li></ul>

Dumbarton Oaks: Middle East Garden Traditions (MEGT)

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digital photograph

Garden-Carpet-main-image.jpg

Statement by photographer and curator, Barbara J. Anello This exhibition focuses on the historic and vernacular architecture of communities that are now or once were Muslim, from the Maghreb and Andalusian Spain through Turkey, the Hijaz, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and North Central Sumatra. &nbsp;Throughout these areas a shared vocabulary rose through the crafts of weaving, carving, and zellij (mosaic); materials such as stone, earth, wood, plaster, bamboo, and reed; and a repertoire of natural and geometric motifs.&nbsp;Simultaneously a diverse forms and patterns arose as a result of the distinctive climatic, ecological, and geographic circumstances in each part of the territory depicted in these images. In the structures shown we can read shifting geo-political, ethnic, spiritual, economic realities that changed over time. The exhibition is not simply a catalogue of the already well-documented forms and motifs of architecture in the Muslim world: domes and arches, the layouts of mosques, tombs, and other monuments; the decorative and geometric motifs found in mosaics, carved wood, and stucco.&nbsp;Rather the images are chosen to demonstrate the inventiveness of local, vernacular solutions demonstrated by the ingenious use of readily available materials, the strategies used to protect from and mitigate the effects of severe climate conditions, and the honing of traditional motifs and methods over time. The structures shown in these photos demonstrate the inventiveness and pragmatism of local builders, but the current condition of some structures also reveals how they have adversely affected by modern conditions in which the structures are neglected, and the communities that inhabit them increasingly impoverished.&nbsp;Development, whether planned or unregulated, too often leads to the destruction of communities and the structures built by them. Modernization is embodied by skyscrapers, elevators, air-conditioning and intentionally wasteful consumerism. Traditional villages and centuries old vernacular architecture is too often left to the poorest, most elderly citizens. Polluted seas, melting icecaps, deforestation, and climate change are evidence of the kind of increasing environmental devastation that makes it imperative for architects and designers to play a role in reversing the rampant destruction of the environment. Revitalizing urban design in a way that connects architecture to local history and landscapes can give communities to a sustainable future. By combining vernacular architecture and cutting-edge technology, designers can address contemporary needs by developing forms, materials, and techniques that respond to contemporary needs in ways that are relevant, locally-sourced, and sustainable. The structures, skills, and motifs shown in the photographs, although disparate, are connected in sometimes surprising ways:&nbsp;the coral, tower houses of 19th century Jeddah, have roshans carved from Sumatran, decorated with Indian cotton and Afghan carpets, and set with Chinese porcelain. In some instances, they were also designed by Turkish architects. The intricate zellij of the Alhambra is an example of a skill still practiced by the artisans of Fez, some of whom recently traveled to Manhattan to create new galleries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The ancient art of weaving, used not only to create fabric, but also to weave wool, bamboo or reed into walls, tents, sails, roof, and other building materials, is still practiced. In these ways artisans and local builders carry forward ancient traditions proven effective over millennia to mitigate extreme heat and cold, conserve fuel and energy, provide shelter, and accommodate the activities of daily life. The United Nations now recognizes that the “creative economy goes beyond classical economics to embrace a new paradigm of development that includes social and cultural dimensions”&nbsp;UNESCO’s criteria defining world cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, states “that it should bear an exceptional testimony to a living or threatened cultural tradition and that it should be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, beliefs, or artistic works of universal significance.”1 These photographs chosen for this exhibition bear witness the applicability of local solutions to design and construction problems, and record the continual flux of knowledge, skills and aesthetics. In addition to conveying the complexity of cultural and historical exchange, they reflect my personal experience. I lived in Indonesia (1985-88 and 1991-2002); worked with Moroccan women weavers of the Middle Atlas (2006-8), and taught in Chittagong (2010), Vietnam (2008, 2012-13) and Jeddah (2014-16). There are no one-dimensional identities; heritage is a complex meld of historical, geographical and ethnic patterns, persisting but altering over time. Some examples are well known, such as the Great Mosque and Cathedral of Cordoba, a world monument, acclaimed for its historical and architectural significance to Christianity and Islam. Others are less well known, such as the Cham towers of Central and South Vietnam. Fewer than thirty of these structures, built between the 6th and 17th centuries, still stand. In the style of Shivite Hindu-Buddhist temples, these towers attest to centuries of exchange between India and Southeast Asia. An ethnic minority in Vietnam and Cambodia today, the Cham, who converted to Islam during the 16th century, regard these ancient structures as centers of worship and links with their ancestral heritage. These photographs, some of which illustrate HABITAT: Vernacular Architecture for a Changing Planet, ed. Sandra Piesik, Thames &amp; Hudson and Abrams, 2017, are evidence of the art and skill of builders, whose inventive design solutions, skills and structures, enrich us all. Dedicated to Sam Anello (1918-1994), a builder.&nbsp;Notes:&nbsp;1. http.//en.unesco.org

