 |
Mecca Masjid also known as Makkah Masjid, is one of the oldest mosques
in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, And it is one of the largest
Mosques in India. Makkah Masjid is a listed heritage building in the old
city of Hyderabad, close to the historic landmarks of
Chowmahalla Palace,
Laad Bazaar,
and Charminar.
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty,
commissioned bricks to be made from the soil brought from Mecca, the
holiest site of Islam, and used them in the construction of the central
arch of the mosque, thus giving the mosque its name. It formed the
centerpiece around which the city was planned by Muhammad Quli Qutub
Shah. |
|
History and Construction
Makkah Masjid was built during the reign of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the
5th Qutb Shahi Sultan of Golconda (now Hyderabad). The three arched
facades have been carved from a single piece of granite, which took five
years to quarry. More than 8,000 workers were employed to build the
mosque. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah personally laid the foundation stone.
The construction was later completed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb after
conquering Hyderabad.
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, the French explorer, in his travelogue
observed;
"It is about 50 years since they began to build a splendid pagoda in
the town which will be the grandest in all India when it is completed.
The size of the stone is the subject of special accomplishment, and that
of a niche, which is its place for prayer, is an entire rock of such
enormous size that they spent five years in quarrying it, and 500 to 600
men were employed continually on its work. It required still more time
to roll it up on to conveyance by which they brought it to the pagoda;
and they took 1400 oxen to draw it."
Architecture and Design
The main hall of the mosque is 75 feet high, 220 feet wide and 180 feet
long, enough to accommodate 10,000 worshipers at a time. Fifteen arches
support the roof of the main hall, five on each of the three sides. A
wall rises on the fourth side to provide Mihrab.
|
At the peak of the minarets flanking the mosque is an arched gallery,
and above that a smallish dome and a spire. Inscriptions from the Qur'an
adorn many of the arches and doors. The main structure of the mosque is
sandwiched between two massive octagonal columns made out of a single
piece of granite. The cornices running around the entire mosque
structure and the floral motifs and friezes over the arches remind the
tourist of the great attention paid to detail in Qutub Shahi
architecture. They have a close resemblance to the arches at
Charminar and
Golkonda Fort.
On the four sides of the roof on the main mosque, the ramparts are made
of granite planks in the shape of inverted conches perched on pedestals.
|
 |
From
the cornice of the mosque, its minarets are not as high as the minarets
on the mazaar (Nizams tombs) haven from their cornice. The
octagonal columns have arched balconies on level with the roof of the
mosque with an awning for a canopy, above which the column continues
upwards till it is crowned by a dome and spire.
Tombs
The entrance courtyard of the mosque, a rectangular, arched and canopied
building houses the marble graves of Asaf Jahi rulers. This structure
came up during the rule of the Asaf Jah rulers. It contains the tombs of
the Nizams and their family.
At both ends of this resting place for the Asaf Jahs and very much a
part of it, are two rectangular blocks with four minarets each. These
minarets have elegant and circular balconies with low ornamental walls
and arches. Above them is an octagonal inverted platter from which the
rest of the minaret soars till it is arrested by a dome and a spire.
Maintenance Issue
The Makkah Masjid is a listed heritage building, however, lack of
maintenance and growing pollution has withered and cracked the
structure. It received a chemical wash in 1995. To prevent further
damage, the Andhra Pradesh government made Charminar a traffic-free zone
in August 2001.
Legends
On the edge of the pond are two stone and slab benches, whoever sits on
them, according to legend, returns to sit on them again. A room in the
courtyard is believed to house a hair of the Islamic prophet Muhammed.
Getting There
The nearest airport
to this attraction is
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (IATA: HYD, ICAO: VOHS), also
known as Hyderabad International Airport, or simply RGIA.
It is an
international airport serving the metropolis of Hyderabad located at Shamshabad,
about 22 km (14 mi) south of Hyderabad.
|
