Sahn
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A sahn (
The sahn is a common element in religious buildings and residences throughout the Muslim world, used in urban and rural settings. The cloister is its equivalent in European medieval architecture and its religious buildings.
Etymology
The word Sahn (صَحْن) means a courtyard in Arabic.[4]
History
Originally, the sahn was used for dwellings, as a secure and private setting within a residence compound's walls. Ruins of houses in Sumerian Ur with sahns have been found, from the Third Dynasty of Ur (2100–2000 BCE).[citation needed]
Most mosque courtyards (sahn) contained a public fountain where Muslims performed
The use of sahn in Islamic architecture continued until the mid-twentieth century, when Modern architecture began to influence Islamic cultures' residential and public buildings' designs.
Types
Mosque design
Almost every historic or traditional mosque has a sahn. The use of it in Middle Eastern countries' mosques was carried on to most Islamic countries' mosque architecture.
Traditional mosque sahns are surrounded by the
The inner courtyard is not a religiously proscribed architectural feature, and some mosques, especially since the twentieth century, do not have a sahn.
Residential design
Residential sahns, part of a courtyard house, are the most private. The scale and design details differ: from urban to rural locales; different regions and climates, and different eras and cultures – but the basic function of security and privacy remain the same. The sahn can be a private garden, a service yard, and a summer season outdoor living room for the family or entertaining.
Usually the main entrance of the house does not lead directly to the sahn. It is reached through a broken or curved corridor called a majaz (
In urban settings, the sahn is usually surrounded by a colonnaded riwaq, and has a howz, or pool of water, in the middle. The residence's iwan, a private family room veranda of three walls, usually overlooks the sahn and gives direct or stairway access to it. Upper floor rooms may also view it through mashrabiyas, wooden lattice covered windows.
The Moorish patios of al-Andalus, in present-day Spain, include World Heritage Sites such as the Court of the Lions and Court of the Myrtles at the Alhambra palace.
Urban design
- Private
Traditional Islamic neighborhoods can have a dedicated central open space, a communally private sahn, called saha (
- Public
The idea of public open space, central in the middle of a city, a
See also
- durqāʿa: central space in a building
- Index: Islamic architectural elements
References
- ISBN 9780195309911.
- ISBN 9781134613663.
- ^ "The Mosque". metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2020-11-23.
- JSTOR 41223756. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "The Mosque". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ Grafman and Rosen-Ayalon, 1999, p. 7.
- ^ "Umayyad Mosque". Museum With No Frontiers. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
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