Ye Olde Mappe of the Mediaeval Middle-East

A Beautiful Persian Hawrā’. The Hūr of the Qur’ān derive in origin from ancient Indo-Āryan religious traditions, which speak of beautiful nymphs who escort men in the Afterlife.

White-Shrouded Women of Algérie Française.

Algérie Française, 1937.

The Cyclops, by Bertrand-Jean “Odilon” Redon

This sensual blue goddess puts me in mind of a certain Daydream in Blue, by i_Monster:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHsU5UbN1hA

Mahomet Preaching, by Grigory Gagarin

It’s a common sight these days to see Hijabis wearing colourful clothes, adornments and make-up; I think they look sexy, but the Messenger Muhammad is dissapoint…

Bukhari  7:72:826: “Allah has cursed those women who practise tattooing or get it done for themselves, and those who remove hair from their faces, and those who create spaces between their teeth artificially to look beautiful, such ladies as change the features created by Allah.”

The eternal Ouroboros of Antiquity.

Known variously as Ishtar, Asherah, Anat, Innanna and others, the Fertility Goddess of Levantine Antiquity is a common motif in the ancient Near East, and is shown here feeding tow goats. The relief was found in Ras Shamra, an ancient Canaanite port-city, and dates from the late 2nd Millenium BCE.