Singar Mosque

Coordinates: 22°40′22″N 89°44′33″E / 22.6728°N 89.7425°E / 22.6728; 89.7425
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Singair Mosque
সিংগাইর মসজিদ
The mosque's east facade
Religion
AffiliationSunni Islam
Location
CountryBangladesh
Geographic coordinates22°40′22″N 89°44′33″E / 22.6728°N 89.7425°E / 22.6728; 89.7425
Architecture
TypeMosque
StyleIndo-Islamic, Sultanate
CompletedMid fifteenth century CE
Specifications
Dome(s)1
MaterialsBurnt brick
Singair Mosque, viewed from the Bagerhat-Khulna Highway

The Singar Mosque (Bengali: সিঙ্গাইর মসজিদ)[note 1] is a 15th-century mosque that forms a part of the Mosque City of Bagerhat, a designated World Heritage Site in the southwestern region of Bangladesh. This mosque is characterized by its single-domed, square structure constructed with exposed brick and adorned with terracotta decorations.

Location[edit]

The Singar 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[edit]

The Singar 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 government's Department of Archaeology took over 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 World Heritage Sites in 1985.[1] The mosque was rated as being in a "fair state of preservation" in the 2010s.[6]

Architecture[edit]

The curved cornice, characteristic of Sultanate architecture, is an indigenous form derived from village huts.[8]

The mosque is a square of 43'9" x 43'9" externally while internally it has a square plan of 26'0" x 26'0".[9] 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.[10] 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, being 12 inches (0.30 m) higher at the center than at the ends.[10]

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 7 feet (2.1 m) 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][10] 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][10]

Squinches spring from brick pilasters to support the base of the dome.[2]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Transliterations vary. Signage on site spells it Singair. Perween Hasan uses Shingria and Banglapedia uses Singria, whereas most other sources use Singair.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Historic Mosque City of Bagerhat". World Heritage Convention. UNESCO. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Hasan, Perween (2007). Sultans and Mosques: The Early Muslim Architecture of Bangladesh. I.B. Tauris. pp. 125–127. ISBN 978-1-84511-381-0.
  3. ^ "Singar Mosque". ArchNet. Retrieved 11 Oct 2019.
  4. ^ Ahmed, Abu Sayeed M (2006). Mosque Architecture in Bangladesh (PDF). Dhaka: UNESCO. p. 205. ISBN 984-32-3469-3.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Alamgir, Khoundkar (2008–2009). "Single Unit Square Type Sultanate Buildings of Bengal". Journal of Bengal Art. 13–14: 241.
  6. ^ a b c d e Bari, M. A. (2012). "Singra Mosque". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  7. ^ a b van Lohuizen de Leeuw, Johanna E. (1984). "The early Muslim monuments at Bagerhat". In Michell, George (ed.). The Islamic Heritage of Bengal (PDF). UNESCO. p. 176. ISBN 92-3-102174-5.
  8. ^ Hasan, Perween (2007). Sultans and Mosques: The Early Muslim Architecture of Bangladesh. I.B. Tauris. pp. 23, 49. ISBN 978-1-84511-381-0.
  9. ^ Reza, Mohammad Habib; Hossain, Md Shajjad (2017). Documentation of Islamic Heritage of Bangladesh (pdf). Dhaka: Brac University.
  10. ^ a b c d Naqi, Md. Ali (March 2003). The Architecture of the Khan-e-Jahan Style: Context and Influence (PDF) (Masters of Architecture). Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. p. 83–84. Retrieved 8 June 2020.

External links[edit]

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