The Mahabat Khan Mosque (
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
and ur, مہابت خان مسجد) ( hnd, مہابت خان مسیت), sometimes spelt Mohabbat Khan Mosque, is a 17th-century
Mughal-era mosque in
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. The mosque was built in 1630, and named after the Mughal governor of
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
, Nawab Mohabat Khan Kamboh, father of
Nawab Khairandesh Khan Kamboh. The mosque's white marble façade is considered to be one of Peshawar's most iconic sights.
History
The mosque was built between 1660 and 1670 by the
Mughals
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
, on what was the highest point in the old city.
The minarets of the Mohabbat Khan Mosque were frequently used in
Sikh times
''The Sikh Times'' is a Handsworth, West Midlands, Handsworth-based dual-language weekly newspaper primarily targeting Sikhism, Sikhs in the Birmingham area in England.
It is written in both Punjabi language, Punjabi and English language, English ...
for hanging prisoners. Five people per day were hanged from the minarets, `as a substitute for the gallows’. Following the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, refugee tribal elders would congregate in the mosque in order to forge unity amongst Afghans against the Soviets.
Layout
The mosque is 30,155 square feet in size.
[ Its open courtyard has a centrally-located ablution pool and a single row of rooms lining the exterior walls.
]
Architecture
The prayer hall occupies the west side. The hall is flanked by two tall minarets, which are divided into three sections.[ The façade of the prayer hall is also capped by 6 smaller decorative minarets that flank the mosque's 5 arched entryways, with an additional 2 minarets flanking the set of 6. The prayer hall is capped by 3 fluted domes. The roofline rises from the outer edges, towards the centre by a series of four small incremental height increases. The roofline is embellished with numerous ]merlon
A merlon is the solid upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 202. Merlons are sometimes ...
s. The top of the mosque's white marble façade is capped by cavetto
A cavetto is a concave moulding with a regular curved profile that is part of a circle, widely used in architecture as well as furniture, picture frames, metalwork and other decorative arts. In describing vessels and similar shapes in pottery, ...
s, or concave moulding.[
5 arched portals offer entry into the main prayer hall. The central arch is the tallest, and features cusped arches typical of the Mughal style. The central arch is flanked by two slightly shorter un-cusped arches, that are designed in the Persian and Central Asian style. These arches are flanked by a smaller arch decorated in a similar style, and row of 7 small arched portals are found above the tip of each arch. The three central arched portals are embellished with ]muqarna
Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...
s above the row of 7 mini-arched portals, while the outermost arches are instead decorated with ''ghalib kari'', or a network of ribs made of stucco and plaster that are applied to curved surfaces in the archways for decorative purposes. Archways into the mosque are also flanked by vegetal motifs along their upper curves, which unlike the green motifs at Badshahi Mosque
The Badshahi Mosque (Urdu, Punjabi: ; literally ''The Royal Mosque'') is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled C ...
, are multi-coloured.
Both the interior and exterior feature panels are embellished with floral motifs and Quranic calligraphy.[ The interior of the prayer hall is sheltered beneath the three low fluted domes and is eloquently painted with floral and geometric designs.]
Gallery
File:MohabbatKhanMosque.png
File:PeshawarMahabatKhanM.jpg, The minarets of the mosque feature cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome.
The word derives, via Italian, from ...
s and overhanging eaves
The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural styl ...
File:Flickr - boellstiftung - Altstadt Peshawar.jpg, Peshawar's Jeweler's Bazaar is located next to the mosque.
File:Masjid mahabat khan bin ali.jpg, A minaret of the mosque
See also
*Badshahi Mosque
The Badshahi Mosque (Urdu, Punjabi: ; literally ''The Royal Mosque'') is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled C ...
*Wazir Khan Mosque
; ''Masjid Wazīr Khān'') is a 17th-century mosque located in the city of Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque was commissioned during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings tha ...
* Shah Jahan Mosque
*List of mosques in Pakistan
Being an Islamic country, Pakistan is home to thousands of mosques. Some of the mosques are quite famous because of their size, beauty, architecture and history. The following is a list of mosques in Pakistan.
See also
* Islam in Pakistan
...
*Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ar ...
*Timeline of Islamic history
This timeline of Islamic history relates the Gregorian and Islamic calendars in the history of Islam. This timeline starts with the lifetime of Muhammad, which is believed by non- Muslims to be when Islam started, though not by Muslims.Esposit ...
References
{{coord, 34.01065, 71.57318, region:PK_type:landmark, display=title
1630 establishments in India
Mughal mosques
Mosques in Peshawar
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1630
Mosque buildings with domes