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Singair Mosque
Mosque in Bagerhat, Bangladesh From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Singair Mosque (Bengali: সিঙ্গাইর মসজিদ)[note 1] is a 15th-century Sunni mosque that forms a part of the Mosque City of Bagerhat, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site in the southwestern Khulna Division of Bangladesh. The mosque is characterized by its single-domed, square structure constructed with exposed brick and adorned with terracotta decorations.
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Location
The Singair Mosque is indeed a constituent of the Mosque City of Bagerhat, located in the south-western region of Bangladesh.[1] Positioned on the southern side of the Bagerhat-Khulna Highway, it is situated approximately 200 metres (660 ft) southeast of the Sixty Dome Mosque.[2][3]
History
The Mosque lacks any inscriptions that can be used to establish its exact date of construction.[2] Architect Abu Sayeed M Ahmed estimates that it is from the 15th century.[4] Other experts believe, based on the known ages of stylistically similar local buildings, that it was built in the mid-15th century.[2][5][6] There is archaeological evidence that at one time the mosque compound was surrounded by a wall with towers at the corners and an entrance gate on the east.[5][7]
Banglapedia describes the mosque's condition in the early 1970s as "in utter ruin". The Bangladeshi Department of Archaeology took over management of the site in 1975.[6] In 1984, archaeologist Johanna E. van Lohuizen de Leeuw wrote that the building had been partly restored, but "its corner towers are still in a shocking state".[7] The Mosque City of Bagerhat, of which Singair Mosque is a part, was inscribed on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1985.[1] The mosque was rated as being in a "fair state of preservation" in the 2010s.[6]
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Architecture
Summarize
Perspective
The mosque is a square, that externally measures 13.34 metres (43 ft 9 in) long and wide, while internally it has a square plan of 2.4 square metres (26 sq ft).[8] It has a single hemispherical dome. The entirety is constructed of brick. There are three doorways in the east, and one each in the north and south.[2] The central doorway in the east is higher and wider than the others.[9] The exterior of the west wall has a mihrab projection from the ground to the cornice.[5] At the four corners of the building are engaged circular towers which rise to roof level.[2][6] The cornice is gently curved, and is 30 centimetres (12 in) higher at the center than at the ends.[9]
The doorways are pointed archways set within rectangular recesses,[2] at the top of which are several horizontal rows of terracotta ornamentation.[5] The corner towers are divided horizontally at regular intervals by raised bands. The cornice has two bands decorated with terracotta.[6]
The mosque's walls are 2.1 metres (7 ft) thick.[5] The interior has a single mihrab in the qibla wall, on axis with the central entrance in the east. It is flanked by two decorated octagonal pilasters from which springs a multifoil arch with terracotta rosettes in the spandrels. All these are bordered by two rectangular frames, the space between which is filled with a four-petalled mesh in terracotta.[2][9] To each side of the mihrab is a multifoil arched niche in a rectangular recess. The north and south walls each have two similar, but smaller niches.[5][9]
Squinches spring from brick pilasters to support the base of the dome.[2]
Gallery
Singair Mosque, viewed from the Bagerhat-Khulna Highway
Wide view of the mosque
The curved cornice, characteristic of Sultanate architecture, is an indigenous form derived from village huts.[10]
Side view of the mosque
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See also
Notes
- Transliterations vary. Signage on site spells it Singair. Perween Hasan uses Shingria and Banglapedia uses Singria, whereas most other sources use Singair.
References
External links
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