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I'm going to start posting photos from 20 years of travel in the Muslim world. Free for use by anyone who wants them.
actually Azhar Mosque
Great Mosque of Jenne, Mali, 1998 
Jenne dispute resolution, Jenne, Mali (1998)
Across the rooftops of Jenne, Mali (1998)
Painting on glass depicting Shaykh Ahmadou Bamba (d. 1927) being taken into exile by the French, praying miraculously on the water (from Dakar, 1978)
Trucks loaded to max, near Lake Chad, Chad (circa 2005)
Cowherders in Chad near Cameroon (circa 2005)
The massive Hasan al-Thani Mosque by the ocean in Casablanca (2005) the person visible in front of the mosque is only 1/2 across the square; the tiny dots at the base of the mosque are people too
Meknes, the old imperial capital, Morocco (2005)
Meknes, the Grand Mosque (2005)
Meknes, the courtyard floor of the Grand Mosque (2005)
Marrakesh, Bin Yousef Madrasa (2005)
Marrakesh, Bin Yousef Madrasa arch (2005)
Marrakesh, interior of the Kutubiyya Mosque, built by the austere Muwahhid (Almohad) dynasty, which disliked ornate art decor but used the geometric layout of the pillars themselves to create beauty. Both views are from just inside the door, the 2nd directly to the mihrab.
The stunning Madrasa of Salé, in Salé, the sister city of Morocco's capital, Rabat.
Dyed wood drying in Salé, Morocco (2005)
The Malay world has accomplished many things. But most salient in my mind is its utter perfection of the donut. The cities of Malaysia and Indonesia are blessed with donut shops that have brought this delight to a level undreamt of by heathen Westerners. Now I can only dream...
Mosques and the graves of saints in George Town, Penang, Malaysia (2010)
The ornate minbar (pulpit) in the Masjib Besar next to the Sultan's palace in Yogyakarta, Java (2009)
Reception hall panels, royal seal and columns in the Kraton (Sultan's Palace) in Yogyakarta, Java (2009)
sorry I didn't thread this at first
Friday prayer at the Kampung Mosque in Melaka, the oldest mosque in Malaysia, established 1728, Malaysia (2009)
Ablution pool at the Kampung Mosque, Melaka, Malaysia (2009)
Bukhara, Mausoleum of Ismail al-Samani (d. 907) (2006), one of the few surviving pre-Mongol structures in the city
Bukhara, Kalon Madrasa complex, frontal portico (ivan) (2006)
Bukhari, Kalon Madrasa complex at sunset (2006)
Bukhara, Kalon Madrasa complex (2006)
Samarqand, Shir Dur Madrasa main portico (ivan) (2006)
amarqand, Shir Dur Madrasa (2006), note dual images of the lion (looks like a tiger to me!) and the sun rising behind it... the sun and the lion being two images of kingship in the Persianate/Mongol traditions.
