Vrajeshjani
Sidi Saiyad Jali
The Sidi Saiyad Mosque is a renowned ancient mosque in Ahmedabad, built by Ahmed Shah’s slave Sidi Saiyad in 1571. Situated near the famous Lal Darwaja at Bhadra, it was once part of the city wall of Ahmedabad. The most interesting features of the mosque are the fabulous Jhali screens lining its upper walls and the magnificent and exclusive stone tracery. The screens are framed in ten semi-circular windows and are built in Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. The carved stone windows depict the complex intertwining of the branches of the kalpa tree.
This intricately carved stone window is the Siddi Sayyed Jali, the unofficial symbol of city of Ahmedabad and the inspiration for the design of the logo of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. This mosque is extremely strong as since it is made of stones and in stones after many years it goes back to the ground and they by day it becomes much more stronger...
Sometimes by looking at the Jalis one might wonder as to why there is a gap in the middle? It is said that when it was build, it used to have one more in the center but some say that when the Britishers came to India they tried to take the middle one but it broke. They even tried once again but it cracked and finally they realised that it was impossible to remove it.
The central window arch of the mosque, where one would expect to see another intricate jali, is instead walled with stone.This is possibly because the mosque was not completed according to plan before the Mughals invaded Gujarat.
Sidi Saiyad Jali
The Sidi Saiyad Mosque is a renowned ancient mosque in Ahmedabad, built by Ahmed Shah’s slave Sidi Saiyad in 1571. Situated near the famous Lal Darwaja at Bhadra, it was once part of the city wall of Ahmedabad. The most interesting features of the mosque are the fabulous Jhali screens lining its upper walls and the magnificent and exclusive stone tracery. The screens are framed in ten semi-circular windows and are built in Indo-Saracenic style of architecture. The carved stone windows depict the complex intertwining of the branches of the kalpa tree.
This intricately carved stone window is the Siddi Sayyed Jali, the unofficial symbol of city of Ahmedabad and the inspiration for the design of the logo of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. This mosque is extremely strong as since it is made of stones and in stones after many years it goes back to the ground and they by day it becomes much more stronger...
Sometimes by looking at the Jalis one might wonder as to why there is a gap in the middle? It is said that when it was build, it used to have one more in the center but some say that when the Britishers came to India they tried to take the middle one but it broke. They even tried once again but it cracked and finally they realised that it was impossible to remove it.
The central window arch of the mosque, where one would expect to see another intricate jali, is instead walled with stone.This is possibly because the mosque was not completed according to plan before the Mughals invaded Gujarat.