Sidi Bashir Mosque is a former

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

in the city of

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India. Only the central gateway and two

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

s survive; they are known as the Jhulta Minar or Shaking Minarets.

History

Two Minarates Kalupur Railway Station Ahmedabad 1866

The mosque is believed to have been constructed either by Sidi Bashir, a slave of Sultan Ahmed Shah, or by Malik Sarang, a noble in the court of

Mahmud Begada Sultan Mahmud Begada or Mahmud Shah I (), was the most prominent Sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate. Raised to the throne at young age, he successfully captured Pavagadh and Junagadh forts in battles which gave him his name ''Begada''. He establishe ...

, another Sultan of

. It has been dated to 1452, although the style and material of the minarets point to the close of Mahmud Begada's reign (1511) or later. The body of the building was destroyed in 1753 during the war between the

Marathas The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

and the Mughal governor of

; only two minarets and the arched central gateway connecting them remain.

Minarets

The minarets are the tallest in Ahmedabad and are now located to the north of

Ahmedabad Junction railway station Ahmedabad Junction railway station (station code: ADI) is the main railway station of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It is also the biggest railway station within Gujarat and also one of the major railway station in India. It is the highest income ...

. Though much damaged, especially near the foot, the stairs inside the minarets may still be used. The minarets are three stories tall with carved balconies. A gentle shaking of either minaret results in the other minaret vibrating after a few seconds, though the connecting passage between them remains free of vibration. The mechanism of this is not known, although the layered construction is thought to be a factor. The phenomenon was first observed in the 19th century by Monier M. Williams, an English

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

scholar. The minarets are able to withstand fast-moving trains passing close by.

Other shaking minarets

Another mosque in Ahmedabad called the Raj Bibi Mosque also had shaking minarets similar to those at the Sidi Bashir Mosque. Under the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, one was dismantled in order to study the construction, but could not be put back together. There is also one in

Isfahan Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...

, Iran, called

Monar Jonban The Monar Jonban (Persian: منار جنبان, meaning shaking minarets), is a monument located in Esfahan, in central Iran. Construction began in the 14th century Safavid or Ilkhanate dynasties of Iran to cover the grave of Sufi ''Amu Abdollah S ...

(shaking minarets) with almost the same properties. A further example is a large mosque built by Makhdu-Ma-I-Jahan, mother of Sultan Qutubuddin Ahmad Shah II in 1454 A.D. She is buried in the mausoleum situated to the east of the mosque.

Present condition

Entry to the shaking minaret was prohibited following an incident in 1981 at

Qutb Minar The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and "victory tower" that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO Worl ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, when a stampede resulted in the deaths of many children. There is also damage to the upper sections.

References

* This article includes public domain text from {{Ahmedabad topics, status=collapsed Religious buildings and structures completed in 1452 15th-century mosques Mosques in Ahmedabad Monuments of National Importance in Gujarat