Ablaq
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Ablaq is an architectural technique involving alternating or fluctuating rows of light and dark stone. It is an Arabic term describing a technique associated with Islamic architecture in the Arab world. It may have its origins in earlier Byzantine architecture in the region, where alternating layers of white stone and orange brick were used in construction. The technique is used primarily for decorative effect.
Reception hall of Azem Palace in Damascus, Syria, using ablaq technique (18th century)
Interior of the Dome of the Rock, originally built in the 7th century, with ablaq used in the arches
Ablaq stonework on the Alaeddin Mosque in Konya (13th century)
Entrance portal at the Mosque of al-Zahir Baybars in Cairo, Egypt (13th century)
Ashlar
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Ashlar is a cut and dressed stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones.
Dry ashlar masonry laid in parallel courses on an Inca wall at Machu Picchu
Ashlar masonry north gable of Banbury Town Hall, Oxfordshire
Ashlar polygonal masonry in Cuzco, Peru
Quarry-faced red Longmeadow sandstone in random ashlar was specified by architect Henry Hobson Richardson for the North Congregational Church (Springfield, Massachusetts, 1871). Although each block was cut with great precision on adjacent faces, the external face was left rough as when removed from the quarry. The blocks were laid randomly without continuous courses or vertical and horizontal joints.