15th - 16th Centuries

In the 15th Century Ulugh Beg constructed a three-storey observatory in Central Asia. The main instrument of the observatory was the Fakhri Sextant. With a radius of around 40 metres it was the largest astronomical instrument of its time. Ulugh Beg calculated that the stellar year is 365 days, 6 hours, 10 minutes and 8 seconds - only 62 seconds more than the present estimation!

With the advanced instruments and mapping technology at their disposal, Muslims became experts in navigation and geography. Among other tools they used the compass and the astrolabe (which they probably developed from the Chinese and Greeks) to chart their way around the world. Vasco da Gama, Columbus and Magellan - all used the skills of Muslim navigators on their journeys.

This was also a golden age of architecture in the Muslim world. The Alhambra This was also a golden

age of architecture in the Muslim world. The Alhambra Palace in Spain in the 14th century, the Sulemaniyye Mosque built by Mimar Sinan in Istanbul in 1558, the magnificent Taj Mahal, constructed by Shah Jahan in the 17th century in India, are all examples of the splendour of Muslim architecture.