islamic culture

Moroccan Prayer Beads

Commonly clutched in the weathered hands of the older population of Morocco, the Tasbih (pictured) is the highly significant beaded prayer string of the Muslim population. According to the Prophet, these enable all that follow the Islamic religion to pray, give thanks to Allah and acquire a heavenly place in the after life equally, regardless […]

A Typical meal to break the fast

The Islamic calender also has 12 months like the Gregorian, however whereas the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar (i.e. based on the earth’s orbit of the sun) the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar. This means that the calendar does not correspond directly to the seasons in the same way that the western calendar does, […]

Islamic Inscriptions Marrakech

Due to scruples contained within Islamic texts it is forbidden to depict living creatures such as humans or animals. This has not however stopped the Islamic world from developing its own very distinctive and beautiful forms of art, indeed many of the forms and shapes expressed within the realms of Islamic art certainly have benefited from these cultural directives. […]

Ben Youssef Madrassa Marrakech

For a window into Islamic culture in the Mahgreb and the religious institutions that greatly influenced its development. One can do a lot worse than to visit the Ben Youssef Madrassa. Originally founded during the 14th Century during the Marinid Period by Sultan Abu al-Hassan, the building was first brought to great prominence by its reconstruction […]