Here's a closer look
Samarqand, Tillya Kari Madrasa, main portico (ivan) (2006)
Samarqand, Ulug Beg Madrasa, golden corridor (2006)
Samarqand, Ulug Beg Madrasa, golden dome interior (2006)
Samarqand, tomb of Imam al-Bukhari (d. 870), the place every decent groom takes his bride for a blessing (2006)
View into the garden of a house in Bukhara, hints of the wonder within (2006)
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor or their heritage (or, BJP is fascist): Chini ka Rawza side tiling, Agra
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor or their heritage (or, BJP is fascist): decors of Jahangir palace, Agra (no double entendre intended with the Hindu symbols incorporated)
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage (or, BJP is fascist): Agra Fort, Khas Mahal decor
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage (or, BJP is fascist): Agra Fort, Khas Mahall corridor
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage (or, BJP is fascist... not hyperbole, look it up, compare to policies, plus I saw Mein Kampf for sale in trainstation bookstores... I mean new editions): I'timad al-Dawla, Agra
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage (or, BJP is technically, not hyperbolically, fascist): I'timad al-Dawla, Agra, pietra dura floor tiling
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage (or, BJP is technically, not hyperbolically, fascist... if you're ok with that, I guess the world is broad and diverse, but I don't approve): I'timad al-Dawla, Agra, pietra dura wall tiling
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage:
I'timad al-Dawla, Agra
I'timad al-Dawla, Agra
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: Taj Mahall Jawab
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: quite simply the most stunning building in the world (no photoshop)
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: quite simply the most stunning building in the world (no photoshop)
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: quite simply the most stunning building in the world (no photoshop)
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: grave of the master of his age and the jewel of an era, Shah Wali Allah (d. 1762), Delhi
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: grave of Shah Wali Allah's immensely accomplished son, Shah 'Abd al-'Aziz (d. 1825), Delhi
Taj Mahall, side view
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: Jamah Mosque, Delhi
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: celebration of the Prophet's (s) birthday at the shrine of Nizam al-Din Awliya' (d. 1325), Delhi
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: Delhi, people praying in Jamah Mosque
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: Delhi, Red Fort Khass Mahall
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: Delhi, Red Fort
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: Delhi, turret of the Red Fort
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: Deoband, Dar al-Ulum, new Rashidi Mosque
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: Deoband, Dar al-Ulum, truly an amazing place and incredible institution
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: Deoband, Dar al-Ulum, library room housing the original writings of the school's great scholars
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: Delhi, Humayun's Tomb (d. 1556)
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage: Aligarh University, Aligarh
Jaipur: Copper Chimney Restaurant, veggie kofta
Jaipur: phenomenon I noticed in that city a lot and even in villages in Rajestan: Hindu women covering their faces.
Jaipur: Mosque and Madrasas
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage & great scholars: the house of Zakariyya Kandahlawi (d. 1982), Kandhla, a few hours from Delhi
hinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their heritage & great scholars: The original Farangi Mahall in Lucknow
The new Farangi Mahall, Lucknow ... with excellent reprints of some of the writings of 'Abd al-Hayy al-Laknawi and Farang-Mahalli (d. 1887)
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their scholars: The grave of 'Abd al-Hayy al-Laknawi al-Farangi-Mahalli (d. 1887) in Lucknow, the greatest of the city's Sunni scholars in the 19th century. People still insert prayers in the lattices of his grave.
Lucknow has the best food in India... and this place is justifiably famous: Tunday Kabob. Get ready to sweat inside and out...
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their scholars: Lucknow was a major center of Shiism in north India. Here is the Imami Shiah Sultaniyya Madrasa in the city
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their scholars: Lucknow... you know its name (also, if you don't know the name, it's Nadwat al-Ulama, a major modern madrasa founded in 1906 by the likes of Muhammad Ali Mongiri (d. 1927) and Shibli Nu'mani (d.1914 )
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their scholars: Lucknow... Signpost on the campus of Nadwat al-Ulama
Nadwat al-Ulama Main mosque at evening prayer
Singapore, Sultan's Mosque
Singapore, what is this famous dish called again?
Another thing that the Malay world has mastered: iced coffee
Amazing mural in the Ammar Mosque in Wan Chai neighborhood in Hong Kong
Minbar and Mihrab of Ammar Mosque in Hong Kong
... which has its own amazing halal dim sum restaurant!
The Chinese Muslim Cultural and Fraternal Association, where, among other things, people's donations are listed in dollar amounts next to their names. Gutsy.
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their culture: Hyderabad, shopping for fruit
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their culture: Hyderabad, saint's grave near the tombs of the Qutub Shahi rulers.