Architecture in Muslim Communities from the Maghreb to Sumatra

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IAA708485

Central Asian dynasty founded by <a href="https://archnet.org/authorities/7265" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Timur</a> which flourished from the end of the fourteenth century to the end of the fifteenth. Timur was born a member of the Barlas tribe and claimed descent from the Mongol Khan Chatagay. By 1370/771 AH Timur had gained control of <a href="https://archnet.org/authorities/3928" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Samarkand</a> and <a href="https://archnet.org/authorities/3531" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Balkh</a> after which he spent ten years consolidating his control of Central Asia. From 1381/782 AH Timur extended the range of his operations and managed to gain control of Iran, Iraq, Syria, the Caucasus and Delhi. In 1402/804 AH Timur's excursions into Anatolia brought him into conflict with the <a href="https://archnet.org/authorities/8367" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ottoman Sultan Bayazid</a> whom he defeated and captured at the battle of Ankara. One of the results of these wide-ranging conquests was the collection of skilled craftsmen from all over the Middle East who were used to enrich the new capital at Samarkand. Timur died in 1405/807 AH and was succeeded by his son Shah Rukh who ruled the empire from <a href="https://archnet.org/authorities/3698" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Herat</a> where he had been governor during the reign of Timur. Samarkand was ruled by Shah Rukh's son Ulugh Beg whilst Fars was ruled first by his nephew Ibrahim. By the mid-fifteenth century the western provinces were mostly lost to the Turkmans leaving Herat as capital of a much diminished empire which continued until 1507/912 AH when it was taken over by the Turkmans.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The best preserved Timurid structure in Herat is the <a href="https://archnet.org/sites/3936" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shrine of the mystic of Khwajeh 'Abdallah Ansari</a> at Gazur Gah. The complex is built on the plan of a four-iwan madrassa and oriented to the qibla (i.e. east-west) with the entrance in the centre of the west facade. The entrance portal consists of a large iwan, half-octagonal in plan, leading into the rectangular central courtyard. There is a mosque and cells for mystics at the western end, whilst at the eastern end is a shallow iwan set into a tall pishtaq. The main building material employed for imperial monuments was baked brick although dressed stone was used in Azerbaijan. The standard brick form was square (24-27 cm per side and 4-7 cm thick) whilst cut or moulded bricks were relatively rare compared with earlier periods. Mortar was usually quick-setting gypsum plaster rather than the more common lime plaster. The standard method of exterior decoration was tile revetments which were on a larger scale than in previous periods. Two main forms of tilework were used, tile mosaic, with individual coloured pieces cut to form patterns, and underglaze-painted tiles known as 'haft rangi' (seven colours). The underglaze-painted tiles tended to be of a lower quality but were useful for covering large areas. A large variety of arch forms were used including round, two-, three-, and four-centre arches, although the most common was the three-centred arch with a high crown, where the height of the arch was more than half the height of the entire opening. A large variety of domes and vaults were employed which displays the wide range of influences in Timurid architecture. One of the most significant vaulting forms employed was based on the use of wide transverse arches spanning between parallel walls. Vaults of various forms were then built to cover the area between each transverse arch to produce a large vaulted area. The vaults used to span the arches included tunnel or barrel vaults, stellar vaults and cross vaults, all of which produce characteristic humps on the roofs of buildings. Dome forms became increasingly distinctive under the Timurids with the development of double-shell domes where there is an outer dome and a shallower inner dome. The characteristic outer dome form consists of a tall 'melon-shaped' structure set on a high drum and decorated with ribs covered