A letter written in the Algerian dialect dated to 1803 from Mustapha Pasha (r. 1798-1805) to the United States during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. 1/2

From Spanish treatise by López de Arenas (17th c.): Candillijo "little oil lamp" Zafate harpado "harpoon-shaped Safat" Almendrilla "little almond" Zafate "tray" Calle "alleyway" Moroccan names for the same shapes: Qandīl "oil lamp" Ṣfeṭ l-Ḥarba "spear-shaped Sfet" Lūza "almond" Ṣfeṭ Zqāq "alleyway"

Mīḍaʔat As-Sulṭān "the Sultan's ablution pavilion" in Tunis b. in 1450 to serve the believers in their washing ritual before prayers. The monument’s marble paneling and two-tone decoration reflect Egyptian influences, which had already begun to spread into the Eastern Maghreb by the late 14th c.

A low-relief carving from the altarpiece of the Royal Chapel of Granada, finished in 1522, depicts the baptism of Granadan women c. 1499–1501. The women are wearing veils (Melḥafa) in white, red, pink, green, purple, and light brown, all edged with a golden border.

A fountain in the Chrabliyine district from the second quarter of the 14th C. in Fez, Morocco. Above it, an inscription of a poem, written on tiles using the sgraffito technique, where parts of the glazed surface are scratched away to create a two-tone design.

Byzantine glass mosaic above the 10th century mihrab (a niche indicating the direction of prayer) of the Great Mosque of Córdoba, now a cathedral. It is interesting that such a visually striking decoration was never reemployed in any other monument in Iberia or in North Africa.

A wing of bliss was spread over you, A green [banner] that turned the morning [light] into a sash; It flutters like the beating heart of whoever opposes you, Striking the souls whichever way it unfurls; Assuring you fortune with a triumphant bearing, So look forth to the preeminent omen of success.

In 2000, Christie's auction house sold two truncated wooden doors, alleged to be Nasrid-made from the 14th century. Despite the low-quality picture, the inconsistencies make me confident these doors are forgeries, possibly made during the 19th century.

For clarification, palaces in Al-Andalus had a formal name used in high register (official documents, poetry, inscriptions) and another for low register. Here, the formal name was Dār al-Mulk, "Palace of Sovereignty," while (supposedly) Kumāriṣ was the dialectal one, which later passed into Spanish.

An original piece from the Alhambra's Hall of Ambassadors that was removed in 1959 during conservation work on the dome. On its reverse, an inscription in Andalusi Arabic.

In Fez, the term Yšābī or Lišābī refers to a "cross lap joint," commonly used in the framework that braces an inclined roof. The singular form, Yašba, denotes each individual member that composes the joint.

Bəršla pl. Brašəl (pronounced in the old Medinas of Fez and Meknes with a voiced approximant /ɹ/) is the name given to decorative wooden sloping roofs found in rich houses, palaces and mosques. The word is from Andalusi Arabic with the Spanish lexicographer Pedro de Alcalá giving it as...

On the door’s jambs of the lookout of Linderaja in Alhambra are panels of ceramic topped by an epigraphic frieze that reads as follows: النصر والتمكين والفتح المبين لمولانا ابي عبد الله امير المسلمين Victory, empowerment, and assured triumph to our lord Abi Abd Allah, the commander of the Muslims.

@lameensouag.bsky.social Do we know if Marrakesh developed a pre-Hilalian dialect outside of its elite class?

I wouldn't call medieval Marrakesh an intellectual center comparable to Fez. Though it was the seat of two empires, which made it one of the wealthiest and most populated cities in Maghreb, this didn’t translate well into its intellectual life, remaining in the shadows of its northern sister city.

Reconstruction (plan and elevation) of a Mocárabes frieze from the palace in the Mechouar citadel, Tlemcen, Algeria.

Mihrab (prayer niche) which belonged to the citadel of Murcia, Spain. This work is attributed to the Taifa king Ibn Mardanis (1147–1172) and was found during excavations in the Church of San Juan de Dios.

My newsletter dealing with the architecture of medieval Aghmat (Morocco): open.substack.com/pub/alarife/...

A repurposed minaret from the 13th century in the Albaicin neighborhood which is today serves as the bell tower of the church of San Juan de los Reyes in Granada. 🧵Thread [1/13]

@lameensouag.bsky.social In Morocco, the horizontal part of a hip roof is called l-bṣāṭ while in Spanish the same element is called Almizate. How likely is it that the two words are derived from a supposed Andalusi "Al-biṣāṭ"?

A house patio that belongs to Bâb Alī district in the medina of Tlemcen, where the historian of Al-Andalus Al-Maqri (conventionally Al-Maqqari) is believed to have lived his early life. 📸Kossay Zaoui.