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their culture: Hyderabad, traditional Yunani medicine hospital, founded 1927
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their culture: Hyderabad, man reciting Quran in the tomb of Muhammad Qutub Shah (d. circa 1624)
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their culture: Hyderabad, tombs of the Qutub Shahi sultans
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their culture: Hyderabad, tombs of the Qutub Shahi sultans
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their culture: Hyderabad, colonnade at the tombs of the Qutub Shahi sultans
Thinking of Muslims in India & in honor of their culture: Hyderabad, selling pan
Hyderabad: Qutub Shahi tomb
Hyderabad: Mecca Mosque, graves of the Nizams, titans of patronage
Hyderabad: main work office, master copies, garden of the Da'irat al-Ma'arif al-Uthmaniyya, one of the greatest centers for editing and publishing in the Muslim world
Hyderabad: two guests visiting the scholars working at the Da'irat al-Ma'arif al-'Uthmaniyya (2012)
Hyderabad: Chahar Minar market mosque ... what better way to help merchants pray than to build a mosque smack in the middle of the market
Hyderabad: Mecca Mosque... forget a hat to pray in, guys? They've got you covered!
Belgrade, the tomb of Damat Ali Pasha in the old fortress of Belgrade overlooking the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers. Several Ottoman governors of the city were buried there, and it remains one of the only Ottoman structures in the city.
Belgrade, the last of hundreds of Ottoman mosques once found in the city
Isfahan, the old Hakim Mosque and a corner tiling from the Jameh (Friday) Mosque (2004)
It's simply impossible to do justice to the artistic marvel of Isfahan's Naqsh-i Jahan Square, built by the Safavid Shah Abbas (d. 1635). At one end, the massive Imam's Mosque, on the right , the Chehel Situn palace; on the left, the Lutfullah Mosque...
Lutfullah Mosque from across the square
But the true, imposing masterpiece is the Imam Mosque, with its stunning outer portico (ivan) and muqarnas (erm, squinch adornment) array....
... and its incapacitating interior courtyard and main prayer hall, with its portico (ivan). It's all reached via a decorated hall that turns from the entry way to match the direction of prayer (2004).
An attempt to capture the interior of the Imam Mosque main dome... a stylized representation of the heavens...
And one of the minor domes in the Imam Mosque
Isfahan, the zurkhane, traditional Persian fitness center, done to drumbeat (2004)
Qum, shrine of Fatemeh Ma'sumeh (2004)
Isfahan, this city is so gratuitously filled with beauty that this is a random mosque the name of which I forgot to record (2004)
... and more exterior tilework from above-mentioned random mosque.
Street in Tehran: Fu'l-i Imam-i Riza (bird picks piece of paper with something written on it, fortune told) (2004)
Iran, carpet shop with Imam Ali and Imam Husayn (s) carpets (2004)
Mountains of Gilan in northern Iran, see attached map to get a sense of how different this Caspian-coast region is from what lies to the south of the mountain range. It's so humid that clothes and towels never really dry. Tea and rice plantations abound...
Famous village of Masuleh in the mountains of Gilan in northern Iran (2004)
Rice and tea plantations near Rasht on the Caspian coast of Iran (2004).
While I'm on tea plantations, here is one in the foothills outside Rize, on the Black Sea coast of Turkey near Georgia.
And a mountain lake area near Trabzon in Turkey (credits to my brother in law Abdullah Al-Arian, who took this photo)
Sunset in Trabzon (summer, 2017)... with the real sunshine of my life, my wife, photobombing.
Yazd, wall tile from the Jameh Mosque.
Mural for shopping area in Isfahan. In Persian:
It is God who remembers the weak,
Superpowers do not remain in time,
Khomeini is the leader of the oppressed,
My Husayn is the master of the free
The return of the Mahdi is near,
That will bring the unbelieving nation to an end.
It is God who remembers the weak,
Superpowers do not remain in time,
Khomeini is the leader of the oppressed,
My Husayn is the master of the free
The return of the Mahdi is near,
That will bring the unbelieving nation to an end.
