Khan Jahan Ali MosqueBagerhat, Bangladesh
This single-domed mosque is locally considered to be
contemporary with Khan Jahan Ali’s Mausoleum located at Khalifatabad, present
date Bagerhat. Based on architectural style the date of construction can be
estimated to be early-fifteenth century.
The Khan Jahan Ali Mosque is a Sultanate mosque that has a square structure crowned with a single dome. The mosque is
part of a larger complex along with the Khan Jahan Ali’s Mausoleum and dighi
(lake). The mosque is situated on the western part of the complex, aligned with
the tomb.
The mosque is a square of
44'0" x 44'0" externally while internally it has a square plan of
25'10" x 25'10". The structure is a single chamber, roofed over by a
hemispherical dome. The eastern façade has three arched openings to the prayer
hall while the northern and southern façades have a single arched opening to
the prayer hall. The dome is internally carried on by four intersecting arches
springing from stone pillars and brick pilasters attached to the side walls. There
is a central mihrab aligned with the central entrance at east and the central
portion of the qibla wall is projected westward from the ground to the roof. Stylistically
this kind is known as Khan Jahan Ali architecture, commonly found in and around
south-western part of Bangladesh.
The square structure is buttressed by four corner circular turrets.
These turrets end at the level of parapet walls and ribbed in typical Bengali Sultanate
fashion. The façades are capped by curvilinear cornices of pre-Mughal type. Exterior
façades are of plain brick texture with framed arched opening. The central
entrance is larger than the side ones, which are slightly narrower and dwarfish.
The mihrab has terracotta ornamentation. There are two niches each at the
western, northern and southern façades the flanking the mihrab and entrances.
Presently in use as mosque and altered in many ways though it was restored and repaired by the Department of Archaeology, Bangladesh, and is now a protected monument.
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