The Arts of the Maghreb: From Persia to North Africa

The word "Maghreb" means "the west" in Arabic. It is used for the part of North Africa lying west of Egypt, which the Arabs conquered during the wide expansion of the Islamic empire in the 7th century.

The original native people of North Africa are the "Berbers." When the new invaders arrived, the region took on a new culture and religion, which is reflected in the architecture that has survived from the past.

Of course, the Arabs themselves had taken many cultural elements from Persia in turn. So culture was passed on from Persia in the east to the Maghreb in the west, and on to Spain as well.

In this post I will talk about how the distinctive mosque architecture of each region was handed down, and how it changed in interesting ways in each context.

🕌 Persian culture counts as a "high culture": everyone wanted to adopt it. And of course the image of mosques that we know in Thailand also comes from this Persian architecture.

🕌 Persian mosques stand out for:
– Domes or onion-shaped structures
– Gabled doorway frames with pointed tops that curve down
– Tall towers called "minarets" in pairs, usually 2 or 4
– Distinctive decoration such as Muqarnas, which uses three-dimensional forms with corbels, the brackets that support each other, to decorate the entrance of a mosque
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🕌 Next came Arab Islamic culture, which took the Persian models and adapted them. Early Islamic or Arab mosques followed the plan of the Prophet Muhammad's house, that is:
– A courtyard enclosed on all sides
– A prayer hall on one side
– And an "arcade," a row of connected arches, on every side

🕌 A mosque resembling the Prophet's house is called a "hypostyle," and one appears in the "Great Mosque of Kairouan" in Tunisia, which is also in the Maghreb.

🕌 The Great Mosque of Kairouan is a large rectangular mosque with only one surviving minaret. Instead of being slender and tall, it is a large square tower, with a spot at the top for a torch, which helped travelers at night in the past.

🕌 Maghreb mosques also vary by region. The Moroccan style, for example, has these features:
– The arches are shaped like a horseshoe, and may have pointed tips or some decorative patterns
– They are often tall and large, a legacy of ancient times when rulers used the size of a city to intimidate enemies
– Another thing you can notice is that Moroccan-style mosques emphasize green and white (unlike the Persian style, which favors blue)

🕌 ...These examples reflect an architectural evolution passed from one region to another, with each region adapting it to its own needs and context...

✈️ The Wild Chronicles is pleased to announce that we are opening a tour to Morocco, a country in the Maghreb that may not yet be well known to Thai people, but is certainly right for adventurers who want to experience the wider world.

📣 If you are interested in visiting this country with The Wild Chronicles, contact us through any channel!❗️

#TWCTour #TWCMorocco