Architecture-Building & Construction

Coptic Architecture

Portrait of a Woman
The Copts were a Christian culture living in Egypt. Their civilization was at its height between the 2nd and 7th centuries. This portrait of a young woman is part of a mural from a Coptic building. The large, forward-looking eyes and stylized features are characteristic of the Coptic painting style.

The chief remains of Coptic architecture are monasteries and churches, scattered throughout the country, built of unbaked brick on the basilica plan inherited from the Greco-Roman world.


They usually have heavy walls and columns (of which the architraves are the most common of all Coptic architectural remains), often with vaulted roofs, and end in a tripartite apse. Such churches were left plain outside, to escape attention in a Muslim country and, after a destructive Persian invasion in the 7th century, were heavily fortified. Inside, however, the churches are richly decorated with murals and relief carving.
Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia

posted by Ronald @ 7:03 PM