The mosque Jama Masjid (meaning Friday Mosque) is the most splendid mosque of Ahmedabad, built in 1424 during the reign of Ahmed Shah. Lying in the old party of city, the mosque is situated opposite to Mahatma Gandhi Road, on the eastern side of Teen Darwaza.
Architecture
Built with yellow sandstone, the mosque complex is centered on a large rectangular courtyard 75 m long and 66 m wide. One enters the court by three entrances, one at the center of each side. The courtyard is lined with a colonnade on three sides, the prayer hall occupies the fourth (east) side. In the center of the courtyard is a rectangular basin for ablutions.
The prayer room is also rectangular and covered by four domes. In its Indo-Saracenic architecture, the mosque also contains many syncretic elements not necessarily obvious to the viewer: some of the central domes are carved like lotus flowers, closely related to the typical domes of Jain temples; and some of the pillars are carved with the form of a bell hanging on a chain, in reference to the bells that often hang in Hindu temples. The wide open courtyard, floored with white marble, is ringed by a colonade painted with giant Arabic calligraphy, and has a tank for ritual ablutions in the center. The mosque and arcades are built of beautiful yellow sandstone and carved with the intricate detail that mosques of this period are known for. While the two principal minarets flanking the main arched entranceway collapsed in the 1819 earthquake, their lower portions still stand. The main prayer hall has over 260 columns supporting the roof, with its 15 domes, making a walk through the hall a beautiful maze of light and shadows. The Wall of Prayer, the qibla is decorated. Pierced stone screens (the 'Jalis') are placed between the two pillars of the central openings. The main entrance is framed by two columns, the remains of two minarets (the 'shaking minarets') which were destroyed by the earthquakes of 1819 and 1957.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get a Cheapest Fare on Bus Booking, Hotel Booking, Flight Booking & Holiday Packages only on www.vishvabhraman.com and get up to 15% discount on all Bus bookings using Coupon Code “VBSP15”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.