in decorative tilework. The most characteristic feature of Timurid imperial buildings is their massive scale, emphasized by huge entrance portals and thick minarets covered in tile decoration. Internally the buildings are slightly less well organized and they often have a large variety of smaller rooms whose relationship to the overall plan is not always evident. The most famous of the Timurid monuments are the<a href="https://archnet.org/admin/sites/3057/edit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> shrine of Ahmed Yasavi</a> at Turkestan (Yasi) in Khazakstan and the <a href="https://archnet.org/sites/2464" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Masjid Jami' at Samarkand</a>. The monuments are quite similar in their scale and conception with huge portal iwans behind which rise characteristic melon-shaped domes on high collars or drums. The Ahmed Yasavi tomb was built by Timur for his son Jahangir whilst the Masjid Jami' at Samarkand was built to commemorate the Timurid capture of Delhi. Other monumental projects carried out by Timur include the mausoleums at Shahrisbaz (his first capital) for his father Taraghay and the <a href="https://archnet.org/sites/2127" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gur-i-Amir</a> for his son Muhammad Sultan at Samarkand. In addition, Timur undertook massive civil engineering projects including building the towns of Baylaqan, Shahrukhiya and Iryah, the citadels and walls of Ghazui, <a href="https://archnet.org/sites/5581" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Balkh</a> and Samarkand. The later Timurid buildings of Herat in Afghanistan mirror those of the early Timurid Empire, although many were destroyed in the nineteenth century. One of the most celebrated buildings in Herat was <a href="https://archnet.org/sites/3935" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the mosque</a> and <a href="https://archnet.org/sites/5415" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">madrassa</a> built by the architect Qavam al-Din for the wife of Shah Rukh. Little is left of the complex except for two minarets at diagonally opposite corners of the mosque and a minaret and iwan from the madrassa. Source: Petersen, Andrew.&nbsp;<a href="https://archnet.org/collections/126" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dictionary of Islamic Architecture</a>. London and New York: Routledge, 1999. Additional Resources: Golombek, Lisa, and Maria Subtelny, eds. 1992.&nbsp;<a href="https://archnet.org/publications/4430" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Timurid Art and Culture: Iran and Central Asia in the Fifteenth Century</a>. Leiden: E.J. Brill. Thackston, W. M., sel. and trans.&nbsp;<a href="https://archnet.org/publications/5428" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Century of Princes: Sources on Timurid History and Art</a>. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, 1989. Golombek, Lisa. 1993. "<a href="https://archnet.org/publications/4319" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Paysage as Funerary Imagery in the Timurid Period</a>". In Muqarnas X: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture. Margaret B. Sevcenko, ed. Leiden: E.J. Brill. Subtelny, Maria Eva. 1997. "<a href="https://archnet.org/publications/4277" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Agriculture and the Timurid Chahargagh: The Evidence from a Medieval Persian Agricultural Manual</a>." In&nbsp;<a href="https://archnet.org/publications/4275" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gardens in the Time of the Great Muslim Empires: Theory and Design,</a> edited by Attilio Petruccioli, 110-128. Leiden; New York: E.J. Brill. <a href="https://archnet.org/publications/14025" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Timurid Architecture Research Archive - Finding Aid</a>. <a href="https://archnet.org/collections/1342" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT.</a> Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2020. Necipoglu, Gulru and David Roxburgh. “<a href="https://archnet.org/publications/13238" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Timurid Cities in Iran and Central Asi</a>a.” Lesson 12/22 presentation developed for the <a href="https://archnet.org/collections/1428" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Trust for Culture Education Programme</a>, 2019.

