# The most diverse region in term of architecture



## Cyrus (Jan 28, 2005)

I think nowhere in the World has been settled by different peoples from all around the world more than islands and lands around the Persian Gulf, maybe the variety of religious buildings in this region can show it.

For example this is an ancient Greek temple in Failaka island in Kuwait: (Look at Ionic column capital but Persian column base!)










This one is a tomb-temple in Khark Island which was built by Palmyrenes or Nabataeans who lived in modern Syria and Jordan:










It is good to mention that Nabataeans were the same people who built Petra:










More info about tomb-temples in Khark Island: 

http://www.chnpress.com/news/?section=2&id=6872 & http://www.iranchamber.com/geography/articles/kharg.php

Mysterious Ancient Temple of Xarbes in Qeshm Island: 

http://www.allempires.com/Forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=19725










This one is said to be an ancient Mithraic temple (Mithraeum) and its original name was probably Xorpas (Xor=Sun & Pas=Guard).










It is interesting to know that one of the oldest churches in Iran is also in the Khark Island and was probably built by Assyrians.

This is a Portuguese church in Hormuz Island:










And this one is an Armenian church in Abadan port:










And a strange Burmese mosque in Abadan port:










A documentary movie is being made about this mosque which is call Rangooni Mosque (Rangoon is Burmese name of Yangon, a former capital of Burma):



















There is also a Hindu temple in Bandar Abbas port:



















It can be good to mention a Persian mosque in Bandar Abbas port too:










Several different people still live in Bandar Abbas and other cities of this region, especially some people from Africa, look at this thread: 

African Villages in Iran

Some relate Africans of Iran to the Thonga-Bantu cultures of southeastern Africa and it is said that these blacks were brought to the Persian Gulf by Portuguese slave traders as early as the sixteenth century, they are called Ahl-i Hava (Followers of the winds), they worship the Winds and drink the fresh blood because they believe that the drinking of fresh blood will bring down the Wind! However they are very poor people and may look uncivilized but native Iranians of southern Iran have been greatly influenced by African culture of these peoples, for example popular music of Bandari which is considered to be an Iranian or Arabic music, is in fact an African music. (a sample of Bandari Music)

ZAR SOUTH OF IRAN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXO65RaqJ0A
This ceremony is performed in south of Iran and its root is found in Africa and it is used for treatment of people who attack by Jinn.


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## 863552 (Jan 27, 2010)

Melbourne acctualy has quite a lot of different building styles.


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## cardiff (Jul 26, 2005)

Lots of cities have diversity, most probably a European city between southern and northern europe. Found Brussels to be the most diverse city i have been to.


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

London - not only does it run the gamut of the past 2000 years - Roman, Romanesque, Gothic, Neo Gothick, Georgian, Tudor, Norman, Baroque, Neo-Classical, but the modern era aswell - nouveaux, moderne, art deco, post modern, post pomo - but on top of that it has foreign architecture in spades - from Hindu and Sikh temples, to Islamic mosques (over 300 of them from Turkish to Arabian to Bengali), Chinese pagodas, Italian Palladian, French Empire, Thai wats, Maori Meeting Houses, Russian and Greek and cathedrals, to faux Pharaonic/ Byzantine/ . It even has Fascist.


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## Dimethyltryptamine (Aug 22, 2009)

I'd say London too.


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## heywindup (Dec 12, 2009)

the spliff fairy said:


> London - not only does it run the gamut of the past 2000 years - Roman, Romanesque, Gothic, Neo Gothick, Georgian, Tudor, Norman, Baroque, Neo-Classical, but the modern era aswell - nouveaux, moderne, art deco, post modern, post pomo - but on top of that it has foreign architecture in spades - from Hindu and Sikh temples, to Islamic mosques (over 300 of them from Turkish to Arabian to Bengali), Chinese pagodas, Italian Palladian, French Empire, Thai wats, Maori Meeting Houses, Russian and Greek and cathedrals, to faux Pharaonic/ Byzantine/ . It even has Fascist.


