El. knyga: Studies in Arabian Architecture

Nine papers, originally published 1971-92, discuss general themes, specific manifestations, and and regional styles of architecture from the second century B.C. into the later Islamic period of the Middle East. Many of the buildings described are now either destroyed or restored so fancifully as to be totally misrepresentative. Mosques and shrines, iconography, urban settlement patterns, and historical interpretations are among the topics. Highly illustrated in black and white. Distributed in the US by Ashgate. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Based on extensive architectural and archaeological research, these papers present a series of studies on the art, buildings, settlement patterns, and land use in Iraq, Yemen and Oman, from the pre-Islamic period to modern times. Many of the monuments and sites were studied here for the first time, and have subsequently disappeared or become inaccessible. Among the main themes emerging from Professor Costa’s work are the continuity of Arab craftsmanship, in both technical and aesthetic terms, from Late Antiquity into the Islamic period; the relationship between the natural and the built environment; and the dependence of architecture and settlement patterns on the exploitation of natural resources, especially water.