Timeline: Timurid {1370-1506}

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IAA708614

Resources for teaching about the built environment of Muslim societies at the primary and secondary levels.

Pedagogy: K-12

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IAA706309

This collection contains video of the presentations given during Grassroots Initiatives in Cultural Heritage Preservation, an International Symposium organized by the MIT's <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/1342" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Documentation Center </a>and the <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/50" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture</a> on Saturday, October 18th, 2025. Presentations included efforts to conserve historic sites that have been destroyed, damaged, or threatened by conflicts in Iraq, Kosovo, Libya, Palestine, Syria, and elsewhere. Below are the description and program of the event. <blockquote>Communities around the world have demonstrated extraordinary resilience in safeguarding their cultural heritage amid armed conflict and natural disasters. This symposium seeks to examine the vital contributions of individuals and non-governmental organizations in preserving cultural heritage under such conditions. Through the exploration of cross-regional case studies and shared thematic concerns, this symposium aims to illuminate the critical role grassroots initiatives play in shaping the future of heritage preservation.</blockquote><blockquote>Emphasizing community engagement and local empowerment, the program foregrounds the importance of centering local voices in the design and implementation of preservation strategies. Presentations will cover a diverse array of regions and efforts, including Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, and Kosovo.</blockquote><blockquote>This one-day symposium will feature three presentation panels followed by a roundtable discussion focused on lessons learned and practical recommendations emerging from the case studies. The discussion aims to contextualize a framework of support for locally driven and sustainable approaches to cultural heritage preservation. Simultaneously, it will offer reflections for the international community on how to engage meaningfully in heritage protection—without reinforcing power asymmetries or diminishing the agency of those to whom this heritage belongs.</blockquote>.......................................................... Program and Speakers9:00 - 9:10 Opening remarks from AKDC and MIT Libraries&nbsp;<ul><li>Émilie Songolo, Head of Distinctive Collections, MIT Libraries&nbsp;</li><li><a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/10259" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rami Alafandi</a>, Collections Curator, Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT Libraries&nbsp;</li></ul> 09:10 - 10:10 Session 1: Community Agency in Times of Crisis and ConflictModerator: <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/6971" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matt Saba</a>, Program Head, Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT Libraries&nbsp;<ul><li><a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2962?media_content_id=713577" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Preserving Aleppo’s Memory: The Role of Social Media and Community Archiving</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/11900" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kristin Parker</a>, Lead Curator of the Arts, Boston Public Library</li><li><a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2962?media_content_id=713580" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Culture at the Core of Recovery: Insights into the Community Role in Preserving Aleppo’s Cultural Heritage</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/11901" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ruba Tamim Kasmo</a>, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design, and Architecture, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif University, Istanbul (Online)</li></ul> 10:10 - 10:40&nbsp;Coffee Break 10:40 - 12:00 Session 2: Regional and Institutional Practices in Heritage EngagementModerator: <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/2691" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Michael Toler</a>, Archnet Digital Librarian, Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT Libraries&nbsp;<ul><li><a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2962?media_content_id=713573" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Academic Contribution to Cultural Heritage Preservation in Kosovo</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/11907" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Florina Jerliu</a>, Faculty of Architecture, University of Prishtina, Kosovo</li><li><a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2962?media_content_id=713576" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">From Conflict to Conservation: The MaLiCH Project’s Approach to Protecting Libya’s Heritage</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/11904" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hiba Alkhalaf</a>, Research Associate, Department of Classics, King’s College London (Online)</li></ul> 12:00 - 01:00 Lunch break 1:00 - 2:00 Exhibition visit: Ink, Stone, and Silver Light: A Century of Cultural Heritage Preservation in Aleppo, Maihaugen Gallery (MIT, Room 14N-130) 2:00 - 3:20 Session 3: Reflections on Heritage, Identity, and MemoryModerator: Rami Alafandi, Collections Curator, Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT Libraries&nbsp;<ul><li><a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2962?media_content_id=713581" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RIWAQ’s Role in the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Palestine</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/11902" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shatha Safi</a>, Director of RIWAQ, and <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/11903" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hiba Omari</a>, Development Officer of RIWAQ</li><li><a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2962?media_content_id=713578" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cultural Heritage and Change in Iraq</a>, <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/11906" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mehiyar Kathem</a>, Director, Liwan for Culture and Development&nbsp;</li><li>A Quest for Beauty Amongst Rubbles, Suha Hasan, Program Head of Climate Cartographies at the AA School of Architecture</li></ul> 3:20 - 3:40 Coffee Break 3:40 - 4:40 Discussion PanelModerator: <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/1278" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nasser Rabbat</a>, Professor and Director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, MIT<ul><li><a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/8939" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stephennie Mulder</a>, Associate Professor, Art History, UT Austin</li><li><a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/10114" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nada Al Hassan</a>, Cultural heritage expert (Online)</li></ul> Closing remarks: Rami Alafandi&nbsp;.................................................................................. Symposium Academic Committee&nbsp;<ul><li>Dr. Nasser Rabbat,&nbsp;Professor and Director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT</li><li>Dr. Ruba Kasmo, Associate Professor, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakif Üniversitesi, Istanbul&nbsp;</li><li>Dr. Rami Alafandi, Collections Curator, Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT</li></ul> Symposium Organizing Committee&nbsp;<ul><li>Dr. Matt Saba, Program Head, Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT</li><li>Dr. Rami Alafandi, Collections Curator, Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT</li><li>Dr. Michael Toler, Archnet Digital Librarian, Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT</li><li>Aya Fujita Ross, Administrative Assistant, MIT Libraries</li></ul>

