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Askia
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Topic: Early African Architecture/Ruins Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 17:37 |
Originally posted by Ollios
Well I thought that I knew the basics about African Architecture/History such as
Nubian Pyramids Timbuktu Great wall of Zimbabwe Ethiopian church
but I admired your photos, so keep going
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Eh, I'm all out of pics but the actual discussion of these places can go on and on. Did you know the palace at Owo had 100 courtyards, many of which dedicated to a particular spirit, the largest of which was the size of two american football fields? Or that the palace at Benin had a 7 mile long wall and 50 foot deep moat around it when it was first built? The scholars from Timbuktu had a heliocentric view of the solar system. The Haya people of Tanzania during the time of christ were producing steel of such a high quality europeans wouldn't reach the same quality until the industrial revolution. Ironworking began in sub saharan africa at least 400 years before europe or china. In Djenne the mosquito was identified as the cause of malaria, and cataract removal surgery was common. The african muslim scholars of Timbuktu were aware of the dangers of smoking. The Akan people practiced innoculation against smallpox. People in the great lakes region of africa regularly practiced a well developed process of C-sections. Using talking drums people could send complex messages from village to village over 100 miles in about 2 hours. West african war boats could be up to 80 feet long, 8 feet broad, and carry 120 armed men including hearths and a captain's quarters. About the same size as a viking longboat. There's all kinds of historical gems.
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Ollios
Chieftain
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 14:52 |
Well I thought that I knew the basics about African Architecture/History such as Nubian Pyramids Timbuktu Great wall of Zimbabwe Ethiopian church but I admired your photos, so keep going
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Ellerin Kabe'si var,
Benim Kabem İnsandır
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 04:03 |
That's everything I got, hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did. Feel free to ask about anything, I'm an amateur historian.
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 04:01 |
Below is an image of a gate leading into the Yoruba town of Ketu in the Republic of Benin (formerly Dahomey). The photo is from 1909.
Djenne
Utiri, Tanzania
A town in Dahomey
Uganda
Senegal
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Igbo house
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 03:44 |
Gao mosque ruins
Edited by Askia - 18-Mar-2014 at 03:44
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 03:42 |
Igbo chief house
Moving away from the north and toward the Bende region of
Abia state in the south we see more examples of multi-storeyed buildings from
traditional African architecture. The building was built with two-stories and a
set of stairs. This was probably owned by a wealthy trader.
Woodpanel inside house on ground floor
Upstairs balcony
Nnobi Anambra
Owere people
Ngwo people house diagram
The capital of one of the Funj mekdoms, which ruled between
the 17th-19th centuries. Al Khandaq, on the left side of the Nile, had in the
past been an important junction for trade routes to Egypt. The site includes
the castle, the town and the cemetery. The castle was built on a high area
facing the Nile, its walls were battlemented and had towers. The material used
are stones, mud brick and mud (jaloos). The town, with its two-storey mud-brick houses, extended for
nearly half a mile along the river and was surrounded by mud wall whose remains
were visible in the early 20th century. The interior decoration include a keel
arch, tri-lobed arched windows beside the wall recessed shelves. The old cemetery lies to the north of the town, and
comprises three conical qubbas (domed tombs) of stone and mud, and remains of
rectangular structures which might had been small mosques, as there are small
mihrab niches indicating the qibla.direction. These were built of mud-mortared
stone.
No roofs can be seen today, nor evidence of the material
used for roofing, but in accordance with general practice in the area, roofs
would have been of palm leaves and logs. It was the home of many, rich
merchants. It became the main port for Darfur and Kordofan caravans who chose
the Nubian route to Egypt. Thus Khandaq became connected to regional and
international trade along the Nile.
Building in Foumban, Cameroon
Palace of the chief of Foumban
Details of a Bamileke wall
Palace of the chief of Bali
Palace of Bandjoun on right side
Bondoukou, Ivory Coast. Residence of the religious chief Almani
House of Kofi, Akan chief of Abengourou, Ivory Coast
Residence of the chief of Dosso, Niger
Sketch of Benin city
Ruins of Gao mosque
Malinese houses
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 03:14 |
Bani in northern Burkina Faso
Tomb of Amanitore, Nubia, 50 AD
The empire of the Ashanti has many well large maintained roads connecting the cities
A description of the Oba of Benin's palace by Olfert Dapper reads as
The king's palace or court is a square, and is as large as the town of Haarlem and entirely surrounded by a special wall, like that which encircles the town. It is divided into many magnificent palaces, houses, and apartments of the courtiers, and comprises beautiful and long square galleries, about as large as the Exchange at Amsterdam, but one larger than another, resting on wooden pillars, from top to bottom covered with cast copper, on which are engraved the pictures of their war exploits and battles..."
