Stephen's Global Art Blog

      The Great Mosque of Kairouan was established in the seventh century, and was designed and build for one purpose, which was to unify the peoples of Northern Africa under a centralized form of Islam. Due to the many conflicting people of North Africa, such as the Byzantines, and the indigenous people of the area known as the Berber, Muslims had a hard time creating and keeping cities in the area. This mosque ensured that with a shared religion, the people of Kairouan would be able to portray an image of unity. The very construction of the mosque itself represents this unity, as the building consists of multiple building styles. There are primarily Islamic details present, however as time would pass rulers would add their own touches to the construct. A people called the Aghlabids would be the ones primarily making changes to the mosque, such as the distinct use of a courtyard, which echoed some Christian churches, and the use of marble pillars inside the building, whi...

       The Emerald Buddha Shown above is the Emerald Buddha, a statue that resides in Thailand and has been around since about 44 C.E. The legend of the statue is that it was made with a wish granting stone inside of it, and that the statue itself descended from the heavens. Despite the name, the statue is made with no emerald at all, except fro some small jewels dotting the clothes of the statue. The statue is primarily made of jade. It has been noted that the statue has spent time in a large amount of Southeast Asia, in nations such as India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and eventually modern day Thailand, where it has remained. Buddhism is still in fact practiced in Thailand, with the statues arrival marking a change of culture in the region. The form of Buddhism practiced in Thailand can actually be traced as one of the oldest and most original forms of Buddhism, with the teachings echoing those of the Buddha's own dharma, or decrees. The most interesting thing about the...