Mecca Masjid, Mosque in Hyderabad, India
Mecca Masjid is a mosque in Hyderabad, India, built from granite and displaying Indo-Islamic architecture. The prayer area features a rectangular courtyard and massive stone arches resting on carved granite blocks.
Construction of Mecca Masjid began in 1617, when Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah of the Qutb Shahi dynasty laid the foundation stone himself; about 8,000 workers were employed. The three-arched facade was carved from a single block of granite that took five years to quarry. The mosque was completed in 1694 under the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
The name refers to bricks shaped from sacred soil brought from distant Mecca. Visitors today see a large prayer room with tall arches and an open courtyard where believers gather for communal prayer.
The entrance is in the old city near Charminar, so visitors can explore both sites in one day. Modest clothing is required, and shoes are removed before entering the prayer hall.
Two stone slab benches stand beside the tank in the courtyard; local lore holds that anyone who sits on them returns to sit again. A chamber in the courtyard is said to keep a hair of the Prophet Muhammad.
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