Spliff, I'm surprised you didn't go all out with this post by providing pictures for each type. Your post deserves some pictures.


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## ukiyo (Aug 5, 2008)

the spliff fairy said:


> London - not only does it run the gamut of the past 2000 years - Roman, Romanesque, Gothic, Neo Gothick, Georgian, Tudor, Norman, Baroque, Neo-Classical, but the modern era aswell - nouveaux, moderne, art deco, post modern, post pomo - but on top of that it has foreign architecture in spades - from Hindu and Sikh temples, to Islamic mosques (over 300 of them from Turkish to Arabian to Bengali), Chinese pagodas, Italian Palladian, French Empire, Thai wats, Maori Meeting Houses, Russian and Greek and cathedrals, to faux Pharaonic/ Byzantine/ . It even has Fascist.


How about Paris?


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## Cyrus (Jan 28, 2005)

Of course different buildings could be built in a city by some immigrants from all around the world but I meant a region, not a city, in the regions around the Persian Gulf, you can find cities which have been built by different peoples, the reason can be that this region was conquered and ruled by Alexander and Greeks, Arabs, the Portuguese and Spaniards, Turks and Tatars, the Britons and Indians, Mongols and the Chinese, Romans (Trajan), the Dutch and several other nations.


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## Botswana (Aug 29, 2009)

Istanbul probably. A great clash of Islamic/European/Asian architecture.


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## Mr Bricks (May 6, 2005)

I'd say London. Berlin and Brussels are very diverse too.


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## ainttelling (Jun 3, 2009)

^











Cyrus said:


> Of course different buildings could be built in a city by some immigrants from all around the world but I meant a region, not a city


Cyrus, could you PLEASE explain to these people what is the difference between a region and a city more explicitly?


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Iran is really diverse. London, Paris, Melbourne or Brussels....... lol Yeah, of course you can find several styles... like in the whole Europe!
In Italy, you can find byzantine buildings (Ravenna), greek (Magna Grecia), of course roman, the siculonormando style in Sicilia with moorish reminiscence, etc. That's diversity.

In Spain as it is between Africa and Europe, there is a lot of diverity too, and several particular styles you can only find in Spain. 
For example the iberian culture, the prerroman civilization, has a lot of influence from Mesopotamia, the phoenicians and carthaginians (there were several carthaginian colonies in the south-east)










Or a possible ziggurat in the west of Spain, in Cancho Roano, by the enigmatic tartessos civilization.










Meanwhile in the north, the celtics.










Greek colonies in the east coast like Ampurias.










Roman architecture, like in most of Europe.










And with the end of the roman empire, the visigothics, the most romanized barbarian civilization, from the 6th century to 711 a.C.










And some byzantine colonies, like Gabia baptistery or Cartagena byzantine walls.










With the moorish invasion in 711, begins the most diverse age. In one side, the asturian kingdom (asturian pre-romanesque style, in the 8th and 9th century), like this palace.










At the other side, the moorish civilization that built huge monuments as the Cordoba mosque in the 9th and 10th century.



















In the 10th century, in the north of Castile in re-conquered zones, the mozarabe style, christian buildings that assimilated andalusian art.










The mudejar style is a particular spanish style. Moorish art adopted to christian cities in 12th-16th century. For example, the Reales Alcázares of Sevilla.










Mudejar synagogues in Toledo.



















In Aragón are famous the mudejar towers.










Plateresque is the own renaissance spanish style.










In baroque, churrigueresco is spanish rococó.










And modernism (spanish art nouveau), is very special in Catalunya with artists like Gaudí.


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## guille_89uy (Jan 14, 2008)

Spain (actually, Iberia)... no doubt.


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## goschio (Dec 2, 2002)

Lazio province (Rome region). Everything from ancient to modern highrise.

Greater London region or Istanbul region are not bad either.


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## heywindup (Dec 12, 2009)

The most diverse region is *ASIA*. From the Roman ruins of West Asia (such as Turkey, Lebanon, Syria) and the Hindu temples in South Asia to the modern skyscrapers of East Asia (such as in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai) and everything in between.


