This series of lectures was prepared by ArCHIAM on behalf of the Education Programme of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). It aims to present a comparative picture of urban and architectural form across the vast geographical region commonly referred to as the Islamic World. Examples from both the so-called ‘high’ and ‘peripheral’ Islamic traditions are presented in the lectures, aiming at providing a thorough understanding of both the distinctiveness and diversity of outlying cultures and their established architectural practices. Alongside examples drawn from the great centres of Islamic culture, such as Aleppo, Cairo, Delhi, Herat and Isfahan, various sites from Oman in the Arabian Peninsula are presented here to highlight the richness of Islamic architecture and urbanism. Notions of integrated restoration and rehabilitation, which bring together preservation and developmental concerns, as well as community engagement are addressed in these lectures.
