In Pakistan’s Thatta, a mosque that is a marvel of engineering/node/1580896/pakistan
In Pakistan’s Thatta, a mosque that is a marvel of engineering
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The eastern entrance of the Shah Jahan Mosque in Pakistan’s Thatta city. Photograph taken on September 25, 2019 (AN Photo by SA Babar)
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A visitor is seen exiting the main prayer chamber of the seventeenth century Shah Jahan Mosque in Pakistan’s Thatta city on September 25, 2019. The main chamber is covered in a mosaic tile design typical of Turko-Persian architecture. (AN Photo by SA Babar)
THATTA, Sindh: The 17th century Muslim emperor Shah Jahan is known around the world as the Mughal king who built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, and ruled over much of what is present day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. But few know about another marvel of architecture that the king commissioned: the Shah Jahan Mosque in the dusty Pakistani town of Thatta.
The mosque was ordered constructed by Shah Jahan as a token of gratitude to the people of Thatta where the emperor sought refuge after he rebelled against his father Jahangir. The foundation of the building was laid in 1644 and construction was completed in three years. The mosque has been on a tentative UNESCO World Heritage list since 1993.
While the Shah Jahan Mosque is best known for being home to some of the most intricate tile work in South Asia and for its geometric brick design, the mosque’s caretaker Syed Masoom Ali Shah said it was also special for having acoustic, lighting and ventilation systems well ahead of its time.
The mosque was built such that around 20,000 worshipers could clearly hear the prayer leader and worship in a very well ventilated space, Shah said. A person speaking at one end of the mosque could be heard at the other end when the amplitude topped 100 decibels.
“The Mosque’s architectural style is visibly influenced by Turkic and Persian styles,” Shah said, explaining that the mosque’s wide-ranging brickwork and use of blue tiles were Timurid architectural styles from Central Asia.