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## Cyrus (Jan 28, 2005)

ainttelling said:


> Cyrus, could you PLEASE explain to these people what is the difference between a region and a city more explicitly?


A city can be considered as a region too but I mostly meant diversity of architectural styles, some unique buildings in a city can't show this diversity, but maybe just one building can show different architectural styles, like *Church of Saint Stephanos* in the northwest of Iran (a mixture of Urartian, Parthian, Greek, Roman, Persian, and Assyrian styles):


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

heywindup said:


> The most diverse region is *ASIA*. From the Roman ruins of West Asia (such as Turkey, Lebanon, Syria) and the Hindu temples in South Asia to the modern skyscrapers of East Asia (such as in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai) and everything in between.


:nuts::nuts::nuts::nuts::nuts::nuts:

A "region" that in fact is the 30% of the total land in the world i think can't be considered as a region in this thread.


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## Cyrus (Jan 28, 2005)

I think a building like the Palace of Darius the Great in Susa can be considered as an ancient international work in several different architectural styles, Darius the great himself in one of his inscriptions in Susa says about this palace which was built by different peoples of his empire:

...

The cedar timber, this was brought from *Lebanon*. The *Assyrian people* (from northern Iraq) brought it to *Babylon* (South Central Iraq); from Babylon the *Carians* (from southwest Turkey) and the *Greeks* brought it to *Susa* (southwest Iran). The yakâ-timber was brought from *Gandara* (Pakistan) and from *Carmania* (Southeast Iran). 

The gold was brought from *Lydia* (western Turkey) and from *Bactria* (northern Afghanistan), which here was wrought. The precious stone lapis lazuli and carnelian which was wrought here, this was brought from *Sogdia* (Tajikistan and Kazakhstan). The precious stone turquoise, this was brought from *Chorasmia* (Uzbekistan), which was wrought here. 

The silver and the ebony were brought from *Egypt*. The ornamentation with which the wall was adorned, that from *Greece* was brought. The ivory which was wrought here, was brought from *Nubia* (Sudan) and from *India* and from *Arachosia* (southeast Afghanistan). 

The stone columns which were here wrought, a village named Abirâdu, in *Elam* (southwest Iran) - from there were brought. The stone-cutters who wrought the stone, those were Greeks and Lydians.

...


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## YorkTown (May 15, 2009)

In Algeria there is different kind of Architecture....

*Neolithique Architecture | Trou de Serrure | 10 000 B.C | TASSILI N’AJJER*










*Numidian Architecture | Medghassen | V century B.C | BATNA* 










*Phoenician Architecture | Tipaza | V century B.C | TIPAZA*










*Roman Architecture | Timgad | Ist century A.C | BATNA* 










*Moorish Architecture | VI-XX century | ALGERIA*














































*Persian Architecture style | Ennour mosque | MEDEA*



















*Ottoman Architecture| XVII century A.C | ALGIERS*



















*Spanish Architecture | Santa Cruz | XVII century A.C | ORAN*










*Christian médieval Architecture style | Monastery of Tibehirine | XIX century A.C l MEDEA *










*Baroque Architecture | Opera | XIX century A.C | ORAN*



















*Byzantine Architecture style | Basilica Our Lady of Africa | XIX century A.C | ALGIERS*










*Neo-mauresque Architecture | Great Post | XIX century A.C | ALGIERS*



















*French Architecture| City center | XIX century A.C | ALGIERS*


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## Cyrus (Jan 28, 2005)

Great pics from Algeria! 

On the Zagros Mountains in western Iran, the distance between Ancient Greek Heracles to ancient Chinese Lung Dragons is just some kms:


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## ainttelling (Jun 3, 2009)

Cyrus said:


>


Lol, this picture needs a caption.


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## Scba (Nov 20, 2004)

I don't really count ancient ruins as architecture for many of these.


