This weekend marks the time of
the Hajj, a core pillar of Islam in which
great tides of humanity venture to the ancient city of Mecca to honor God.
Predating Mohammed's birth by centuries, the pilgrimage comprises
several days of rites, from congregation like snow on
Mount Arafat and the ritual
stoning of Shaitan to the circling of the sacred
Kaaba (the
shrouded cubical monolith Muslims
pray toward daily) and kissing the
Black Stone (colored by the absorption of myriad sins, and believed by some to be a
fallen meteorite).
While the city has
modernized to handle this largest of annual gatherings -- building highway-scale ramps,
gaudy skyscrapers for the ultra-rich, and
tent cities the size of Seattle -- it remains mysterious, as unbelievers are
forbidden from entering its borders.
Richard Francis Burton became famous for
touring the city in disguise to write
a rare travelogue, but contemporary viewers have a more immediate guide:
Vice Magazine journalist Suroosh Alvi, who smuggled a minicam into the city to record
The Mecca Diaries [alt], a 14-minute documentary of his own Hajj journey.
Browse the manual to see what goes into a Hajj trip, or
watch the YouTube livestream to see the Grand Mosque crowds in real time.
posted by Rhaomi
on Nov 4, 2011 -
31 comments
Come, take a
ride and
look at some of the
Islamic Art of the past. Or, you could call it
Art of the
Islamic World if you're so inclined. If not, then how about taking into account some of the
major milestones of
Islam throughout the
centuries, from
past till
present (
more examples here), including the
art of
Calligraphy and
Architecture. Not to mention the
Arab world's contribution to
music, both
old and
new. [
Previously mentioned,
here,
here,
here, and
here, with a
wonderful comment from
nickyskye as usual]
posted by hadjiboy
on May 29, 2008 -
28 comments
"This is a story of how the impossible became possible. How, for centuries, scientists were absolutely sure that solids (as well as decorative patterns like tiling and quilts) could only have certain symmetries - such as square, hexagonal and triangular - and that most symmetries, including five-fold symmetry in the plane and icosahedral symmetry in three dimensions (the symmetry of a soccer ball), were strictly forbidden. Then, about twenty years ago, a new kind of pattern, known as a "quasicrystal," was envisaged that shatters the symmetry restrictions and allows for an infinite number of new patterns and structures that had never been seen before, suggesting a whole new class of materials...."
Physicist Paul J. Steinhardt
delivers a fascinating lecture (WMV) on
tilings and
quasicrystals. However, it turns out science was beaten to the punch: a recent
paper (PDF)
suggests Islamic architecture developed similar tilings centuries earlier.
posted by parudox
on Mar 18, 2007 -
11 comments
Esfahan is home to the
Blue Mosque and other buildings with their unique
blue tiles which are beautifully shown in
photographs
by flickr's
horizon.
Esfahan is a world heritage site and is home to many examples of traditional Persian Architecture which is made up of
eight traditional forms which taken together form the foundation on which it was based in the same way that
music
was once based on a finite number of notes.
posted by adamvasco
on Aug 10, 2006 -
19 comments
Sacred Commerce? Funny, I walked daily to work past the World Trade Center, and have been in the Middle East more than once, but it never occured to me to connect the WTC with Islamic architecture until I read this.
posted by MidasMulligan
on Dec 31, 2001 -
1 comment
