Jama Masjid, Ahmedabad, Mosque near Bhadra Fort, Ahmedabad, India
Jama Masjid is a mosque with Indo-Islamic architecture located near Bhadra Fort. The rectangular structure is supported by 260 columns, features 15 domes, has three entrances, and contains a central courtyard with a water basin for ritual washing.
The mosque was built in 1424 during the reign of Ahmad Shah I; an inscription on the central mihrab records its inauguration in 827 AH (1423/1424 CE), on 1 Sarar, or 4 January, by Sultan Ahmad Shah I. It was the fifth mosque built in his reign and the first conceived as a large public structure rather than a modest or private one. Ahmedabad itself had been founded on 26 February 1411.
The mosque's name means Friday Mosque, and it remains an active place of worship run by a Sunni Muslim Waqf Committee. Its Gujarat style mixes Indo-Islamic forms with Hindu temple elements: the southern porch's pillars were reused from Hindu or Jain temples. The courtyard's original sandstone paving has been replaced with marble, and iron frames were fixed to the windows.
You can visit from sunrise to sunset, but you must remove your shoes and cover your head before entering. Prayer areas are separated by gender, so respect the spaces and be mindful when moving through or nearby during prayer times.
The southern porch entrance is reached by twelve steps on each side, and its pillars include some reused from Hindu or Jain temples. Its roof once carried a dome that has since collapsed. Look for the carved bands on the two round columns flanking the central arch.
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