Barakat

07/06/2026

Project Spotlight - Living in Late Antique rural Sicily, between Byzantium and Islam:
Archaeological investigations at Terravecchia di Caltavuturo, led by Nicolò Pini.

The Barakat Trust is pleased to announce the completion of Nicolò Pini's project funded in 2024 and carried out by his team in the summer of 2025.

Terravecchia was one of the most important settlements in the mountainous area to the east of Palermo and continuously inhabited from the 9th- to 15th-centuries after which its gradual decline began. After limited archaeological work in recent years, the project set out to map and excavate parts of the site.

The first phase of the project used a drone to complete a full photogrammetric survey of the site. The data from this survey was used to generate a 3D model of the site. (Drone photo credit to Nicolò Pini and Filippo Iannì).

The second phase saw the excavation of different parts of the castle including some pottery finds and possible evidence of later reconstructions, highlighting settlements patterns in the area. The full findings and analysis of the project will be published by Nicolò in a journal article.

Thank you to Nicolò for the photos, and congratulations to him and the team on the completion of this important project.

04/06/2026

In this month’s podcast we take a trip through the western extremes of the Nile Delta in Egypt. Ismael Awad discusses the shrines of the Lake Maryut, an overlooked rural hinterland to the south and west of Alexandria. To map, document, and photograph the shrines, Ismael received an A3 Major Award from The Barakat Trust in 2024. The project was completed late in 2025 and now Ismael takes the time to talk in detail about the shrines he and his team surveyed across the Maryut region.

Ismael Awad is a geographer, cartographer, and GIS research specialist at the Centre d’Études Alexandrines. He completed his PhD in 2020 at Université Lyon 2 where his thesis was titled “The Western Margin of the Nile Delta: Geographical Information Systems on the Antique Settlements of the Maryut Region”.

Photo credits: Samar Baiomy

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3DrVceoIDQOB4ras1lmHFr?si=f3fa84d74af24c80
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB4Hgq_c2ls

26/05/2026

Eid Mubarak عید مبارک from The Barakat Trust

Eid al-Adha marks the third day of Hajj and is preceded by the Day of Arafat (this year Tuesday 26th May) when pilgrims ascend Mount Arafat near Mecca, as depicted in this illuminated manuscript.

This manuscript features a folio from Futuh al-Haramayn, a 16th-century illustrated pilgrimage guidebook composed by Persian miniaturist Muhyi al-Din Lari for the ruler of Gujarat, Muzaffar al-Din b. Mahmud Shah (r. 1511-26). Gujarat’s Muslim rulers maintained strong links with Mecca, extending their artistic and architectural patronage outwards across the Arabian Sea. The guidebook was written in Persian in fine nasta’liq script.

Credit: Khalili Collection Hajj and Arts of Pilgrimage, MSS 1038, fol. 29a.

18/05/2026

With 2026's successful grantees expected to be announced soon we're delighted to bring news of the completion of one of our 2024 A3 grantees from Alexandria, Egypt.

Ismael Awad was awarded an A3 Major Award for his project "Shrines of the Lake Maryut Region". This project saw the survey, mapping, and documentation of over 100 shrines in and around the area of the former Lake Maryut, south of Alexandria. The oldest standing shrine dates to 1294.

In conjunction with the French Institute in Alexandria, Ismael gave a keynote lecture on the project in June 2025 that marked the opening of a five week photography exhibition, "In the presence of the sacred", showcasing the breathtaking work of Samar Baiomy.

Finally, a booklet was published in French and Arabic, summarising the findings of the project. These findings were also shared with the relevant authorities to provide reliable information as decisions are made about how to preserve such important heritage.

Congratulations to Ismael and the team, and thank you to Samar for such fantastic images.

1 - Shrines of Sidi Azza Oun el-Dalashi and Sheikh Issa Qassem with one of their descendants. One of the features of this project was to engage with the local communities around the shrine to better understand their histories and relationships with the people who use them today.
2 - Shrine of Sidi Shneweir, located on the northern shore of the Maryut Lake.
3 - Shrine of Sidi Mohamed al-Qarawi
4 - Remains of the shrine of Sidi Abdullah Abu Niran
5 - Interior of the shrine of Sidi Ali

15/05/2026

As we prepare to announce our successful grantees for this year's 2026 grant cycle we have the opportunity to shine the spotlight on several of our publication grantees from 2024's grant cycle.
The A4 Iradj Bagherzade Publication Grant provides funds towards the cost of a major publication on the history of the art, architecture and material culture, archaeology, and conservation of the Islamic world.
It is a delight to see the exceptionally high quality of these studies that have come out over the past year or are soon to be released.

1 - Peyvand Firouzeh: Intimacies of Global Sufism. This book explores the fascinating material culture created by the Neʿmatullahi Sufi order as it spread between Iran and the Deccan region of India between the 15th and 17th centuries. These Sufis, followers of the poet and mystic Shah Neʿmatullah Vali, constructed shrines, small retreat cells, and ritual objects that combined local and transregional artistic languages, creating what Firouzeh calls an “intimate” aesthetic.

