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The Great Mosque was first built by the Umayyads in the 8th century CE and was modelled on the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. It was almost completely destroyed in 1982 during the Sunni muslim uprising in Hama.<br/><br/> Hama is the location of the historical city of Hamath. In 1982 it was the scene of the worst massacre in modern Arab history. President Hafaz al-Assad ordered his brother Rifaat al-Assad to quell a Sunni Islamist revolt in the city. An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 people were massacred.
The Great Mosque was first built by the Umayyads in the 8th century CE and was modelled on the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. It was almost completely destroyed in 1982 during the Sunni muslim uprising in Hama.<br/><br/> Hama is the location of the historical city of Hamath. In 1982 it was the scene of the worst massacre in modern Arab history. President Hafaz al-Assad ordered his brother Rifaat al-Assad to quell a Sunni Islamist revolt in the city. An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 people were massacred.
The Great Mosque was first built by the Umayyads in the 8th century CE and was modelled on the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. It was almost completely destroyed in 1982 during the Sunni muslim uprising in Hama.<br/><br/> Hama is the location of the historical city of Hamath. In 1982 it was the scene of the worst massacre in modern Arab history. President Hafaz al-Assad ordered his brother Rifaat al-Assad to quell a Sunni Islamist revolt in the city. An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 people were massacred.
The Citadel of Aleppo is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the Citadel hill dates back at least to the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE. Subsequently occupied by many civilizations including the Greeks, Byzantines, Ayyubids and Mamelukes, the majority of the construction as it stands today is thought to originate from the Ayyubid period.<br/><br/> Aleppo, the second city of Syria and quite possibly the longest continually inhabited settlement in the world, is of venerable age. So old, indeed, that its Arabic name, Halab, is first mentioned in Semitic texts of the third millennium BCE. Situated in the north-west of the country, just a few kilometres from the Turkish frontier, Aleppo is located at the confluence of several great trade routes and, as a city of commerce, has always been rich.
The Citadel of Aleppo is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the Citadel hill dates back at least to the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE. Subsequently occupied by many civilizations including the Greeks, Byzantines, Ayyubids and Mamelukes, the majority of the construction as it stands today is thought to originate from the Ayyubid period.<br/><br/> Aleppo, the second city of Syria and quite possibly the longest continually inhabited settlement in the world, is of venerable age. So old, indeed, that its Arabic name, Halab, is first mentioned in Semitic texts of the third millennium BCE. Situated in the north-west of the country, just a few kilometres from the Turkish frontier, Aleppo is located at the confluence of several great trade routes and, as a city of commerce, has always been rich.
The Great Mosque was first built by the Umayyads in the 8th century CE and was modelled on the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. It was almost completely destroyed in 1982 during the Sunni muslim uprising in Hama.<br/><br/> Hama is the location of the historical city of Hamath. In 1982 it was the scene of the worst massacre in modern Arab history. President Hafaz al-Assad ordered his brother Rifaat al-Assad to quell a Sunni Islamist revolt in the city. An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 people were massacred.
The Citadel of Aleppo is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the Citadel hill dates back at least to the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE. Subsequently occupied by many civilizations including the Greeks, Byzantines, Ayyubids and Mamelukes, the majority of the construction as it stands today is thought to originate from the Ayyubid period.<br/><br/> Aleppo, the second city of Syria and quite possibly the longest continually inhabited settlement in the world, is of venerable age. So old, indeed, that its Arabic name, Halab, is first mentioned in Semitic texts of the third millennium BCE. Situated in the north-west of the country, just a few kilometres from the Turkish frontier, Aleppo is located at the confluence of several great trade routes and, as a city of commerce, has always been rich.
The Throne Verse (Arabic: آية الكرسي ‎ ʾāyatu-l-kursī), or Ayatul Kursi, is 255th verse (ayah) of the second chapter (sura) Al-Baqara.<br/><br/> It is perhaps the most celebrated verse of the Qur'an and is widely memorised and displayed across the Muslim World due to its emphatic description of God's power over the entire universe.
Ox Street Mosque or Cow Street Mosque (牛街清真寺; Niu Jie Qingzhensi) was first built in 966. It was destroyed in 1215 by Genghis Khan. Reconstruction of the mosque occurred during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661 - 1722).<br/><br/> The mosque has all the usual features of mosques found elsewhere in the world – minaret, prayer hall facing Mecca, Arabic inscriptions – the buildings themselves are distinctly Chinese. It remains Beijing’s largest and oldest mosque.
