Ibrahim Rauza
Ibrahim Rauza
- Built as the tomb for Ibrahim Adil Shah just outside the city walls of Bijapur to the west.
- The building consists of a tomb and a mosque within a square enclosure, the whole forming a garden retreat.
- The enclosure is a square of 450' side, while the tomb building is a 115' side square.
- The two main buildings stand on a terrace 360' X 150', at the eastern end of which is the tomb and at the western end, facing it, is the mosque. The area between the two is occupied by an ornamental pool and fountain.
- In order to achieve symmetry, both buildings have been balanced in style in volume, though the tomb is the more splendid conception.
- The tomb building follows the conventional plan, comprising a central chamber surrounded by an arched verandah, the whole surmounted by a dome.
- Two of the arches on each facade are narrower than the others, providing a subtle variety in the voids.
- This alteration in spacing is a feature carried through in the rest of the composition, emphasized also by the intervals between the ornamental finials above the parapet.
- Tall minar-shaped turrets rise from each corner of the building.
- The enormously ornamented and bracketed upper storey is the crowning feature of the composition with the bulbous dome.
- Within the arched verandah is a row of pillars, forming a double arcade around the mausoleum chamber.
- The entire structure is profusely ornamented, especially the outer wall of which every part is covered with ornamental carving.
- Each wall is spaced into an arcade of three shallow arches and these are enclosed with a system of borders and panels with a fine engaged pier at the corner of each wall.
- The tomb chamber is a small room 18' square covered by a gracefully curved and coffered ceiling. This, while creating a well proportioned room below, created an large, empty and useless void above inside the dome.
- The masonary of the roof was joggle-jointed, which meant that the ceiling appeared to float without any apparent support. This shows that the masons of Bijapur were experts.