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Framed by a nearby structure..
Qutub Minar (Urdu: قطب منار) is the tallest brick minaret in the world, and an important example of Indo-Islamic Architecture. The tower is in the Qutb complex at Mehrauli in South Delhi, India. The Qutub Minar and its monuments are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Qutub Minar is 72 meters high (237.8 ft) with 379 steps leading to the top. The diameter of the base is 14.3 meters wide while the top floor measures 2.75 meters in diameter. Surrounding the building are many fine examples of Indian artwork from the time it was built in 1193. A second tower was in construction and planned to be taller than the Qutub Minar itself. Its construction ended abruptly when it was about 12 meters tall.The name of this tower is given as Alau Minar and construction of the same ended due to the death of the Sultan ,Alauddin Khilji. Only the core made of random rubble masonry and mortar remain of this unfinished tower which was to have been twice the height of the Qutb Minar of Qutb ud din Aibak.
Inspired by the Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan and wishing to surpass it, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the first Muslim ruler of Delhi, commenced construction of the Qutub Minar in 1193, but could only complete its base. His successor, Iltutmish, added three more storeys and, in 1368, Firuz Shah Tughluq constructed the fifth and the last storey. The development of architectural styles from Aibak to Tuglak are quite evident in the minaret. Like earlier towers erected by the Ghaznavids and Ghurids in Afghanistan, the Qutub Minar comprises several superposed flanged and cylindrical shafts, separated by balconies carried on Muqarnas corbels. The minaret is made of fluted red sandstone covered with intricate carvings and verses from the Qur'an. The Qutub Minar is itself built on the ruins of Lal Kot, the Red Citadel in the city of Dhillika, the capital of the Tomars and the Chauhans, the last Hindu rulers of Delhi.
According to the inscriptions on its surface it was repaired by Firuz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351–88) and Sikandar Lodi (AD 1489–1517). Major R.Smith also repaired and restored the minaret in 1829.
The nearby Iron Pillar is one of the world's foremost metallurgical curiosities, standing in the famous Qutub Complex. According to the traditional belief, any one who can encircle the entire column with their arms, with their back towards the pillar, can have their wish granted. Because of the corrosive qualities of sweat, people are no longer allowed to perform this act.
(from Wikipedia)
The floor of the covered prayer area of Baadshahi Mosque was exquisitely laid with marble and walls are carved with patterns.
It was so calm being in this area.
Location : Lahore, Pakistan
The lady in a Gujrati (?) sari opened the masjid compound for us. The entrance is largely broken but still stands - a Hindu arch within an Islamic one.
Moth Ki Masjid is a mosque located in Delhi, and was built in 1505 by Wazir Miya Bhoiya, Prime Minister during the reign of Sultan Sikander Lodi (1517–26). It was a new type of mosque developed by the Lodi dynasty in the fourth city of the medieval Delhi of the Delhi Sultanate. The name of the mosque literally translated into English language means ‘Lentil Mosque’ and this name tag ‘Lentil’ has an interesting legend. This mosque was considered a beautiful Dome (Gumbad) structure of the period.
The mosque is now completely enclosed within the modern locality of South Extension Part II, Uday Park and Masjid Moth comprising residential and commercial establishments in the urban setting of South Delhi.
It is famously narrated that when Sultan Sikandar Lodi was on a visit to a mosque in the vicinity of the present location of the Moth Ki Masjid for prayer, he knelt over a grain of moth (a kind of lentil), which had been dropped by a bird. His loyal Prime Minister Wazir Miya Bhoiya, who had accompanied the King, saw the lentil seed and observed that.
A seed so honoured by His majesty must not be thrown away. It must be used in the service of God.
So he took the moth seed and planted it in his garden for further growth. Over the years, the process of repeated planting and replanting of the moth seeds was carried out. In this process, the seeds multiplied several times. The Wazir finally sold the rich harvest and earned good money. With the proceeds of the sale he built the mosque after seeking permission from the Sultan to construct the Mosque.[1] Impressed by the ingenuity of his minister, Sikandar Lodi laid the foundation for building the mosque.
The Nasrid Palace (Palacios Nazaries) displays Muslim architecture at its pinnacle. The walls, ceilings, and columns are worked in low-relief planes of finely molded, colored plaster which catches the light. Many of the ceilings display a honeycomb of decorative, hanging plaster stalactites. The palace rooms border patios with pools and water cascades. The emphasis on water reflects its preciousness in the Arab world. The Court of Myrtles shows off its long reflecting pool, and the Court of Lions highlights a cross of narrow pools that extend into the interior. Moors stood in the Court of Lions 600 years ago, reading the Koranic poetry adorning the walls, and contemplating Muslim paradise and the twelve lions (zodiac, months, etc.). The Hall of Ambassadors was the audience room for the emirs, highlighted by its spectacular views of the Albaicin hill through the pierced-sculpture windows.