The palace of the Oba was much larger than that of the Ashanti king's. The city of Benin at its apex was the same size as its contemporary Lisbon, Portugal in the 17th century. Benin should not be confused with Dahomey.
The gardens of Benin are described as follows
"This compound consisted of about a hundred houses, whose roofs made a good blaze. Behind the buildings there was a huge garden, which we never had time to explore, but it must have been quite a hundred acres, surrounded by a high red wall. It is not unlikely that it was the walking place of the King, and formed part of his compound . . ." - Reginald H. Bacon, Benin (1897)
Abomey ruins
The palaces of Dahomey number 12 and are spread over 99 acres in the heart of its capital, Abomey. They could house 8000 people.
Veranda
Religious ceremony in Abomey in 1850.
Segou
Nubia houses
A fine example of the "nubian vault" architecture
Nubia
Nubian houses
Sennar, Sudan. The Funj kingdom.
Nubia churches
Nubia
Mali
Sankore mosque courtyard
House and carpet in Djenne
Timbuktu streets
Mopti
Tiebele, Burkina Faso
Sidama home, southern Ethiopia
Tigray home, Ethiopia
Hidamo house, Ertitrea
Old Segou mosuqe
Las Khorey ruins, Somalia
Inside Djenne mosque, Mali
Hausa Architecture
Djenne
Timbuktu bread baking oven
Djenne
Djenne
Djenne
Djenne
Timbuktu
Dahomey
Bondoukou in what is now the Ivory Coast
Sketch of Benin city
Igbo woman's house
Inside of an Igbo house
Sierra Leone compound
Igbo watchtower
Bamikele Bamjoun palace
Ndebele houses
Lalibela church
Other Ethiopian stone churches
Another Malinese building
Fanti (Ghana) houses
Sierra Leone house
Iddah (An Igala town in central Migeria) king's counrt
Dogon cliff houses
Dogon homes
Dogon Shrine
Igbo shrine
Naqa near Meroe
Dajo ruins, Niger
Dogon ruins
Gurunsi homes
Igbo chiefs home
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 01:53 |
Kombole Mosque
Small Dogon mosque
Mopti mosques
Kani-Kombole, a Dogon mosque, Mali
Mali mosque
Komoguel Mosque, Mopti
Tichitt-Walata
Hausa mosque
Pyramid of Amanitore
Burkina Faso
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 01:45 |
Segou, Mali
Timbuktu
Segou
Djenne
Houses on an island in the Niger river
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 01:38 |
Pre Axumite ruins of the city of Qohatio, dating back to the 5th millenium BC
Carved wooden Swahili door
One of eight Zimbabwe birds
In western part of Kenya (Nyanza Province), there are a
number of old villages and settlement sites marked by dry stone walling. These
settlements are referred to locally as 'Ohingni', a name that connotes an idea
of a refuge in the wilderness. The 'Ohingni' literally refers to a
"frightening dense forest" in Dholuo language, a Nilotic group who
occupy the region. A total of 138 sites containing 521 structures exist. These
are concentrated in the Kadem-Kanyamkago areas, Karungu, Gwasi and Kaksingiri
Lake headlands, and in Kanyamwa and Kanyidoto areas. In these areas, the
structures are distributed in particular spots giving a first sight impression
of a clustered distribution pattern. While the uphill stone structures have
survived the vagaries of weather, the ones on the lower side have been degraded.
The stone structure enclosure has walls ranging from 1.0 to 4.2 meters in
height and 1.0 to 3.0 m in width, were built of loose stones and blocks without
any dressing or mortar. Within the structures are interior partitions of
various kinds including: small enclosures, depressions and corridors. These
were used as either as cattle kraals, pens for smaller animals or garden fence
structures. Archaeological record of materials found within the site goes
beyond 500 years ago.
Nubia
Nubia
Saint Damianos, Nubia
Banganarti ruins, Nubia
Dendur temple, Nubia
Temple of Debod
Temple of Dakka
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 01:18 |
Medieval Dongola ruins in Nubia
Domed tomb in Dongola
Dongola ruins
Walata in west africa
Inside a Walata mosque
Livestock exit
Walata houses
Walata living room
Ibn Battuta never failed to mention the well built homes, city planning, and water preservation systems of Walata. It was a crucial city in the trans saharan trade.
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 01:10 |
Nubian houses
Nubian mosque
Nubian houses
Ancient Zeila
Medieval Nubian city of Suakin
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 01:04 |
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 00:54 |
Lalibela church, Ethiopia
Somalia
Nubia
Nubia
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 00:50 |
Traditional house in Mahalapye, Botswana
Diverse Ghanaian homes
Akan compund
Timbuktu
Hausa architecture
Xhosa huts
Swahili
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 00:42 |
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 00:38 |
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 00:37 |
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 00:36 |
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Askia
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Posted: 18-Mar-2014 at 00:33 |
Djenne
Interior of the great mosque of Djenne
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