Spanish Mosque, Begumpet, Hyderabad. Inditales |
Prayer Hall at Spanish Mosque, Hyderabad Inditales |
The mosque has a prayer hall and the entrance through a foyer leads into the main prayer hall with a high roof and central dome open from below. The hall is well lit as the light passes through the windows. The foyer is flanked by chambers to be used by ladies to join the prayer and Paigah family members and prominent personalities. Noted unique elements are Moorish arches inside the prayer hall, Quranic verses in exquisite Kufi style of calligraphy inscribed on inner walls, the absence of an ablution tank and a courtyard.
The basement of the mosque is built with stone masonry in lime mortar and brick masonry in lime mortar is used for upper structures. The roof is built using iron girders with brick and lime concrete. As for the domes, minarets and small turrets, they are built with brick and stone masonry and the outer walls are plastered with lime mortar. As it was common in those days, for plastering of outer walls, lime mortar was widely used. The central dome has a perforated screen.
Spanish Mosque, Hyderabad, India allwidewallpapers.com |
The work on the mosque was completed by H.E Nawab Sultan Ul Mulk Bahadur, VI Amir of Paigah . But it was commsioned by his father the fifth Paigah Amir Sir Vicar Ul Umra in 1900 after his trip to Europe. But the construction work stopped in the middle due to his sudden death. This mosque is often referred to as Mosque of the Moors because of its strange Hispanic style of design commonly used in North African mosques. The spires like minarets and domes give it a cathedral look.
The iconic 111-year-old Spanish mosque or Jama Masjid Aiwan-e-Begumpet, inside the Paigah Palace, is getting a face lift. The mosque will have a new ablution tank. Tagged as one of the most beautiful and unusual mosques in India, it is in the dewdi of Iqbal-ud-Dowla Sir Vicar-ul Umra, in Begumpet, Secunderabad.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/271216/hyderbads-unique-spanish-mosque-is-getting-a-facelift.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Mosque