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, ...
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
's
Thonburi
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Thonburi ( th, ธนบุรี) is an area of modern Bangkok. During the era of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya, its location on the right (west) bank at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River had made it an important garrison town, which i ...
Ayutthaya era
The Ayutthaya Kingdom (; th, อยุธยา, , IAST: or , ) was a Siamese kingdom that existed in Southeast Asia from 1351 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is consi ...
during the reign of
King Narai
King Narai the Great ( th, สมเด็จพระนารายณ์มหาราช, , ) or Ramathibodi III ( th, รามาธิบดีที่ ๓ ) was the 27th monarch of Ayutthaya Kingdom, the 4th and last monarch of the ...
in 1688 by Chao Phraya Ratchawangsanseni (Mahmud). It is considered the oldest mosque in Bangkok and Thailand. The first name was called "Kudi Yai" (กุฎีใหญ่), an abbreviation of "Kudi Bangkok Yai" (กุฎีบางกอกใหญ่). It was originally a teak house raised on a platform and roofed with terracotta tiles. The form of the architecture is similar to the hall in Buddhist monasteries. Worshippers in the Bangkok Yai area renovated it and changed the old structure to brick building during the reign of
King Rama II
Phra Phutthaloetla Naphalai ( th, พระพุทธเลิศหล้านภาลัย, 24 February 1767 – 21 July 1824), personal name Chim ( th, ฉิม), also styled as Rama II, was the second monarch of Siam under the Chakri ...
. In 1952, the new building was transformed into a reinforced concrete building since the former architecture was too old to rebuilt. The twin
pine tree
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ac ...
(Ton Son) was planted in front of the gate of the mosque's wall since the reign of
King Rama III
Nangklao ( th, พระบาทสมเด็จพระนั่งเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว, ; 31 March 1788 – 2 April 1851), birth name Thap ( th, ทับ), also styled Rama III, was the third king of Siam u ...
. And the name was officially changed to Ton Son Mosque.
Ton Son Mosque not only functions as a religious ground, but it also features ancient remains and relics that are worth seeing. At the outside of the building lies a graveyard of the chiefs of the Muslims in Thailand. Inside the mosque is the beautiful pulpit, called Mimbun, which has large pictures of Arabic calligraphy, a picture of the Kaaba and the plan of the mosque in Mecca, all using forms found in the period of King
Taksin
King Taksin the Great ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราช, , ) or the King of Thonburi ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้ากรุงธนบุรี, ; ; Teochew: Dên Chao; April 17, ...
of
Thonburi Kingdom
The Thonburi Kingdom ( th, ธนบุรี) was a major Siamese kingdom which existed in Southeast Asia from 1767 to 1782, centered around the city of Thonburi, in Siam or present-day Thailand. The kingdom was founded by Taksin the Great, ...