Badshahi mosque

The Badshahi Mosque ( Urdu بادشاہی مسجد Badschahi Masdschid , German for 'Imperial Mosque' ) in Lahore is the second largest mosque in Pakistan and one of the largest in the world. In the years 1671 to 1674 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb built, it is one of the most significant works of Indo-Islamic religious architecture of the Mughal period .

location

The Badshahi Mosque stands on an accessible platform stairs in the old town opposite the by the UNESCO as a world heritage site classified Lahore Fort .

history

Badshahi mosque with dismantled minarets (around 1880)

Lahore owned - besides Delhi , Agra and Fatehpur Sikri - one of the four mansions of the Mughal emperors. Aurangzeb decided to equip this place with a representative mosque, but he did not supervise the work himself, but left this task to a representative. In 1799 the city was taken by Ranjit Singh , the leader of the rebellious Sikhs - he confiscated the place of worship and converted the outer perimeter of the huge mosque courtyard into horse stables; other parts served as weapons stores as well as storage and study rooms. Already before or during the First Sikh War (1845/46) the minarets of the mosque were partially torn down to serve as platforms for light cannons and snipers. In 1852 the British installed the Badshahi Mosque Authority to restore the place of worship, but little had happened in this regard until 1939.

On the occasion of the 2nd Islamic Summit Conference in Lahore (1974), the leaders of the Islamic states - including the Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto , Libya's head of state Muammar al-Gaddafi , King Faisal of Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat - met to pray together in the Badshahi Mosque together.

architecture

Passages with multi-pass arches

court

The Badshahi mosque belongs to the type of court mosque widespread in West, Central and South Asia; This means that about 80% of the total area is taken up by a courtyard ( sahn ), in the middle of which there is a well basin for the little ablution ( wudoo ' ) prescribed by the Koran (sura 5,6) before prayer . The square courtyard, each around 150 m long, has space for over 50,000 (others even speak of 90,000 or 100,000) believers. It is surrounded by a crenellated wall, the corners of which are emphasized by high minarets.

mosque

The Badshahi Mosque is similar to the Jama Masjid in Delhi, built two decades earlier . The main building is located on the southwest side of the courtyard and is oriented towards Mecca , the entrance gate is opposite. The building, the corners of which are marked by four low, octagonal minarets with attached pavilions ( chhatris ), is crowned by three white, bulbous marble domes, which end with upturned lotus blossoms and gilded ball sticks ( jamur ). The symmetrical facade, made of red sandstone with inlaid white marble, consists of a high central ivan with five smaller portals on either side; Most of the bows are designed as multi-pass bows with a central keel . The interior walls are decorated with blind niches in the form of prayer rugs ; The ceilings and arches are covered with stucco vegetal and geometric ornaments.