4/5 Debasish B. 11 months ago on Google
Nice
place
to
visit.
The
mosque
is
an
oblong
structure
measuring
23.38m
x
10.53m
externally.
It
is
the
earliest
surviving
example
of
the
brick-and-stone
style
introduced
by
the
Muslims
in
Bengal
in
place
of
the
traditional
Hindu
style
of
laying
rectangular
cut
stones
one
upon
another
without
mortar.
The
stones
used
in
the
mosque
were
originally
materials
from
temples,
as
evidenced
by
figures
of
Hindu
deities
carved
on
some
pieces.
The
original
structure
has
suffered
reconstruction
a
number
of
times.
There
are
five
arched
entrances
in
the
east
wall.
Stumpy
hexagonal
stone
piers
support
the
arches.
The
mosque
represents
the
multi-domed
oblong
type
developed
by
the
Muslims
in
Bengal
in
which
the
number
of
domes
on
the
roof
equals
the
number
of
entrances
in
the
east
wall
multiplied
by
those
on
either
side.
The
north
and
south
walls
have
two
doors
each.
There
are
thus
ten
domes
roofing
the
mosque.
The
interior
of
the
structure
is
broken
into
two
longitudinal
aisles
and
five
short
bays
by
means
of
stone
pillars,
creating
ten
equal
compartments.
The
brick-built
domes
rest
on
stone
pillars
and
pointed
arches
with
brick
pendentives
at
the
corners.
The
silhouette
of
the
successive
pointed
arches
has
added
to
the
spaciousness
and
grandeur
of
the
mosque
interior.
Corresponding
to
the
five
entrances
in
the
east,
there
are
five
mihrabs
in
the
west
wall
contained
within
multifoil
arches.
The
mihrab
wall
shows
sparse
decoration
within
panels.
The
cornice
and
the
parapet
of
the
structure
are
straight.
The
mosque
follows
the
Bengali
type
with
only
the
prayer
chamber
without
court,
riwaq
and
minaret.
A
significant
feature
of
the
mosque
interior
is
that
a
brick
wall
up
to
the
level
of
the
arch-spring
has
closed
the
bay
at
each
end,
north
and
south,
across
the
middle.
These
are
the
only
parts
of
the
mosque
which
show
terracotta
ornamentation.
The
southern
part
is
in
a
fair
state
of
preservation
and
shows
a
panelled
composition.
The
central
panel
is
broken
into
two
halves
vertically
by
means
of
rosettes
within
square
frames
-
the
lower
depicting
a
swinging
creeper
with
luxuriant
leaf
age
and
the
upper
two
half-arch
motifs
with
a
finial
in
the
thick
of
shrubs
and
foliage.
The
flanking
panels
are
similarly
disposed
and
ornamented.
All
the
panels
depict
multifoil
arches
with
finials.
The
vegetal
motifs
betray
local
influence
and
speak
of
the
Muslim
adaptive
spirit.
The
ornamentation
of
the
northern
bay
wall
is
in
ruins,
but
surviving
traces
show
its
dissimilarity
from
the
southern.
The
composition
here
shows
two
small
vertical
panels
each
containing
a
multifoil
arch
with
a
finial
from
which
hangs
a
chain
ending
in
a
round
pendant.
What
is
significant
about
these
bay
walls
is
that
they
are
completely
incongruous
with
the
mosque
interior
but
their
ornamentation
surprisingly
resembles
that
in
the
Bagha
Mosque(1524)
in
Rajshahi
district.
Only
yards
away
to
the
east
of
the
mosque,
beyond
an
open
courtyard,
stand
two
square
rooms
aligned
east-west
side
by
side,
the
western
housing
two
graves
-
those
of
Zafar
Khan
Ghazi
and
his
wife
and
the
eastern
showing
four
graves
on
a
masonry
platform.
The
walls
are
built
of
old
temple
materials
-
rectangular
stone
pieces
-
and
the
rooms
are
without
a
roof
and
open
to
the
sky.
A
rectangular
shallow
niche
enters
them
through
a
central
door
in
the
north
wall
flanked
on
either
side
with
a
trefoil
arch
above.
The
northern
door
of
the
western
room
is
made
up
of
a
Hindu
frame
as
shown
by
carved
Hindu
figures.
The
eastern
room
shows
sculptured
scenes
from
the
Ramayana
and
the
Mahabharata.
There
are
other
stone
sculptures
fixed
at
the
plinth
on
the
outer
face.
It
is,
however,
surprising
that
the
structure
neither
conforms
to
a
Hindu
temple
nor
to
a
Muslim
tomb.
What
is
probable
is
that
it
was
built
on
a
makeshift
plan
with
reshuffled
temple
materials.
The
unsettled
nature
of
Muslim
occupation
of
the
region
at
the
time
supports
such
a
suggestion.
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