Demak Great Mosque, 15th-century wooden mosque in Demak, Indonesia
Demak Great Mosque is a 15th-century religious building in Demak Regency, Central Java. The multi-tiered wooden roof made from teak rests on four massive supporting pillars and forms a traditional Javanese structure without the typical dome of Middle Eastern mosques.
The Wali Songo built the mosque in 1479 during the reign of Raden Patah. The foundation marks the beginning of the first Islamic sultanate on the island of Java.
The main entrance displays carved panels showing plants, vessels and crowns with local motifs such as the Lawang Bledheg pattern. Visitors today see worshippers still using this space for prayer while the carved panels show the meeting of Javanese and Islamic design.
The complex includes prayer rooms, a museum with collections and tombs of the sultans that are open daily. Visitors should wear modest clothing and be mindful of active prayer times to avoid disruption.
The walls carry Vietnamese ceramic tiles that imitate Persian mosque design and merge with Javanese wood carvings and brick patterns. This combination shows the far-reaching trade and cultural interweaving in 15th-century maritime Southeast Asia.
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