Developed by Greek and Hellenistic astronomers and refined in the Islamic Golden Age, the astrolabe is a portable analogue computer for determining the position of the sun and stars, the time of day, and the direction of Mecca — a combined astronomical, timekeeping, and navigational instrument. The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha holds one of the world's finest collections of brass astrolabes produced in medieval Baghdad, Cairo, and Al-Andalus, many signed by their makers and engraved with Arabic inscriptions of extraordinary technical sophistication.

Exhibition Venue

Museum of Islamic Art

Cairo Governorate, Egypt