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Join Glaire Anderson for a fascinating conversation about one of great inventors of Andalusia: Abbas Ibn Firnas, who successfully invented a glider plane in the 9th century, and undertook the first known flight when in his 60s! Find out about this fascinating man, his many inventions, and the relationship [...]
Join Matt Saba for a fascinating conversation about the magnificent palaces built by the Abbasid Caliphs of Iraq. This dynasty realised that kingdoms invariably rose and fell, and that the longest lasting legacy of their reign would be literature. Matt Saba is Visual Resources Librarian for Islamic Architecture at [...]
This month's expert, Nikolaos Vryzidis, is postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of History and Archaeology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He received his PhD from SOAS, University of London with a thesis on the Greek Orthodox Church's use of Ottoman textiles. His scholarly work primarily explores issues of [...]
Join May al-Ibrashy for a conversation about her heritage conservation work in historic Cairo, revealing how the projects she works on put the community first. Find out more about the challenges and opportunities presented by complex urban environments like Cairo, the ways in which significant buildings, like the Shrine of [...]
This month's expert is Dr Sami De Giosa. Sami is currently a visiting assistant professor at the College of Fine Arts and Design, University of Sharjah. He was previously a Research Fellow at SOAS University of London in the department of Cultures and Languages and also at the University of [...]
Join Bilal Badat, master calligrapher and scholar, for a conversation about the meaning of Islamic calligraphy. Badat explains calligraphy not just as a craft but as a means of transmitting and glorifying sacred knowledge. He shares fascinating insights on the making of calligraphers – the way in which the long [...]
Paul Wordsworth is a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford specialising in the archaeology of the medieval Caucasus and Central Asia, with a particular interest on the northeastern fringes of the early Islamic world. He is currently directing two archaeological projects: one explores the landscape of a provincial Abbasid [...]
Dr Melanie Gibson is the Senior Editor of the Gingko Library Art Series and convenor for the Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art at SOAS, University of London. Her research focuses on the ceramics and glass of the Islamic world and in the reception and use of Islamic pattern in 19th [...]
Alain George shares research from his most recent book on the Great Mosque of Damascus, an incredible building in Syria that is a living testament to community relations between Pagans, Christians and Muslims during the formative years of Islam. Alain Fouad George is I.M. Pei Professor of Islamic Art and [...]
Paul Wordsworth is a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford specialising in the archaeology of the medieval Caucasus and Central Asia, with a particular interest on the northeastern fringes of the early Islamic world. He is currently directing two archaeological projects: one explores the landscape of a provincial Abbasid [...]
