The Golden Rectangle in the Praying House of some Tlemcen Mosques

Abstract

     In this paper, we discussed a hidden aspect of the Muslim architect’s geniusity in constructing the religious buildings; with special reference to the golden rectangle.  Some of Tlemcen ancient mosques namely the Mosque of Sidi Ebrahim Almasmudi which was constructed by the Zianians, and the mosques of Abi-Madian and Sidi Al-Halawi which were constructed by the Marinidis during their occupation of Tlemcen city were taken as an example. This topic reveals the extent of the development in our ancestors’ art of architecture. This refutes the claim of the Western orientalists about the random construction of Islamic architecture and its lack of any engineering foundations. The special mathematical calculations conducted on the sample of the study –the previously mentioned three ancient mosques- revealed that the Islamic constructions represent the same style of the modern art of architecture in the form of the Golden Rectangle which creates privacy and comfort in the architecture space of these mosques.

Key Words: Golden Rectangle, Islamic Architecture, Tlemcen, Sidi Ibrahim El-Masmoudi Mosque, Sidi Abi Madian Mosque, Sidi El-Halawy Mosque