Allakuri Mosque
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Allakuri Mosque ( bn, আল্লাকুরি মসজিদ), located in the Mohammadpur Colony area near Sat Masjid Road of
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...
, is an example of the imperial Mughal architecture in
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
. The mosque was tentatively built in 1680 and is the earliest known square single-domed Mughal style mosque in Bengal.


Architecture

The mosque has a square dimension with an internal measurement of 3.81 meter*3.81 meters. It has four octagonal corner towers (minarets). The towers have kalasa vases at their base, are divided into sections by raised bands at regular intervals and are crowned by a kiosk and parapet. The mosque can be entered through three doorways each in the center of each wall except for the west sided wall(Qibla side). The west sided wall has three semi-octagonal arched mihrabs. The walls of the mosque are thick and that keeps the interior cool in summer. The square prayer hall is roofed over with a single dome. The dome is carried on a squinch or octagonal drum. The dome seems to have a Persian architectural influence. The dome was previously crowned with a lotus and kalasa finial. There was a stone inscription on top of the east-sided entrance of the mosque. It is told that the inscription was taken away by the king of
Bhawal Bhawal Estate was the second largest zamindari in Bengal (in modern-day Bangladesh) until it was abolished according to ''East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950''. History In the late 17th century, Daulat Ghazi was the zamind ...
in the last century.


Renovation and changes

The lotus on the top of the dome was removed during a renovation. Also, the three mihrabs on the west-sided wall were constructed. In recent times, the mosque was extended on the east, north, and south side with tin sheds without breaking the original structures. As a result, the whole structure cannot be seen from the outside now but the top of the mosque can be seen. The inner and outside of the mosque was painted newly during renovation.


Protection

As the mosque has archaeological and architectural significance, the mosque needs to be protected by the archaeological department of the government to save it from decay.


See also

* List of mosques in Bangladesh


References

{{coord missing, Bangladesh Mosques in Dhaka