Summary The vast Muslim cemeteries of Cairo, known as the “City of the Dead”, were always also meant to be a city for the living. Today, they stretch for more than eight kilometres, forming a unique urban and social environment, part of a World Heritage Site and home to approxmiately [...]
Summary The arabesque was a common design used in the architecture of Islamic Cairo. In the early periods, it was used on stucco and continued to develop on many different other métiers, not as individual patterns, but rather on inscriptions. It then developed in stone, wood, glass and metal and [...]
18:30 – 20:30 Summary Pop-Up Palaces: A journey through 1000 years of Egypt's ceremonial tent-making tradition In one of medieval Cairo’s last remaining covered streets is a community of tentmakers whose work has transformed the Egyptian landscape at times of celebration and festivity. For at least a millennium, these craftsmen [...]
Unrequited Love and the Beauty of the Beloved: Literary and visual themes in a 17th century manuscript of the Divan of Baki. This talk will explore the relationship between the miniatures in the Divan of Baki and its text to analyse these themes and place them in the context of the Safavid illustrated [...]
Talks followed by reception with canapés To celebrate the inception of Converging Paths—a series of events aimed at building bridges with the Islamic World—three eminent guest scholars will present and discuss their research on the cultural interconnections and coexistence experienced by border societies in early and Medieval Islam. The programme [...]
Join us for an unforgettable evening in which traditional Arabic music meets jazz and classical in this celebration of the evocative voice of the oud—the ancient Middle-Eastern lute. Aged only 34, Joseph Tawadros is a world-renowned oud player and composer. This solo performance will feature improvisations and own music by [...]
About the Talk: The reign of the third Mughal emperor, Jahangir (r.1605–27), is fascinating for the innovative and vibrant art, architecture and material culture it produced. It ushered in an era of great political, diplomatic, economic and cultural interaction between the Mughal Empire and much of Europe and Asia, factors [...]
Drawing upon a unique collection of historical photographs and postcards, Departures will reveal the great diversity of the Islamic world’s social and cultural life. The exhibition will explore a geographical area from Morocco in the West to China in the East, and from the Balkans in the North to Sudan in the [...]
Departures Exhibition: Free Curator's Tours #DeparturesExhibition Join curator Richard Wilding in a unique and bespoke tour of Asia House Barakat Trust exhibition Departures: A Photographic Journey Through the Islamic World (12 April - 3 May 2019). Tours run on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 12 am, they are free but RSVP is required. The [...]
In this illustrated talk, co-curator of the exhibition ‘Departures’ Richard Wilding contrasts the legacy and objectives of historical photographers with his own contemporary work and experiences in the region. During the nineteenth century, exciting new archaeological discoveries in Egypt and Mesopotamia generated great enthusiasm in Europe for images and written [...]
