Jama Masjid

Wiki : NA

Location : Google Maps

Beyond the Ganj Bakhsh mausoleum is a courtyard, covering more than an acre of ground, surrounded by cloisters, with a mosque only slightly smaller than the Jama mosque. The want of minarets and the shallowness of its caves rather mar the outside effect. But inside 'it is the perfection of simple grace unrivaled in India except by the Moti mosque at Agra.'

Source : Wiki

Constructed alongside the mausoleum of the saint, the mosque is a simple pillared hall with domes of uniform height and no arches and minarets. From the style of architecture, it can be deduced that the masons and sculptors would have been of local origin and had not yet imbibed the nuances of the Islamic features of architecture such as arches and minarets, which were seen in buildings built later.

The masjid has been built in a total area of 4,300 square yards with an open court in the middle flanked with corridors on three sides. There are rainwater harvesting structures on its right side, where rainwater was collected and stored under the floor of the masjid to be used during summer months when there was no availability of water. The primary entrance to the masjid is on the east with another opening in the south into the Wazoo Khana. This entrance is used by the members of the royal family to access the special apartment for them, in the shape of a loft. Even today, the masjid remains a living mosque, which sees full assemblies on Fridays and festive occasions.

Source : Sarkhej Roza, the Living Monument

"Its beauty is due to its chaste simplicity and classic restraint: and indeed considered on its merit as a pillared hall, it is difficult to imagine how it could have been improved upon." - Sir John Marshall-In appearance and architecture, it is a simple pillared hall, with domes of uniform height and arches and minarets conspicuously absent. Observing this style, it can be inferred that the masons, stone cutters and sculptors must have been local in origin, but had not yet imbibed the saracenic ideas of minarets and arches found in buildings of later origin.

With its main entrance in the east, the masjid has another door to the south falling into the water tank. 5 large domes in a row and forty smaller ones symmetrically disposed, corresponding to the pillared squares within. The roof is supported by 120 pillars of the same pattern.

The Masjid is surrounded by corridors on three sides, connected with the prayer hall. A spacious balcony looks onto the tank on its southern side. Its special feature is that it contains a special apartment for ladies in the shape of a loft (Muluk Khana) with an independent entrance from the north. Another noteworthy aspect of the Masjid is that the recital of the Pesh Imam at prayers echoes so well that it can be heard at the farthest end of the Masjid.

Source : The Religious Realm

Pics taken Mar 2019 and Mar 2020

The entrance to the east, near the Tomb of Ganj Baksh.

Jama Masjid, Sarkhej Roza

Looking from the main entrance to the masjid.

Jama Masjid, Sarkhej Roza

Pillared corridor to the north ...

Jama Masjid, Sarkhej Roza

... and to the south, overlooking the lake.

Jama Masjid
Sarkhej Roza

The King's Palace across the lake.

Jama Masjid, Sarkhej Roza

The ablution tank to the north.

The special loft for the royal family, it has a separate entrance to the north.

The Queen's Tomb seen from the balcony of Jama Masjid.

Tomb of Ganj Baksh seen from inside Jama Masjid.

The west of the masjid seen from the Sluice gates to the lake.

The south of the masjid overlooking the lake.