Grassroots Initiatives in Cultural Heritage Preservation

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The Trust’s Historic Cities Programme (AKHCP) has been active in Syria since 1999, when the Government requested it to restore three historically important citadels: Aleppo, Masyaf, and Salah al-Din.&nbsp;In 2008, with a view to managing these projects, AKTC established a local subsidiary, Aga Khan Cultural Services-Syria (AKCS-S). Right from the beginnings of the Citadel restoration projects, AKCS-S gradually expanded the scope of its conservation work to include several contextual dimensions of the three sites. In 2016 the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums and the Syria Trust for Development, reached out to AKCS-S to assist in the rehabilitation of other cultural sites in the country, notably some of those that had been most severely damaged during the thirteen years of conflict.&nbsp; In 2017, AKTC initiated a comprehensive rehabilitation programme for the Central Souk of Aleppo, the largest medieval souk in the Middle East, which was extensively damaged during the Syrian conflict. The programme was&nbsp;the first major conservation and reuse project of its scale in post-conflict Aleppo; it was not only about physical restoration but also about reviving the city’s economic and social life, designed to serve as a catalyst for capacity-building and ongoing urban regeneration, supporting livelihoods, and community cohesion. Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture

Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme in Syria: Restoration Projects 

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Syria

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The Aga Khan Visual Archive (AKVA) is a collection of the&nbsp;<a href="https://libraries.mit.edu/akdc/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Documentation Center</a>, MIT Libraries (AKDC@MIT), that consists of over 120,000 slides and digital images of architecture, urbanism, and the built environment of Muslim societies, donated by students and scholars, affiliated with the&nbsp;<a href="http://akpia.mit.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture</a>&nbsp;at MIT, as well as academics, scholars, cultural institutions, and architects from around the world. The images date from the 1970s through the present, and document historic and contemporary sites in the Islamic world, many of which are not documented elsewhere or have changed significantly since their documentation, either through restoration, renovation, or even destruction. The collection began with the foundation of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT and Harvard, and the concurrent establishment of a documentation center to support the research and teaching of its faculty and students. Students who received&nbsp;<a href="http://akpia.mit.edu/travel-grants" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">travel fellowships</a>&nbsp;from the Aga Khan Program to conduct research agreed to duplicate their slides and donate the duplicate copies to the documentation center. Professors and visiting scholars also donated slides of monuments they had taken. The librarians of the documentation center also occasionally purchased sets of slides to supplement the scope of the material. The slides served as illustrations for lectures, books, and other educational materials produced by AKDC@MIT, and formed the seed collection for the Archnet Digital Library, the predecessor to the current version of Archnet that was established in its first form in the late 1990s. Note that only a small representation of the AKVA's contents are currently cataloged on Archnet. In addition to this collection, further selections from the archive can be found at on <a href="https://dome.mit.edu/handle/1721.3/45936" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DOME, the online interface</a> for the digital collections of the MIT Libraries. A complete list of the boxes in this collection, some of which