Family Privacy. Muslim domestic architecture has historically been dominated by concepts different from those of modern western architecture. Whereas modern western homes are designed for nuclear families, Muslim homes have, whenever possible, provided an enclosure for an extended family, often consisting of dozens of people. While modern western housing is open to the outside via large picture windows and gardens that can be seen from the street, classical Muslim houses are built to ensure maximum privacy, closing off the outside world as completely as possible with solid walls on the property line, few or no windows at street level, and carved wooden screens on all windows, which are usually in the upper stories only. Through such screens, those inside can see out, but outsiders cannot see the interior of the house. Inside this enclosed space, rooms often open onto an interior courtyard...