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EXPLORED
Rukn-ud-Din Abul Fatah 1251 to 1334 was a widely loved scholar and became head of Suhrawardiya sufi sect founded by his father Baha-ud-Din Zakaria. The structure is built entirely of red brick and timber. The building has two octagonal lower storey’s strengthened by buttresses an supporting massive spired dome almost 20 metres in diameter, and has a total height of over 30 metres. The interior and exterior are decorated with garters of glazed tiles in blue and turquoise laid in regular geometric bas-reliefs. Inside are dozens of chevron shaped ridges laid out on the ground like graves, but the tomb of the saint is draped under a cloth in a canopy. The tomb was built between 1320-1324.
The bottom of the minaret of the Hassan II Mosque has a large multi-story rotunda.
Casablanca, Morocco
The Hassan II Mosque (Arabic: مسجد الحسن الثاني, French: Grande Mosquée Hassan II) is a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the second largest functioning mosque in Africa and is the 7th largest in the world. Its minaret is the world's second tallest minaret at 210 metres (689 ft). Completed in 1993, it was designed by Michel Pinseau under the guidance of King Hassan II and built by Moroccan artisans from all over the kingdom. The minaret is 60 stories high topped by a laser, the light from which is directed towards Mecca. The mosque stands on a promontory looking out to the Atlantic Ocean; worshippers can pray over the sea but there is no glass floor looking into the sea. The walls are of hand-crafted marble and the roof is retractable. A maximum of 105,000 worshippers can gather together for prayer: 25,000 inside the mosque hall and another 80,000 on the mosque's outside ground.—from Wikipedia
The Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, is famous for its extensive faience tile work. It has been described as ' a mole on the cheek of Lahore'. It was built in seven years, starting around 1634-1635 A.D., during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan. It was built by Shaikh Ilm-ud-din Ansari, a native of Chiniot, who rose to be the court physician to Shah Jahan and later, the Governor of Lahore. He was commonly known as Wazir Khan. (The word wazir means 'minister' in Urdu language.) The mosque is located inside the Inner City and is easiest accessed from Delhi Gate.
In his published notes, F H Andrews, former Principal of the Mayo School of Arts, describes the mosque thus: 'The material used in the construction of the Mosque is a small tile-like brick universally used by the Mughals when stone was unusable or too costly. The only stone used in the building is used for brackets and some of the fretwork (pinjra). The walls were coated with plaster (chunam) and faced with a finely-soft quality of the same material tooled to a marble-like surface and coloured. All the external plasterwork was richly coloured a rich Indian red, in true fresco, and the surface afterwards picked out with white lines in the similitude of the small bricks beneath. The extreme severity of the lines of the building is relieved by the division of the surfaces into slightly sunk rectangular panels, alternatively vertical and horizontal, the vertical panels having usually an inner panel with arched head or the more florid cusped mihrab. These panels, where they are exposed to weather, are generally filled with a peculiar inlaid faience pottery called kashi, the effect of which must have been very fine when the setting of deep red plaster of the walls was intact.'
'The facade of the sanctuary is practically covered with kashi and is divided into the usual oblong panels. A beautiful border is carried rectangularly round the centre archway, and inscriptions in Persian characters occur in an outer border, in a long panel over the archway, and in horizontal panels along the upper portions of the lower walls to right and left. The spandrels are filled in with extremely fine designs.'
'With the minars, however, the facade of the sanctuary, and the entrance gateway, where a small portion of the surface was left for plaster, the effect of the gorgeous colours against the soft blue of a Punjabi sky, and saturated with brilliant sunlight and glowing purple shadow is indescribably rich and jewel-like.'
'Right and left of the sanctuary are two stately octagonal minars 100 feet in height. On the long sides of the quadrangle are ranged small khanas or cells, each closed by the usual Indian two-leaved door set in a slightly recessed pointed arch, of which there are thirteen on each side by a pavilion rising above the general level, containing larger apartments and an upper story reached by two flights of steps, which also give access to the roof of the arcading and pavilions...these pavilions occur, in the centre of the north and south sides of the lower level of the pavement. In the pavilion on the south side is a fountain set in a circular scalloped basin, and served from the main which supplies the tank in the quadrangle.'
Within the inner courtyard of the mosque lies the subterranean tomb of Syed Muhammad Ishaq, known as Miran Badshah, a divine from Iran who settled in Lahore during the time of the Tughluq dynasty. The tomb, therefore, predates the mosque.
Panoramic view of late afternoon at the Pol-i-Kalon complex in old Bukhara. Uzbekistan was the highlight of our travels in Central Asia. Read more about why you should travel to Uzbekistan on our blog at designthinktravel.com/uzbekistan-travel-awesome-why/
Wish You all a very Happy and Progressive New Year Ahead.
