The Art of Orientation: An Exploration of the Mosque Through Objects

The Art of Orientation celebrates the origins, meanings, and functions of the mosque throughout the world using a careful selection of one hundred and twenty-five artifacts—including intricately designed pulpits, prayer rugs, lamps, and manuscripts. Tracing the evolution of the mosque from the Prophet’s humble mud-brick structure in Medina to the imposing stone assemblies of Cairo and Istanbul, an interdisciplinary group of leading Arab and international authors present a personal, insightful, and accessible survey of Islamic masterpieces past and present.