Imran Abdullah

The Umayyads built the Cordoba mosque in the eighth century AD before becoming a church after the expulsion of Muslims from Spain after the fall of Andalusia. But is it possible to recite the voice of the adhaan and the talk and the sound of rain inside the mosque, as it was during the reign of 'Abd al-Rahman al-inside?

We know from our experience that the sound varies according to the spaces and building materials. This is an important topic for architects, musicians and composers alike. The relationship between space and sound occupies an important place in "audio archeology." But there is a fundamental problem: Spaces no longer exist as they were?

It is difficult to return to the ancient mosque of Cordoba, but researchers from the University of Seville in the Department of "Architecture, Heritage and Sustainability" recreated the simulation of the voices of the old mosque through the reflections and echo and recordings of recoil from the current cathedral, and used special software to rebuild the internal architecture of the mosque during four different stages of Construction and renovation to repeat what the worshipers once heard.

The original architecture of the building of the eighth-century mosque was lost, and of course its precise and distinctive acoustic design was lost. The sounds are preserved between ancient monuments such as inscriptions and walls, and artifacts can not be used to reconstruct ancient sounds.

Fortunately, however, technological advances in echo simulation and audio programs have allowed scientists to re-approximate the old space sounds of the historic mosque.

To hear what Muslim Andalusians heard in the mosque at the end of the eighth century, researchers used software that showed how architecture changed the same piece of recorded prayer, or daily prayer.

In the first composition of the mosque, the voice of the prayer appears loud and resonant, while in the model that simulates the last renovation of the mosque, the sound of the sound was heard as if recited from the depth of a cave. In other words, these renovations and alterations destroyed the sound engineering of the mosque.

In a recent study in Applied Sound, the authors wrote that expansion of the mosque failed to maintain the acoustic aspect of the mosque, and gave top priority to the visually aesthetic aspect.

In a simulated mosque as it appeared at the time of its foundation in 780 AD, the sound was evident throughout the building. But building expansions and renovations later made what researchers call "acoustic shadow areas" where little sound and echo can be heard.

Design and sound system established by Abdulrahman Al-Inel provided the needs of Islamic worship, but the subsequent expansions impaired the quality of sound and communication in parts of the mosque far from the Qibla wall. The recent lateral expansion built during the reign of Mansour from Abu Amer resulted in a greater deterioration in sound quality due to its separation from Rest of the mosque.

In the Christian era, changes to make the building of the mosque suitable for use as a cathedral. The interior space and space have been significantly modified, and different sound spaces have been created different from the unified audio system provided by the mosque.

Mosque of Cordoba
Although converted into a church in 1236 after the fall of Andalusia and the expulsion of Muslims, the Cordoba Mosque maintained its architectural character despite the expansions and renovations it had before and after its transformation into a Christian cathedral in the 13th century, and was consistent with its original form.

Roman columns were used in the construction, some of which were already in place. Some were donated by the governors of the Iberian provinces. Ivory, gold, silver and copper were used to design mosaics and decorations. The scented wood panels were connected with gold nails and marked with red marble columns.

The mosque was built during the two and a half centuries, starting in 92 AH, in Córdoba, the Umayyad capital of Andalusia, and the Muslims and Christians in Cordoba participate in the same place, some of which was a mosque and the other a church, but Abdul Rahman inside purchased a part of the church and added it to the mosque in return for rebuilding what Demolition of churches at the time of the entry of Andalusia.

In 340 AH, Abdul Rahman Al-Nasir began to build a large minaret for the Mosque of the Mosque. Later, Al-Mansur added an expansion and took care of the building. When Córdoba fell into the hands of the Castellians in 1236, they turned the mosque into a church called "St. Maria the Great". Since then the appearance of the mosque has gradually shifted to its present form, and the Castellians added some of the changes that changed its features but did not change the essence of the building.

But the fundamental change occurred in the year 1523 AD when the Archbishopric of Cordoba destroyed a large part of the expansion of Abdul Rahman al-Awsat and built a cathedral.

Today, the Mosque of Córdoba remains Islamic despite its change after the Christian era.