is still awaiting digitization, can be found on <a href="https://archivesspace.mit.edu/repositories/5/archival_objects/354501" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MIT ArchivesSpace</a>. AKDC staff are currently working to digitize and catalog more material from this collection. As is the case for all images on Archnet, material from the Aga Khan Visual Archive is freely available for research or educational use. Copyright varies, so for information about reproduction for publication, please contact the Aga Khan Documentation Center at <a href="mailto:akdc@mit.edu" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">akdc@mit.edu</a>. &nbsp;

Aga Khan Visual Archive

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IAA708580

Dramatically photographed in black and white by Belgian photographer <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/3203" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sebastian Schutyser</a> between 1998 and 2002, these stark images present the mosque as&nbsp;object. The collection gathers some of the finest adobe mosques of the Niger&nbsp;Inner Delta. Sebastian Schutyser tried to photograph every one of these mosques&nbsp;as an individual structure, with a character of its own, using the shadows and contrasts of the black-and-white image to highlight the contours and form of each structure. This uniform approach stresses&nbsp;the great variety of design styles and the uniqueness of each mosque. Africa has&nbsp;always known an oral tradition in literature. This rich tradition is in peril,&nbsp;as modernity drives the younger generations away from the elderly. Fortunately,&nbsp;African authors such as <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/11953" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hampate Ba</a> (Mali) started recording the legends and&nbsp;history of their people. From him comes the saying that "... every time an old man dies&nbsp;in Africa, a library burns down". Adobe is the architectural equivalent of this oral tradition.&nbsp;This living architecture is vulnerable because it is made of "soft"&nbsp;material. With this black-and-white collection, the photographer tries to&nbsp;record the poetic force of these mosques and to preserve their image for future&nbsp;generations.

Mud Mosques of Mali: The Black and White Prints

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IAA706255

As a photography student, traveling by bicycle for several months in 1996 and 1997 through the inlands of Mali, the beauty of small adobe mosques in remote villages astonished me as they revealed themselves as the living tissue of an age-old architecture.&nbsp;Back in Europe, I found that this vernacular architecture is largely un-documented. Although the highlights of this 'Sudanese' style are cherished by cultural actors such as UNESCO as well as by international book editors and documentary makers, no one seems to bother about unnamed village mosques. Not even tourists, who simply step over them en route to 'discovering' Djenne and Timbuktu.&nbsp;So I decided to make an extensive photographic survey of the mosques of the Niger Inner Delta. With 515 mosques photographed, this collection shows a representative image of the adobe mosques of the Niger Inner Delta. Advancing modernity, and a lack of appreciation for this 'archaic' approach to building, are serious threats to the continuity of this living architecture.<div> Sebastian Schutyser, photographer</div>

Mud Mosques of Mali

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IAA706252

As a photography student, traveling by bicycle for several months in 1996 and 1997 through the inlands of Mali, the beauty of small adobe mosques in remote villages astonished Sebastian Schutyser In 2002 he went back to&nbsp;make an extensive photographic survey of the&nbsp;<a href="http://archnet.org/collections/13" target="_blank">mosques of Niger's Inner Delta</a>.&nbsp;During this trip, Schutyser also photographed the people of Mali, which we are pleased to share with you.