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## Cyrus (Jan 28, 2005)

As I said that is Heracles, laying naked on the skin of the Nemean lion that he killed in his 12 labours, holding a bowl, under the shadow of an Olive tree. His traditional wood bludgeon and elbow lay near him. Behind him there is a tablet in Old Greek scripture in seven lines which resembles that of Greek temples, on the tablet it is written:

_Year 164, month Panemos, Herakles Glorious in Victory Hyakinthos, son of Pantauchos (dedicated) for (ie in honour of) the safety of of Kleomenes, 'viceroy' of the Upper Satrapies._


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## krkseg1ops (Mar 19, 2009)

The most diverse please gotta be Las Vegas! They have pyramids, skyscrapers, pirate huts, they even have half of Venice's street!


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## ainttelling (Jun 3, 2009)

krkseg1ops said:


> The most diverse please gotta be Las Vegas! They have pyramids, skyscrapers, pirate huts, they even have half of Venice's street!


Las Vegas? I don't know about that - they tend to focus on European-style architecture, for some reason.


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## Tiaren (Jan 29, 2006)

Berlin in Europe, hands down!
Nearly no other city changed so much, made so much through, was torn between different cultures and rose up again...
Styles you find clashing right next to each other:
Greek, Roman and Babylonian (reconstructed structures)
Romanic
Gothic
Renaissance
Baroque
Neoclassic
Historism
Jugendstil
Art Deco
Bauhaus
fascist style
communistic style
Stalinist architecture
todays architecture
there are mosques and Chinese gardens...
Ugly is right next to amazingly beautiful, run down and rotten right next to super posh, royal and imperial victory monuments, facing Soviet memorials, bulletholes in hundreds of years old stone, shiny glass facades and perfectly reconstructed baroque palaces!


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## weava (Sep 8, 2007)

Chicago has a lot of styles.


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## Mr Bricks (May 6, 2005)

ainttelling said:


> ^


What the **** is your problem? Cities were mentioned and this is my contribution.



buho said:


> Iran is really diverse. London, Paris, Melbourne or Brussels....... lol





buho said:


> In Spain as it is between Africa and Europe, there is a lot of diverity too, and several particular styles you can only find in Spain.





guille_89uy said:


> Spain (actually, Iberia)... no doubt.


What a surprise. Spaniards think Spain is the most diverse region :lol:


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## Mekky II (Oct 29, 2003)

As a city : Istanbul 
As region : Anatolia... reuniting european, african, middle-eastern, south, central and north asian influences. When you watch Çatal Höyük site, you immediatelly understand. Anatolia is pretty centered around oldest known established human groups, in balkans, ukraine, caucasus, iran, irak, egypt... it's natural so to find since milleniums influences.


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## guille_89uy (Jan 14, 2008)

Spain is the only region of Europe with african and islamic architecture... and European architecture in itself is enought diverse: Spain is a reference in Barroque, Modernism and Modern Architecture.


You are talking about diversity, aren't you?


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

Mr Bricks said:


> What a surprise. Spaniards think Spain is the most diverse region :lol:


Demagogic post. I talked about Italy, Iran and Spain. 
Another examples given here like Berlin doesn't contribute more than most european cities in diversity. Babylonian structures? Yeah, of course, brought from Irak and put into a museum :nuts: Same with Las Vegas, it's just a tematic park.

Anatolia is yes a diverse region, but islamic art is very homogeneus and there are not several styles in the modern age as european art with renaissance, baroque, manierism, etc.


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## Nolke (Oct 25, 2003)

We seem to have a confusion here between abundance of "architectural styles" and "ORIGINAL architectural styles". Also between well consolidated-popular styles and incidental examples of exotic architecture.

Considering only original and well-consolidated styles of architecture (and also pondering the quality of the buildings for every style), I go for the Mediterranean-Middle East region in general, but I must recognize that my knowledge about Asian architecture further east than Iran is very limited.