2 - Sami Luigi De Giosa and Nikolaos Vryzidis: The Medieval Mediterranean. Between Islam and Christianity. This volume explores the intertwined artistic histories of the medieval Mediterranean, where Islamic and Christian cultures met, clashed, and blended. From the Iberian Peninsula to Egypt, the Mediterranean witnessed centuries of cultural exchanges, resulting in a hybrid material culture that often defies religious or geographic boundaries.

3 - Deniz Türker and Hilal Ugurlu: Architecture and Interiors of the Harems in Eighteenth-Century Istanbul. This book offers a fresh perspective on the influential roles played by Ottoman royal women during the reign of Sultan Selim III (1789–1807). While Ottoman harem history is often clouded by exoticism and stereotype, Türker instead focuses on the political, social, and material worlds these women inhabited and shaped.

Congratulations to these authors on their publications and we're excited to see what else will be published over the coming months and years.

06/05/2026

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3DrVceoIDQOB4ras1lmHFr?si=ca200258aacf41a4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w9w161ku-0

This month’s podcast takes us to the far south-west of the Islamic world, to the Inner Nigel Delta in Mali where stands the Great Mosque of Djenné in all its magnificence. Join Michelle Apotsos as she discusses the story of this vibrant place of worship built solely out of mud and wood at the centre of a town with deep historical links south to the Atlantic coast and north across the Sahara desert to the Maghreb. In the annual tradition of renovation and reconstruction, the Great Mosque offers a model of architectural renewal alongside an understanding of heritage not as a stagnant object needing to be frozen time but a living tradition.

Michelle Apotsos is Professor of Art and Architectural History at Williams College, specializing in architecture and Afro-Islamic creative production. Her current projects focus on the growth of large-scale congregational masajid on the continent and alternative contemporary religious spatial technologies and ecologies.

1 - A tower in the outer wall of the Great Mosque with nine horizontal layers of projecting wooden sticks - Djenné, Mali - November-December 1993. Angeline van Achterberg collection at the African Studies Centre Leiden.
2 - “Ruins of the ancient mosque of Djenné” from Hugot, Ludovic (1895). “Notes de voyage d’un officier au Soudan”. À travers le monde (in French). Paris: Librairie Hachette. pp.214-6
3 - Repairing the mud walls - Ralf Steinberger
4 - Walking to the market - Dr. Ondřej Havelka
5 - Djenné market - Ferdinand Reus

01/05/2026

May 2026 Newsletter - The Barakat Trust -

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26/04/2026

A Weekend in Cairo. Day 3.

Historic Cairo.

In what felt like almost a lifetime’s worth of walking, visiting, and wondering we wrapped up the third and final day of the trip with an explore of historic Cairo.

We began with a tour of the dome of Imam al-Shafi’i in the southern cemetery led by Dr. May al-Ibrashi of and to learn about the conversation work on the shrine and see a new exhibition about the lives of those who live in Cairo’s cemeteries. Both aspects were a poignant reminder of a rapidly changing environment. Afterwards, May took us to al-Khalifa where she told us about their urban redevelopment projects and how they involve and are led by the local community including summer camps for children and local farms. We were also honoured to visit their workshop where the women of the area were busy at work producing beautiful embroideries and wood artisan products.

After a lunch stop at Naguib Mahfouz Café we moved to al-Muizz Street for a tour of historic Cairo’s beating heart. Mohamed Adel led the visit through Mamluk madrasas, hospitals, hammams, and mosques.

At Bab al-Futuh, the historic exit gate of the walled city, the bus was waiting for a quick getaway to the airport and return home, dazed, tired, happy, and hungry to taste more of Cairo’s beauty, bustle, and most of all, generosity.

Wow

24/04/2026

A Weekend in Cairo. Day 2 (daytime)

Islamic Cairo
This morning we began our day at the fabulous Museum of Islamic Art where we were led around by the wonderfully charismatic Dr. Duaa as she recounted the story of the museum’s collections and the legends that surround some of the objects. Many thanks to the MIA and Dr. Duaa for their wonderful hospitality.
Afterwards we headed to Beit Yakan in the historic al-Darb al-Ahmar, a 17th century house renovated and transformed into a community centre by Alaa el-Habashi and Ola Said. We heard about the history of the building, their approach to the restoration, and their hopes for the future. The children’s club taking place at the same time as our tour was a wonderful reminder of their efforts to integrate their work and the house into the local community. Many thanks to Ola, Alaa, and all the team for their warm welcome (and of course Ziad for the fantastic coffee!)

Evening activity to follow…

24/04/2026

A Weekend in Cairo, Day 1
Under Cairo’s lights at night

Yesterday evening we kicked off the beginning of our trip to Cairo with an architectural tour of Downtown. Illuminated by Cairo’s neon streetlights, dazzling shopfronts, and the knowledge of our guide and historian Ahmed el-Bendary, we explored the construction of Downtown in the 19th and 20th centuries and today’s continued efforts to maintain the district as a thriving residential and commercial area.
Thank you to Ahmed for a wonderful tour and welcome to all our guests.