Turkish Stained Glass Window
For some reason, I was especially intrigued by the beautiful stained glass windows in Turkish mosques. Many Westerners never really see pictures of Islamic stained glass windows, so I thought I would put one up to let our viewers contemplate an art form that they may not associate with Islam.
Most of the windows in the major mosques were quite high and difficult to photograph, but I got this shot in the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque in Edirnekapı near the city wall. If you are wondering why mosque decorations, stained glass, and Islamic arts in general do not usually depict any people or animals, Wikipedia has a decent article on aniconism in Islam. That may seem a bit too esoteric at first, but it really helps shed light on the heat behind the Muhammed cartoon controversies, which many Westerners find quite hard to understand.
Living in a Muslim country myself, I have never taken any picture of the Islamic stained glass. In fact, there are more Dutch stained glass dating back to the colonial time than the Islamic one in Indonesia as I recall. Beautiful shot!
Thanks, Bama. There are many stained glass windows in Turkey and many of them are really beautiful. We’re heading to Andalusia soon and I am hoping to get more shots of Islamic stained glass there as well. (I’m a collector at heart: city walls, minarets, stain glass windows, Gothic cathedrals… the list goes on.)
Good
Hello Tony and Thomas: Thank you for this photo. I’ve spent allot of time attemping to discern its construction. I work with stained glass as well. I’m interested to know its size and Mosque. Any additional info you may share is very much appreciated. Safe traveling!
I am from india. Can i get the design file of stained glass windows