A Journey to Mali

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IAA706311

Aga Khan Award for Architecture announces its Steering Committee for 2025 Award Geneva, Switzerland, 18 October 2023 – The <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/848" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Award for Architecture</a> has announced the members of its Steering Committee for the 2023-2025 cycle. The Steering Committee governs the Award and is chaired by<a href="https://admin.archnet.org/admin/authorities/11635" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan V.</a>Newly appointed members of the Steering Committee are:&nbsp; •<a href="https://archnet.org/authorities/8861" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">	Meisa Batayneh</a>, Principal Architect, Founder, maisam architects and engineers, Amman, Jordan.&nbsp;•	<a href="https://archnet.org/authorities/10128" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Souleymane Bachir Diagne</a>, Professor in the departments of French and Philosophy, Columbia University, New York, USA•	<a href="https://archnet.org/authorities/10915" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lesley Lokko</a>, Founder &amp; Director, African Futures Institute, Accra, Ghana•	<a href="https://admin.archnet.org/admin/authorities/1279" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gülru Necipoğlu</a>, Director and Professor, Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA•	<a href="https://archnet.org/authorities/1475" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hashim Sarkis</a>, Dean, School of Architecture and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA•	<a href="https://archnet.org/authorities/10129" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sarah M. Whiting</a>, Dean, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA A new committee is constituted each cycle to establish the eligibility criteria for project submissions, provide thematic direction in response to emerging priorities and issues, and to develop plans for the future of the Award. One of its most important tasks is to select an independent Master Jury which, in turn, selects award recipients from projects nominated.&nbsp; “The Award has been most effective when at the forefront of identifying key issues facing the built environment and selecting relevant projects to address these concerns,” said Princess Zahra Aga Khan, at the Steering Committee’s inaugural meeting. “The challenges of climate change and environmental degradation are today intertwined with geo-political shifts, migration, natural disasters, and rapid urbanisation. I would, therefore, urge members of the Steering Committee to emphasise in this cycle, infrastructure, climate change as well as the important role of civil society actors in shaping how we live, work and play.” Established in 1977, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture is given every three years to projects that set new standards of excellence in architecture, planning practices, historic preservation and landscape architecture. The Award seeks projects that represent the broadest possible range of architectural interventions, with attention given to building schemes that use local resources and appropriate technology in innovative ways, and those that are likely to inspire similar efforts elsewhere. Projects can be anywhere in the world but must successfully address the needs and aspirations of societies in which Muslims have a significant presence.&nbsp; The Aga Khan Award for Architecture has completed <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/663" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">15 cycles</a> of activity since 1977 and has documented over 9,000 building projects throughout the world. It has a prize fund of US$ 1,000,000. Winners who shared this prize during the last cycle in 2022, included: <a href="https://www.archnet.org/sites/20941" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Urban River Spaces</a> and <a href="https://www.archnet.org/sites/20938" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Community Spaces in Rohingya Refugee Response</a> (Bangladesh); <a href="https://www.archnet.org/sites/20935" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Banyuwangi International Airport </a>(Indonesia); <a href="https://www.archnet.org/sites/20937" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Argo Contemporary Art Museum</a> (Iran); the <a href="https://www.archnet.org/sites/20949" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">renovation of Niemeyer Guest House</a> (Lebanon); and <a href="https://www.archnet.org/sites/20934" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kamanar Secondary School</a> (Senegal).

