It is helpful to consider Ottoman art outside the capital on a geographical basis. While Anatolia showed more features of Turkish origin, farther south a synthesis developed against the rich background of the region. The non-Muslim minorities also made important contributions. As a result of the architectural and artistic programme of the Ottoman Palace, the cultural heritage of the Middle East – the art of the Umayyads,
Abbasids, Ayyubids, Fatimids and Mamluks – was mixed together with Ottoman features.