The Taj Mahal was built between 1632 and 1648 by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1592 - 1666) in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.<br/><br/> The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian architecture and earlier Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including; the Gur-e Amir (the tomb of Timur, progenitor of the Mughal dynasty, in Samarkand), Humayun's Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb (sometimes called the Baby Taj), and Shah Jahan's own Jama Masjid in Delhi. While earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, and buildings under his patronage reached new levels of refinement.
The Kings of Hami were hereditary Uighur rulers who paid tribute to China. The last king of Hami, Maqsud Shah died in the mid-1930s. Nine generations of kings of Hami are buried here.<br/><br/> The ancient oasis settlement of Hami, also known in Uighur as Kumul, sits in a fault depression about 200m below sea level and, like nearby Turpan, experiences extremes of temperature ranging from a scalding 45C in summer to a freezing -30C in winter.<br/><br/> Silk Road caravans stopped in Hami for its fresh springs and water runoff brought by karez underground canals from the distant Karlik Tagh, and for its fabled fresh fruit – Hami melons are famous across China today. More importantly still, they stopped here because there simply was nowhere else to go. Hami still remains the only significant oasis in the Gashun Gobi, an essential stop on the long and difficult desert stages between Anxi and Turpan.
The Qur’an (literally “the recitation”) is the main religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur’an to be the verbal divine guidance and moral direction for mankind. Muslims also consider the original Arabic verbal text to be the final revelation of God. Muslims believe that the Qur’an was revealed from God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel from 610 to 632 CE, the year of the Prophet’s death. Muhammad recited the Qur’an to his thousands of followers, who recited it until they had memorized it. He also dictated it to his scribes (Muhammad was illiterate) who wrote down its verses during his lifetime. Shortly after Muhammad's death the Qur’an was established textually into a single book form by the order of the first Caliph Abu Bakr.
Matsuo Basho (1644 – November 28, 1694), was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Basho was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku. His poetry is internationally renowned, and within Japan many of his poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites. Basho was introduced to poetry at a young age, and after integrating himself into the intellectual scene of Edo he quickly became well-known throughout Japan. He made a living as a teacher, but renounced the social, urban life of the literary circles and was inclined to wander throughout the country, heading west, east, and far into the northern wilderness to gain inspiration for his writing. His poems were influenced by his firsthand experience of the world around him, often encapsulating the feeling of a scene in a few simple elements.
Ta'wiz or Tawiz are lockets usually containing verses from the Quran or other Islamic prayers and symbols. As a general rule it is worn with the belief that it will repel any evil intended for the wearer and will also bring him luck. As such it is intended to be an amulet. The word Ta'wiz is also used to refer to other amulets used in Islam. Hanging or wearing of amulets (Ta'wiz) is normally permissible for protection or healing provided certain conditions are met:<br/><br/> 1. That they consist of the Names and of Allah and His Attributes<br/><br/> 2. That they are in Arabic<br/><br/> 3. That they do not consist of anything that is disbelief (Kufr)<br/><br/> 4. The user does not believe the words have any affect in themselves, but are empowered by Allah, the Most High<br/><br/> Most Ta'wiz are made up of a small paper containing the prayers which is repeatedly folded and sewn inside a tiny cloth pouch, black in colour. A black thread is used to wear it as a locket. Wearing a Ta'wiz is popular in India and Pakistan. Many Muslims object to Ta'wiz as they believe that wearing a Ta'wiz is shirk (idolatry, polytheism) according to the hadith of Muhammad.
Matsuo Basho (1644 – November 28, 1694), was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Basho was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku. His poetry is internationally renowned, and within Japan many of his poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites. Basho was introduced to poetry at a young age, and after integrating himself into the intellectual scene of Edo he quickly became well-known throughout Japan. He made a living as a teacher, but renounced the social, urban life of the literary circles and was inclined to wander throughout the country, heading west, east, and far into the northern wilderness to gain inspiration for his writing. His poems were influenced by his firsthand experience of the world around him, often encapsulating the feeling of a scene in a few simple elements.