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## cardiff (Jul 26, 2005)

guille_89uy said:


> Spain is the only region of Europe with african and islamic architecture... and European architecture in itself is enought diverse: Spain is a reference in Barroque, Modernism and Modern Architecture.
> 
> 
> You are talking about diversity, aren't you?


The Uk has variations on Islamic architecture in alot of buildings (not religious ones), i think you will find alot of European countries are very similar in their architecture which often came in trends and fashions.


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## buho (Sep 15, 2008)

cardiff said:


> The Uk has variations on Islamic architecture in alot of buildings (not religious ones), i think you will find alot of European countries are very similar in their architecture which often came in trends and fashions.


Historical buildings? In a 20th or 21st century building of course you can find anything.


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## Viva_Bulgaria (Jul 6, 2008)

I think it is Spain, at least in Europe. In the Americas it would be Mexico. 

In my opinion we should consider only historical buildings, otherwise, the largest modern countries would obviously have the most "diverse" architecture. For example we cannot consider a building of Byzantine style from the 19th-20th century as in that category but only the relevant styles of the age in question.


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## cardiff (Jul 26, 2005)

While i dont want to say Spain isnt the most diverse, just simply saying it has African buildings doesnt make it more diverse than a country such as Greece because it has Classical historic buildings, or the Norway because it has nordic style buildings etc. I think its a very silly thing to say one country is more diveres in architecture, but it easy to say in your experiance which city is more diverse.


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## Botswana (Aug 29, 2009)

I love those pictures from Algeria. Libya also has quite a range of architecture.

Lebanon as well.


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## guille_89uy (Jan 14, 2008)

cardiff said:


> While i dont want to say Spain isnt the most diverse, just simply saying it has African buildings doesnt make it more diverse than a country *such as Greece because it has Classical historic buildings*, or the Norway because it has nordic style buildings etc. I think its a very silly thing to say one country is more diveres in architecture, but it easy to say in your experiance which city is more diverse.




Spain has a lot of classic architecture, from Rome.


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## Nolke (Oct 25, 2003)

Anyway Spain doesn't have a lot of _African_ architecture since most of the influence of islamic architecture isn't originally African. Spain is a very diverse country in matter of architecture because: it has original classic remains, just like the rest of the Mediterranean region and unlike Northern Europe; it has a lot of islamic architecture, which also influenced a lot of later styles, what basically means the introduction of Persian and Byzantine practices at a scale never seen in Europe, at least the Persian ones; in the north of the country (and to a lesser extent, also in the south) medieval "French" styles are just as common as in the rest of western Europe; it's one of the top countries in renaissance and baroque architecture; as something more marginal, but nevertheless interesting, there's a notable presence of Germanic motifs in the pre-romanesque architecture and of native American influence in the southern baroque; and at last, Spain has a lot of local reinterpretations of the different external influences it received, hence it has its own peculiar forms for high gothic ("wide"-Catalan gothic in the crown of Aragon), flamboyant gothic (isabelline gothic in the Crown of Castile), early renaissance (plateresque), mannerism (herrerism, look for these styles in the English wikipedia if you don't know them, they're all there) pre-romanesque (Asturian architecture), lots of different kinds of mixing with Islamic styles (mudejar), and even a very peculiar interpretation of Art-Nouveau with Gaudi and the Catalan modernisme. It's just an example, I don't really pretend to point out that Spain is undoubtly the most diverse country in the whole world in terms of architecture, in fact I don't mean to say it's even clearly more diverse than say Italy or Turkey, but I really think that, as far as the Western hemisphere goes, architecture prior to the first notable globalization (i.e. industrial era, even if the first signs of globalization in architecture happened during baroque), and that just means _traditional_ architecture, is clearly much more diverse in the Mediterranean area and the Middle East than in other places, like the rest of Europe, because the different clashes of civilizations basically happened there.


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## Federicoft (Sep 26, 2005)

guille_89uy said:


> Spain is the only region of Europe with african and islamic architecture...


Sicily has them too.

San Giovanni degli Eremiti church, Palermo


Zisa Castle, Palermo as well


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