Shiraz: heartland of Persian culture. People reading the poetry of Hafez (d. 1390) at his tomb (2004)
Shiraz: closeup of tile from the Madrasa of Mulla Sadra (d. 1640)
Shiraz: room where Mulla Sadra taught in his madrasa
Shiraz: Regent's mosque frontal portico
Shiraz: Naser al-Mulk Mosque interior portico (ivan)
Shiraz: Hafez's poetry for reading on the tables of the Shemiran Cafe
Shiraz: Shah-i Chiraq Shrine
Shiraz: pool in one of the khans of the bazaar
Shiraz: inside of the dome of the mausoleum of Karim Khan Zand (d. 1779)
One of the most amazing places I've seen is Kalaat in Khurasan. It's a valley surrounded by mountain walls that look like saw blades, accessible only by a ravine so narrow a tunnel had to be dug for cars. It was a favorite redoubt for Nadir Shah (d. 1747), he built a palace there
Some of the interior artwork in Nadir Shah's Kalat palace
Qashan: on the edge of the desert in Iran, a city whose gem is the verdant gardens of Amir-i Kabir (d. 1851)
Qashan: Amir-i Kabir gardens interior of dome, evoking Delft pottery
Speaking of Delft, some Delft-ware (literally from Delft) in the maharajah's palace in Udaipur, India
Qashan: some nice guys I met (2004)
Qashan: stained glass windows in an old merchant's house
Qashan: one of the courtyards in an old merchant's house
Qashan: mosque whose name I have forgotten
Qashan: a closeup of some nice building with the Persian symbols of kingship, shir-u khurshid (lion and sun, but the sun's face here always looks like a monkey to me... no offense!)
Aannnd of course I've been misspelling Kashan (كاشان). I don't know what I was thinking! I blame it on jetlag.
Istanbul: Eyüp Sultan Mosque, shrine of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari
Istanbul: Eyüp Sultan Mosque
Bursa (my favorite city in Turkey and the first Ottoman capital, 1326): elevated mosque in the central courtyard of the Koza Khan commercial complex, built 1491
Bursa: people performing ablutions for prayer, Orhan Ghazi Mosque
Bursa: Yeshil Mosque and tomb of Sultan Mehmet I.
Bursa: Tomb of Osman, founder of the dynasty
May the God bring ease to its inhabitants: citadel of Aleppo after sunset (2005)
May the God bring ease to its inhabitants: now-destroyed, unique minaret of the Umayyad mosque in Aleppo (2005)
Damascus: outside of a bathhouse (hammam) (2005)
Damascus: interior arcade of the Umayyad Mosque with the ruler's prayer area above it (need security against assassins)
Damascus: original mosaic work done by Byzantine artisans in Umayyad employ in the early 700s, much debated by scholars; probably a representation of the gardens of paradise
Damascus: in the congregational mosques (1 per city) in Umayyad Syria, the public treasury (bayt al-mal) was usually housed in an elevated chamber in the mosque courtyard. It's still there in Damascus.
Dayr Sam'an monastery: the remains of Saint Simeon the stylite's (d. 459) once much taller pillar, atop of which he lived for most of his amazingly long life. The monastery was built around it. Close by is the tomb of the Umayyad Caliph Umar II (d. 721), who died there.
Inside the simple of tomb of 'Umar bin 'Abd al-'Aziz ('Umar II, d. 721), beneath the Dayr Sam'an monastery outside of Aleppo (2005) (sorry for lousy quality)
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Aleppo, summer of 2005: I've often thought of this kid. اللهم سهل أمره و أفاض من رحمته على المستضعفين, وليس الله بظلام للعبيد
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Damascus: passing through the Umayyad Mosque (2005)
Damascus: Umayyad Mosque minaret
Damascus: Roman ruins between the Umayyad Mosque and the Suq al-Hamidiyya
Damascus: Umayyad Mosque, main interior portico, with its unique mosaic decorations
Damascus: Umayyad Mosque, another view of the incredible mosaic designs on the public treasury chamber (qutufuha daniya?... their fruits hanging low, i.e., trees in paradise?)
From the archives: Mopti, Mali, mosque on island in the Niger River (1998)
From the archives: Jenne, Mali, city street midday (1998)
From the archives: apparently making new friends in Kaolack, Senegal (1998)(photo "credit" to Charles Bartlett). Looking back, I'd have used my time there better by studying with the great Tijani scholars there, but at least I was using a miswak #sunna.