On this special last day of Hijri Calendar I wish you a Happy New Hijri Year.
The Islamic calendar or Muslim calendar or Hijri calendar is a lunar calendar used to date events in many predominantly Muslim countries, and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic holy days and festivals. It is a lunar calendar having 12 lunar months in a year of about 354 days. Because this lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year, Islamic holy days, although celebrated on fixed dates in their own calendar, usually shift 11 days earlier each successive solar year, such as a year of the Gregorian calendar.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_calendar
This shot is of Sheikh Zayeed Moque in Abu Dhabi UAE.
Sheikh Zayed Mosque is the third largest mosque in the world located in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It is named after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan the founder and the first President of the United Arab Emirates, who is also buried there. The Mosque was officially opened in the month of Ramadan in 2007.
The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque is considered as one of the most beautiful mosques in the Asia Pacific. This mosque is named after the 28th Sultan of Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddien III, who initiated its construction and is considered as the Sultan who brought Brunei to its glorious days.
The mosque, finished in 1958, is a great example of modern Islamic architecture, which shows a mix of Mughal and Italian Renaissance architectural styles. Today it stands as a dominant icon in the city of Bandar Seri Begawan –capital of Brunei– and serves as one of its main attractions.
One of the most recognizable features of the mosque is its main dome, which is covered in pure gold. The mosque stands 52 m. (171 ft.) and can be seen from about anywhere in the city. In fact, its marble minaret is one of the tallest structures in the entire city given to the fact that in Brunei, no building should surpass the mosque’s heights since you should be able to see it (and hear the prayer) from anywhere in the city (if you’re in close proximity).
Best viewed large. A selection of Dysart's forty-one listed buildings.
T: The Shoremaster's House, Pan Ha and St Serf's Tower, PanHa/ Hie Gait , ? house
M: The Old Coachouse, Ravenscraig Castle, The Anchorage, Harbourmasters House
B: The Towers, The Merchant's House, John MacDouall Stuart's House, Old Tolbooth (jail).
My sincere thanks go the the members of the Dysart Trust, without whose unflagging efforts in the 1960's and 1970's, virtually all of Dysart's historic heritage would have been torn down in the name of progress. Many of those same award-winning flats and towers (monstrosities?) erected in the 1960's-1970's are now being demolished to make way for new houses more in keeping with the architectural style of the historic old town.
The Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Mosque (Malay: Masjid Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz) is the state mosque of Selangor, Malaysia. It is located in Shah Alam. It is the country's largest mosque and also the second largest mosque in Southeast Asia after Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta in Indonesia. Its most distinguishing feature is its large blue and silver dome. The mosque has four minarets, one erected at each of the corners.
Source: Wikipedia.
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The Nasrid Palace (Palacios Nazaries) displays Muslim architecture at its pinnacle. The walls, ceilings, and columns are worked in low-relief planes of finely molded, colored plaster which catches the light. Many of the ceilings display a honeycomb of decorative, hanging plaster stalactites. The palace rooms border patios with pools and water cascades. The emphasis on water reflects its preciousness in the Arab world. The Court of Myrtles shows off its long reflecting pool, and the Court of Lions highlights a cross of narrow pools that extend into the interior. Moors stood in the Court of Lions 600 years ago, reading the Koranic poetry adorning the walls, and contemplating Muslim paradise and the twelve lions (zodiac, months, etc.). The Hall of Ambassadors was the audience room for the emirs, highlighted by its spectacular views of the Albaicin hill through the pierced-sculpture windows.
It was not a good start when I arrived in Lahore Pakistan. The airport taxi did not seem to know where my hotel was and by the time we found the hotel it was already midnight. Worst thing was that my hotel was fully booked, seemed my booking of 2 months ago and a weekly reminder to them ( via email) seemed oblivion. After lots of arguments they managed to get a room for me. Pollution in Lahore is another set back that put me off.
I keep positive energy by hoping visiting Baadshahi Mosque the next day would be a good one.
And it was.
It is still one of the most beautiful mosques in the world that I have visited. This was my 3rd visit to Baadshahi Mosque but the 1st visit using Digital Camera.
The Beautiful Entrance of Baadshai mosque is enough to keep us awed of its beauty and intricate Moghul Architecture.
Location : Lahore - Pakistan
The Dewan-e-Aam (Hall of Public Audience) is an open hall of forty lofty pillars of red sandstone. Standing on a large rectangular platform, the hall measures 187 feet by 60 feet and rises to a height of 34 feet. On the second storey, there are beautiful cusped marble arches at the back of the building, looking down to Jahangir’s quadrangle.
Restoration work is in progress these days.
Gotta love it when there's a new and beautiful mosque nearby :)
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