Jama Masjid (Ahmedabad)
The Friday Mosque ( Jama Masjid ) of Ahmedabad in the Indian state of Gujarat is one of the largest courtyard mosques in the country.
history
The mosque was commissioned by the Sultan of Gujarat , who had ruled since 1411, and city founder Ahmed Shah I. According to an inscription above the central mihrab, it was completed on January 4th, 1424.
The two conically tapering minarets, which are still documented on a drawing from 1809 and divided by balconies, collapsed in the earthquakes of 1819 and 1857 above the still existing base zones to the left and right of the portal. Its design was almost unique in the entire Islamic architecture of the Indian subcontinent (exception: Champaner ). The appearance of the area above the central portal seems to have changed slightly after the collapse.
mosque
The mosque is one of the court mosques characteristic of the Persian-Indian region with sides of approx. 63 × 130 m; the entire courtyard is surrounded by a covered gallery, which is only interrupted by the three entrances. In the middle of the mosque there is a rectangular basin for the ablutions ( wudu ' ) prescribed by the Koran (sura 5,6 ) ; It is also surrounded by a stone gallery to protect it from the sun's rays. In addition, four stone columns of light are remarkable, with the help of which the dark courtyard area could be illuminated before morning and after evening prayers. The top of the relatively flat mosque domes is formed by amalaka ring stones with seated kalasha vases as they are typical for Hindu temples , but also appear on the Champaner Friday mosque, which is around 100 years younger .
The three-portal entrance to the central mosque room is reminiscent of a triumphal arch scheme , which was also widely used in Islamic architecture. The base zones of the two minarets that still exist to the side of the central portal are richly decorated. The room, which is supported by numerous articulated pillars, which are viewed as spoils of numerous destroyed Hindu and Jain temples, is predominantly flat-roofed and also has a women's gallery separated by geometric Jali grids. Before the westward ( Mecca oriented) rear wall ( qibla ) are 3 Kragkuppeln whose average over a circumferential gallery (see FIG. Jain temple of Ranakpur ) to an octagon with Jali gratings is increased. A total of 5 mihrab niches are set into the rear wall, which is partially pierced by Jali windows , but these are hardly visible from the outside. The central mihrab niche is also designed in the Hindu manner, but without any figurative or vegetable decorative motifs. To the right of this is the stone minbar for the prayer leader imam .
Minaret base to the left of the portal
Pillar decor (detail)
Tree motif in a niche of the right minaret base
Round shields as battlements over the portal
Pillar inside the mosque room
Ahmed Shah's mausoleum
A few meters east of the Friday Mosque is Ahmed Shah's mausoleum, richly decorated with geometric Jali windows , which was begun during his lifetime, but was possibly only completed by his son.
literature
- KV Soundara Rajan: Ahmadabad. New Delhi, Archeological Survey of India 1992, pp. 21-23.
Web links
Coordinates: 23 ° 1 ′ 25 ″ N , 72 ° 35 ′ 15 ″ E