Sinan: Architect at the Centre of the World

Speaker: Dr. H. Masud Taj, architect-poet-calligrapher and award winning adjunct professor of architecture at Carleton University, Canada. Mentored by Hassan Fathy in Egypt, he delivered the 2nd International Conference of Islamic Art and Architecture Keynote. His recent book was published by Foreign Affairs Canada and is currently working on Seven Muslim Wonders on monuments he studied in Agra, Cairo, Cordoba, Granada, Isfahan, Istanbul and Mecca
 
Chair: Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, Chairperson, IIC-Asia Project
 
Sinan was the Imperial Architect for half-a-century at the height of the Ottoman Empire.  He designed more projects than any other architect in documented history and indeed is credited with the very skyline of Istanbul. In his biography Sinan mentions three mosques as milestones in his long career, built when he was an apprentice, journeyman and master. The talk will examine those, and few other projects at the intersection of empire, faith, building and environment