The Mesopotamian Heritage of Islamic Architecture

This film follows a path from the five-thousand-year-old Sumerian architecture, the temple tower of Ur and its construction, the tower of Aqaquf, the Marsh Arabs and their reed culture, the ruin-field and culture of Babylon, to the Assyrian Nineveh and the architecture of Nimrud. We seek for common features and lines of development to give us some idea of the tradition and influence of those times on Islamic architecture, which has itself had a substantial influence on western architecture, either directly or through Spain, Italy and the Crusades. We visit the cinema city of Habaniya - the `Hollywood' of Iraq - where colorful scenes of an Assyrian town have been reconstructed. We call at Hatra to see the architectural integration of two cultures and admire the work of the constructors of the huge arch and temple of Ctesiphon near Baghdad, clearly influenced by Greek culture. The age of the arch is not known. Among numerous other monuments, we visit the Wasit Gate in the middle of the desert in the southern part of Iraq, a relic of a large mosque surrounded by a so far uncovered town. It may originate from the eleventh century - its ornaments are of the same style as those at the Mustansiriya School in the center of Baghdad. Mustansiriya School has been called the oldest university in the world. The building is under restoration and it will be converted into a cultural center. Its ornaments are unique in their splendor. The mosques of Karbala and Najaf with the graves of Caliphs Ali and Hussein are the most impressive in the world, and there are several different types of mosques, originating from different eras and used by different sects, at Mosul in northern Iraq. Tradition is still alive in the mosque architecture of our times, and modern Islamic architecture flourishes and gains inspiration from these traditions.

© 1998-2008 The Roland Collection & Pira Intl.