Islamic

Islamic design is centered on religion.  The Great Mosque of Damascus, converted from a Roman temple, shows how repetitive mosques are.  Sometimes architects reused the ruins, but incorporated Roman columns and capitals.  Anatolia and the regions of the Middle East were under the Ottoman Empire.  The Hagia Sophia was designed by Justinian to outshine the Pantheon.  It was later converted from a Christian temple to a mosque in the fifteenth century.  Later on, lots of churches were turned into mosques.  Today, the Hagia Sophia is now a museum that you can visit and learn about the history of it and see other exhibits inside of it.

Moorish furniture shows the combination of western forms and Islamic decoration.  A typical piece from this time period was the vargueño.  It was a chest with a stand, which also served as a desk.  It was for writing and storing things.  It has a lot of carvings and decorations on the chest.  Moorish chairs usually resemble Italian and French chairs.  They had a chair called sillón frailero.  It was a highly decorated folding chair made out of wood and leather.

Current Applications

Extra Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccfSy6-Ljlo