Senegal: Touba, center of the Mouride Sufi order. The great mosque there was still under construction in 1998.
Unlikely to be mistaken for a postcard, but Andalusia needs representation. For almost eight hundred years Muslims lived and died in Grenada, until they will expelled, and then even descendants long converted to Xity to remain were expelled in the 1600s. The Alhambra.
Saint Petersburg Mosque, Russia (opened 1913 by emir of Bukhara). A lousy photo; seems I couldn't figure out where the front of the mosque was. But significant for me: it was the first mosque I ever entered (1997).
Speaking of Bukhara, a postcard I picked up there supposedly of women from the Emir of Bukhara's harem
Sarajevo: Ghazi Huzrev Beg Madrasa
Sarajevo: Sabil (fountain) and Charse Mosque (2013)
Las Vegas... A Muslim appearance in the airport... one SRK
Al-'Ula, Saudi Arabia (2012): sitting down for lunch
Medina al-Munawwara: The Baqi' Cemetary
Hejaz: old Ottoman Hejaz Railway station near Khaybar
and Hejaz Railway train
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Muslim College (2012)
East End, London: 2012
East End, London: fish and chips with a nogoodnik local
Alexandria: Mosque of Abbas al-Mursi (2012)
Cairo, Tahrir, street art of the revolution (summer 2012): Whoever's got the job won't die
I remember when I first visited Cairo these trees greeted me, and over the years their beauty was always mixed with one's apprehension at the incredible summer heat they bespoke.
Abu al-Abbas sorry
Mosque in Dogon country, Mali (1998) (credit to my friend Charles 'Let Me Take B&W Shots to Seem Deep' Bartlett)
Damascus: Suq al-Hamidiyya (2005)
Damascus: Mihrabs (prayer niches indicating the direction of prayer and in front of which the imam stands when leading the prayer) in the Umayyad Mosque
Damascus: Mausoleum of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi aka Saladin (d. 1193)
How did I leave this out: Istanbul, main dome of the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, with the Verse of Light: God is the light of the heavens and the earth, the parable of His light is that of a niche in which there is a lamp, enclosed in glass, the glass glowing like a brilliant star...
Istanbul: Ottoman public fountain (where people would get their water, not just mess around and throw coins in while wondering why a cherub is riding a dolphin) outside the Fatih Mosque
Istanbul: interior shot towards the back of the mosque, main dome, with the names of the first four caliphs & Prophet's (s) grandsons written around the lower level on massive roundels, then the names of the other major companions on the second level
Istanbul: Sulaymaniyye Mosque interior (2005)
Antakya/Hatay/Antioch: Mosque of Habib al-Najjar with fascinating window in the mihrab (never seen that before) and GOT-like inscribed chandelier (2019)
Syria: village of Ma'lula, one of the few remaining places where Aramaic is spoken (2005)
Yemen: Hadramawt Valley, valley of Daw'an (دوعن), a beautiful area from which several wealthy Saudi-Hadrami families like the Bin Mahfuz and... and others, hail originally (summer, 2007)
Yemen: Hadramawt, city of dramatic view of the city of Hajrayn, growing out of the flood valley walls like the frankincense and myrrh trees (2007).
Yemen: the terraced farms between Ta'izz and San'a, the mountainous highlands of Yemen where it's a balmy 70 F in the summer with rain every afternoon. (2007)
Yemen: part 2 of the terraced farms between Ta'izz and San'a, the mountainous highlands of Yemen where it's a balmy 70 F in the summer with rain every afternoon. (2007)
Yemen: San'a, in the mountains and surrounded by mountains, as the afternoon rain comes (summer 2007). اللهم هب لاهلها صبرا و فرّج عنهم ظلم الظالمين
San'a, Yemen: the courtyard of the Great Mosque, with a cube-shaped building in the middle that was used as the public treasury in early Islam but - just a theory - may have started as a pre-Islamic ka'ba (there were several competitors to the Meccan Kaaba in ancient Arabia)
