Architecture : Introduction To The Region

The Middle East’s architectural remains testify to its history of conquest. As ruling dynasties tumbled after each other, new architectural modes syncretized with local forms. The result is a patchwork of Roman ruins, Crusader fortifications, and native styles overlaid with Muslim monuments.

The Egyptians are justly known as the builders of antiquity. Massive blocks of limestone, granite, and sandstone were employed for tombs and temples, and the Nile allowed easy transport of materials. Today’s remains are mainly temples and tombs, since most other buildings, including royal palaces, were built from biodegradable materials which have dissolved back into mud. The Egyptians believed that their life in the afterworld depended upon the preservation of their earthly bodies. The eariiest tombs were pits covered with bricks or Nile mud to prevent sand from scattering in the wind. Dignitaries of the Old Kingdom were buried in mastabas, rectangular structures surmounting underground burial chambers and abutted by a small court for mourners. The mastabas were later enlarged and surrounded with outer casings to produce step pyramids, forerunners of the true pyramids.