Aga Khan Award for Architecture 16th Cycle:  Steering Committee

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IAA708668

In preparing my exhibition,&nbsp;Burned Books and Blasted Shrines: Cultural Heritage under Fire in Kosovo,&nbsp;I took my little packet of burned books up to the paper conservators at the Straus Center for Conservation, on the top floor of Harvard's Fogg Art Museum. I&nbsp;watched as the conservator picked out these small bits of charcoal -- the carbonized fragments of manuscripts and old books. They were hard and black, some had shiny surfaces that reflected the afternoon sunlight. Looking closely, one could distinguish: smooth, blackened fragments of leather bindings; loose fibers or carbonized pieces of woven cloth from the inside of the spines of books; chunks of charcoal in which one could still see the fused layers of pages; still smaller fragments of burned paper; black charcoal dust. One larger piece, softer and grayish in color, not completely turned to carbon, was still recognizable as a book: the remains of a spine, or perhaps the fore-edge of a volume, less than an inch wide and perhaps 2-3 inches long, with the curled edges of charred pages still visible on the narrow ends. It had come from the burned-out interior of a 15th-century mosque in Pec. In my office, I keep a copy of a poem, an elegy for the burned Sarajevo library by a Bosnian poet, which talks about the removal of tons of such clinkers from the ruins of Bosnia's burned out National Library. In Prishtina the National Library still stands, but an estimated half of all the books in public libraries in Kosovo -- nearly a million books -- were destroyed in 1998-99.&nbsp;It brings home the vulnerability of the human knowledge that institutions such as universities and libraries are established to cultivate and preserve. We like to believe that we can be keepers of the records of civilization and we do our best to preserve them from fires and floods and other natural calamities. But what can one do to keep books and human beings safe from those who would destroy them?Andras Riedlmayer, Harvard University

Kosovo Cultural Heritage

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IAA706259

This collection features digitized materials from the <a href="https://archivesspace.mit.edu/repositories/5/resources/1227" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="">Timurid Architecture Research Archive</a>, a collection of the <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/1342" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="">Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT</a>. The archive contains documentation of various architectural monuments dating to the <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/2377" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Timurid Period</a> that was created or collected by Dr. <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/2930" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="">Lisa Golombek</a>, Curator Emerita of Islamic art at the Royal Ontario Museum, and <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/11864" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Donald Wilber</a> (1907-1997), a scholar of Islamic architectural history who also served as a United States intelligence officer during the 1950s-60s. The materials in this archive include field notes, architectural drawings, and photographs, most created by Golombek during field research for her dissertation. Many of these photographs and drawings appear in&nbsp;The Timurid Architecture of Iran and Turan1, a 1989 survey of Timurid architecture published by Golombek and Wilber that remains a foundational reference work in the field. The majority of this archive is not digitized or available online. A complete finding aid of the archive's contents is available via the MIT Libraries' ArchivesSpace. To request access to materials in person or through a virtual consultation, please follow the instructions found on the website of MIT Libraries' <a href="https://libraries.mit.edu/distinctive-collections/," rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Department of Distinctive Collections</a>. Contact <a href="mailto:akdc@mit.edu" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">akdc@mit.edu</a> with further questions. 1 Lisa Golombek and Donald Newton Wilber, The Timurid Architecture of Iran and Turan, Princeton Monographs in Art and Archaeology 46 (Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1988) ISBN: 0691035873, 9780691035871.

Timurid Architecture Research Archive

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black-and-while photograph

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<a href="https://archnet.org/authorities/2930" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lisa Golombek</a>&nbsp;is a prolific scholar of Islamic art and architecture and Curator Emerita at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, where she served as curator for 37 years from 1967 until her retirement in 2005. She is also Professor Emerita at the University of Toronto. Dr. Golombek has published five books and dozens of&nbsp;academic articles on a variety of topics in the field, from textiles to ceramics to monumental architecture. She is perhaps best known for her work on the art and architecture of the greater Iranian world: her book The Timurid Architecture of Iran and Turan&nbsp;(Princeton, 1988), co-authored with <a href="https://www.archnet.org/authorities/11864" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Donald Wilber</a>, is considered the standard reference work for that architectural tradition.In 2017, Dr. Golombek donated the <a href="https://archivesspace.mit.edu/repositories/5/archival_objects/293932" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slide collection</a> for teaching and research to the <a href="https://www.archnet.org/collections/1342" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Documentation Center at MIT</a>.&nbsp;The collection comprises hundreds of slides of monuments and artworks spanning the breadth of the Islamic world.&nbsp;Please note that this collection is under development and the digitization of Dr. Golombek's slides is an ongoing process. If you need specific images from this collection, please contact&nbsp;<a href="http://mailto:akdc@mit.edu" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AKDC</a>&nbsp;directly.&nbsp;

Lisa Golombek Archive

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