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> Image Details
Neon lit  and tulip shaped basmala calligraphy at Berlin restaurant
Neon Basmala tulip at Berlin restaurant window ( Germany, 2018 )
neon shop signs Koran food flowers
Collection : typefaces & calligraphy
Topic : Arabic and Islamic Typography and Calligraphy
Age/Era :
2010-2019

A Turkish restaurant in Berlin uses the Basmala (بسملة) - an abridged name for the phrase "in the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"  (بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ)  - in the shape of a tulip as a neon-lit shop sign. Arabic calligraphy allow for many creative bendings due to the flexibility of the lines that form the connected letters. Once the single baseline is abolished, bundles spring up from words and verses to generate shapes of falcons and faces, of tulips, fruits, flames, and lions. Here, legibility is not the main interest, rather Muslims will recognize this central phrase. Apart from the ninth sura it appears and is to be recited in the beginning of every sura of the Koran. The phrase is used in much more contexts though, for example during prayer. 

  • Uploaded by : Alina Kokoschka| © Alina Kokoschka
  • License :Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
  • Date :26/03/2018
  • Link :http://hawass.org/image/596