Abd al: Did you mean...?

Fatima Al-Fihri (c. 800-880) was a Muslim woman, scholar and philanthropist who is credited with founding the world’s oldest, continuously running university during the 9th century: the University of Al-Qarawiyyin, located in Fez in Morocco...

The camel caravans which crossed the great dunes of the Sahara desert began in antiquity but reached their golden period from the 9th century CE onwards. In their heyday caravans consisted of thousands of camels travelling from North Africa...

Glazed blue ceramic tiles or azulejos are everywhere in Portugal. They decorate the winding streets of the capital, Lisbon. They cover the walls of train stations, restaurants, bars, public murals, and fountains, churches, and altar fronts...

The sunbaked plain of the Alentejo region in central Portugal is called planicie dourada (golden plain) by the Portuguese, and it is dotted with cork oak forests, vineyards, olive groves, and hilltop towns with whitewashed houses. 'Alentejo'...

The minaret of Vabkent (or Vobkent), 1196-7 CE. Location: Town of Vabkent north of Bukhar, Uzbekistan. Patron by Abd al-Aziz II. Embellished by wide bands with high relief carving and crowned by a lantern at the top.

Mosque of the Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra) located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It was erected by the Muslim caliph Abd el-Malik in 688-691 CE but Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566 CE) was responsible for the mosque’s renovation...

The Great Mosque of Cordoba, Spain (784–1236 CE). Prayer hall of Abd al-Rahman.

These are the dinars (gold coins) inscribed in the reign of Caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813-833 CE). Notice that they consist of inscriptions only and not illustrations, as was the case with Rashidun and early Umayyad coins, the Umayyad Caliph Abd...

This limestone relief of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III (c. 1386-1353 BCE) came from the Tomb (TT57) of Khaemhat at Western Thebes (in modern-day Sheikh Abd el-Qurna), Egypt. Amenhotep III was depicted in profile, looking to the right...

A serpentinite and gold heart scarab pendant. Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, Tomb of Hatnefer and Ramose, Mummy of Hatnefer. Thebes. Egypt, 18th Dynasty, c. 1492-1473 BCE. The text inscribed on the back of the scarab calls for Hatnefer's heart not...