The Levantine Heritage Foundation is hosting a Zoom lecture by Diana Darke on the theme of her her latest book. Darke argues that Islamophobia is causing Europeans to airbrush from history their cultural debt to the Muslim world – a legacy that lives on in some of Europe’s most recognisable buildings, from Notre-Dame to the Houses of Parliament.
Darke examines the Arab and Islamic roots of Europe’s architectural heritage, tracing ideas and styles back to vibrant Middle Eastern centres such as Damascus, Baghdad and Cairo, via Muslim Spain, Venice and Sicily. She describes how medieval crusaders, pilgrims and merchants encountered Arab Muslim culture on their way to the Holy Land; and explores more recent artistic interaction between Ottoman and Western cultures, which resulted in Sir Christopher Wren’s ‘Saracen Gothic’
Issue 66, December 2023
Turkey’s Centenary Issue
