Mecca mosque

Mecca Masjid with fountain basin, staircase and courtyard (19th century)

Mecca Masjid ; the building on the left houses the cenotaphs and the dynasty tombs below.

The Mecca Mosque ( Mecca Masjid ) of Hyderabad is one of the most important mosques in the newly created Indian state of Telangana in 2014 .

history

Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah , the sixth sultan of Golkonda , began construction in 1617 under the direction of two Persian architects Mir Faizullah Baig and Rangaiah Chowdary . The bricks of parts of the actual core structure were allegedly made with earth imported from Mecca . The work continued under the reigns of Abdullah Qutb Shah and Tana Shah and was completed in 1694 by Mughal Mughal Aurangzeb . According to contemporary reports, 8,000 stonemasons worked 77 years to complete the mosque. The burial place of the ruling family of Golkonda / Hyderabad - of Asaf Jah III - is located in a later-added annex building . up to Asaf Jah VI. all nizams were buried there.

The Mecca mosque is a listed building, but the lack of maintenance and increasing air pollution are severely affecting the structure and damaging the fabric of the building. The facade was dry cleaned in 1995. In order to prevent further damage to the beautiful sacred building , the Andhra Pradesh government made the inner-city area around the mosque and the Charminar a "traffic-free zone" in August 2001.

architecture

The building follows the type of 'court mosques' common on the Indian subcontinent and neighboring areas. The actual structure - open to the courtyard through five arcades and crowned with battlements - with its two angular minarets , which with their surrounding balconies are based on those of the Charminar , is located on the west side of the courtyard area, which was originally open on all sides. The rear qibla wall of the more than 20 m high, 67 m wide and 56 m deep mosque room with the mihrab is oriented towards Mecca. Belgian crystal chandeliers decorated by Asaf Jah VI. were donated.

Bomb attack

The Mecca Mosque was the target of an explosives attack during Friday prayers on May 18, 2007 - at least 16 people were killed and 56 injured.

Web links

Commons : Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad, India  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 17 ° 21 ′ 41.8 ″  N , 78 ° 28 ′ 28.8 ″  E