Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or other objects such as tabletops. Alternatively, tile can sometimes refer to similar units made from lightweight materials such as perlite, wood, and mineral wool, typically used for wall and ceiling applications. In another sense, a tile is a construction tile or similar object, such as rectangular counters used in playing games. The word is derived from the French word tuile, which is, in turn, from the Latin word tegula, meaning a roof tile composed of fired clay.
The Faisal Mosque is the national mosque of Pakistan, located in the capital city, Islamabad. It is the fifth-largest mosque in the world and the largest within South Asia, located on the foothills of Margalla Hills in Islamabad. It is named after the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. The mosque features a contemporary design consisting of eight sides of concrete shell and is inspired by the design of a typical Bedouin tent.
The Wazir Khan Mosque is a 17th-century mosque located in the city of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The mosque was commissioned during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings that also included the nearby Shahi Hammam baths. Construction of Wazir Khan Mosque began in 1634 C.E., and was completed in 1641. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.
The Hassan II Mosque is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the 14th largest in the world. Its minaret is the world's second tallest minaret at 210 metres (689 ft). Completed in 1993, it was designed by Michel Pinseau under the guidance of King Hassan II and built by Moroccan artisans from all over the kingdom. The minaret is 60 stories high topped by a laser, the light from which is directed towards Mecca. The mosque stands on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic Ocean; worshippers can pray over the sea but there is no glass floor looking into the sea. The walls are of hand-crafted marble and the roof is retractable. A maximum of 105,000 worshippers can gather together for prayer: 25,000 inside the mosque hall and another 80,000 on the mosque's outside ground.
Goharshad Mosque is a grand congregational mosque built during the Timurid period in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran, which now serves as one of the prayer halls within the Imam Reza shrine complex.
Qashani or Kashani is a Persian decorative arts which had been popular in Iran in the 16th to 18th century, and then moved to Turkey in the time of the Ottomans with the transfer of many Persians artists to Turkey, becoming the basis for decorating the walls of mosques, palaces, shrines and tombs. It is a square-shaped ceramic tile which uses Persian-like floral-depicting 4- or 6-sided glazed tiles, decorated with blue, cyan, green and sometimes red colors. The decoration is surrounded by fine black lines that make it stand out on its white floor. The tile work had often been decorated by the inscription, floral and geometrical patterns. The inscription often provides Qur'anic verses or sentences related to historical events written in Persian script. The plant often consists of natural flowers such as lily, cloves, roses and cypress trees. Geometrical patterns consists of different geometrical shapes and polygons. In Morocco, similar artistic technique is known as zillij. Its use has been widespread in the decoration of the walls of the buildings in the Ottoman era, and this mosaical feature can also be seen in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Kashi, the abbreviated form of Qashani, was also introduced to Sindh, Kutch, and Multan where numerous examples of shrines and mosques embellished with blue, white and green tile work exist.
Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced by and for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence in Sindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establishment of Delhi as the capital of the Ghurid dynasty in 1193. Succeeding the Ghurids was the Delhi Sultanate, a series of Central Asian dynasties that consolidated much of North India, and later the Mughal Empire by the 15th century. Both of these dynasties introduced Islamic architecture and art styles from West Asia into the Indian subcontinent.
Thatta District is located in the southern area, locally called Laar, of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its capital is Thatta. It is home to a large necropolis of Makli. In 2013, several talukas were separated to form the new Sujawal District.
Star Mosque, is a mosque located in Armanitola area, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The mosque has ornate designs and is decorated with motifs of blue stars. It was built in the first half of the 19th century by Mirza Golam Pir.
Makli Necropolis is one of the largest funerary sites in the world, spread over an area of 10 kilometres near the city of Thatta, in the Pakistani province of Sindh. The site houses approximately 500,000 to 1 million tombs built over the course of a 400-year period. Makli Necropolis features several large funerary monuments belonging to royalty, various Sufi saints, and esteemed scholars. The site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 as an "outstanding testament" to Sindhi civilization between the 14th and 18th centuries.
The Mahabat Khan Mosque, sometimes spelt Mohabbat Khan Mosque, is a 17th-century Mughal-era mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan. The mosque was built in 1630, and named after the Mughal governor of Peshawar, Nawab Mohabat Khan Kamboh, father of Nawab Khairandesh Khan Kamboh. The mosque's white marble façade is considered to be one of Peshawar's most iconic sights.
The Shah Jahan Mosque, also known as the Jamia Masjid of Thatta, is a 17th-century building that serves as the central mosque for the city of Thatta, in the Pakistani province of Sindh. The mosque is considered to have the most elaborate display of tile work in South Asia, and is also notable for its geometric brick work - a decorative element that is unusual for Mughal-period mosques. It was built during the reign of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who bestowed it to the city as a token of gratitude, and is heavily influenced by Central Asian architecture - a reflection of Shah Jahan's campaigns near Samarkand shortly before the mosque was designed.
The Lucknow School of Architecture was an experiment by the resurgent Nawabs of Awadh. It was an attempt to preserve the Mughal school of architecture by experimenting with different materials and innovating new concepts.
Pakistani architecture is intertwined with the architecture of the broader Indian subcontinent. The major architectural styles popular in the past were Temple, Indo-Islamic, Mughal and Indo-Saracenic architecture, all of which have many regional varieties. With the beginning of the Indus civilization around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, for the first time in the area which encompasses today's Pakistan an advanced urban culture developed with large structural facilities, some of which survive to this day. This was followed by the Gandhara style of Buddhist architecture that borrowed elements from Ancient Greece. These remnants are visible in the Gandhara capital of Taxila.
The Üç Şerefeli Mosque is a 15th-century Ottoman mosque in Edirne, Turkey.
Jameh Mosque of Ashtarjan is a mosque in Ashtarjan, Iran, located 36 kilometers south-west of Isfahan.
The Badshahi Mosque is an iconic Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The mosque is located opposite of Lahore Fort in the outskirts of the Walled City and is widely considered to be one of Lahore's most iconic landmarks.
Grand Jamia Mosque Lahore is a mosque located in Bahria Town, Lahore, Pakistan. With a capacity of 70,000 worshippers, it is the third largest mosque in Pakistan and the fourteenth largest mosque in the world.
The Shrine of Mian Mir is a 17th-century shrine located in Lahore, Pakistan, that is dedicated to the Sufi mystic Mian Mir. The shrine is one of the most celebrated in Lahore, and has historically been revered by both Muslims and Sikhs.
The crafts of Sindh and its craftsmen are held in high esteem and their works are notable not only in Sindh but also in many other places.
