5/5 Muhammad Hassan T. 5 years ago on Google • 299 reviews
The
Spanish
Mosque
(Urdu:
مسجد
اندلوسى),
also
known
as
Masjid
Iqbal
Ud
Daula
or
Jam
e
Masjid
Aiwan-E-Begumpet,
is
a
mosque
within
the
Paigah
Palace
Begumpet,
Hyderabad,
India.
The
construction
of
the
mosque
was
started
by
fifth
Paigah
Amir,
Nawab
Mohammed
Fazaluddin
Khan,
Iqbal
Ud
Daula,
Sir
Vicar
Ul
Umra
in
1900
(due
to
his
sudden
demise
in
1902)
and
completed
by
his
heir
and
elder
son
H.E
Nawab
Sultan
Ul
Mulk
Bahadur,
VI
Amir
of
Paigah
through
Princess
Jahandarunissa
Begum,
Lady
Vicar
Ul
Umra,
After
his
return
from
Spain,
as
he
was
very
much
inspired
by
the
Cathedral–Mosque
of
Córdoba.
The
exterior
and
interior
of
the
Spanish
Mosque
is
mostly
similar
to
the
Cathedral–Mosque
of
Córdoba
in
Spain
and
Jama
Masjid
Gulbarga,
Karnataka,
India.
It
shows
state-of-the-art
interiors
and
architecture.
It
is
also
known
as
the
Mosque
of
the
Moors,
due
to
its
unique
Hispanic
(Moorish)
style
of
architecture
and
is
said
to
be
one-of-its-kind
in
India.
The
stand-out
feature
is
the
spires
instead
of
the
usual
minarets
or
domes;
they
give
this
mosque
a
church-like
appearance.
Right
for
the
inception
this
mosque
is
maintained
and
managed
by
the
heirs
of
Paigah
Amir
Sir
Vicar
ul
Umra.
The
mosque
was
built
by
the
Paigah
noble,
Sir
Vikhar-ul-Umra
Iqbal-ud-Dowla,
in
1906.
It
is
believed
to
be
the
only
one
of
its
kind
in
India,
with
pointed
arches,
a
pointed
main
roof
composed
of
two
truncated
octagonal
pyramids
placed
one
above
the
other
intervened
by
octagonal
domes.
The
minarets
aesthetically
placed
at
corners
of
the
parapet
are
in
the
same
style
and
very
unusual
from
those
seen
in
other
mosques
in
the
city
and
elsewhere.
It
is
difficult
to
miss
from
the
flyover
opposite
the
old
Begumpet
Airport.
The
other
notable
features
are
Moorish
arches
inside
the
prayer
hall,
Quranic
verses
in
exquisite
calligraphy
inscribed
on
the
inside
walls,
the
absence
of
an
ablution
tank
and
a
courtyard.
In
plan,
the
mosque
comprises
a
main
prayer
hall,
two
rooms
in
front
of
it
and
a
central
corridor
for
entering
the
hall.
It
is
over
this
central
corridor
or
the
entrance
porch
that
the
octagonal
dome
stands.
The
mosque
is
built
with
stone
masonry
in
lime
mortar
up
to
the
basement
and
the
superstructure
in
brick
masonry
in
lime
mortar.
The
roof
is
jack
arch
type
on
iron
girders
with
brick
and
lime
concrete.
The
domes,
minarets
and
small
turrets
are
built
with
brick
and
stone
masonry
and
the
outer
face
plastered
with
lime
mortar.
The
central
dome
has
a
perforated
screen.
Believed
to
be
a
copy
of
a
similar
mosque
in
Spain,
it
might
have
caught
the
attention
of
the
Paigah
noble,
either
during
his
eight-month-long
tour
of
Europe
or
he
may
have
stumbled
on
a
photograph.
Whatever
the
source,
the
Nawab
lived
up
to
his
reputation
of
being
a
great
builder
having
a
penchant
for
creating
something
unique,
as
seen
from
his
magnificent
hilltop
Falaknuma
Palace.
Spain,
once
part
of
the
Umayyad
dynasty,
is
inundated
with
mosques.
The
Umayyad
Caliphate
influence
can
be
seen
in
many
of
its
buildings
especially
the
religious
ones.
This
was
just
one
of
the
several
estates
given
the
honorific
title
of
Paigah
(meaning
pomp
and
high
rank)
for
the
first
time
by
the
second
Nizam,
Nawab
Nizam
Ali
Khan
to
the
Paigah
family's
founder,
Nawab
Abul
Fateh
Khan
Taig
Jung
Bahadur.
Mr.Faiz
khan
is
the
head
of
the
community
as
well
as
treasurer
of
this
historic
mosque,
mr
faiz
keeps
his
eyes
on
the
mosque
24/7.
is
the
only
person
who
is
active
towards
all
the
works
of
the
mosque.
he
conducts
regular
meetings
between
community
members
and
commands
them
orders.
The
mosque
is
also
known
by
the
local
Muslim
community
as
Masjid
Iqbal
Ud
Daula,
Masjid
Aiwan-e-Begumpet.
It
can
accommodate
3000
worshipers
at
once.
The
Spanish
Mosque
is
very
well
known
and
is
considered
as
a
landmark
mosque
for
the
Secunderabad
Muslim
community.
2 people found this review helpful 👍
