Atala Masjid
atala masjid
- Built by Shams-ud-Din Ibrahim in A.D. 1408 on the foundation built by Firuz Shah Tughlaq 30 years before.
- Built on the site of the Atala Devi temple whose materials along with those of other temples were used in its construction.
- Provided the model on which all future mosques of the style would be based.
- The mosque consists of a square courtyard of 177' side with cloisters on 3 sides and the sanctuary on the fourth (western) side. Entire mosque is a square of 258' side.
Cloisters
- Cloisters are spacious, being 42' across and divided into 5 aisles.
- The cloisters rise up to 2 storeys.
- Two aisles of the lower storey are formed into a series of cells with a pillared verandah facing the street to provide accommodation to visitors and merchants.
- There are 3 entrance gateways, one in the centre of each cloister, with the northern and southern ones surmounted by domes.
Sanctuary
- In the centre of the sanctuary facade, the entrance to the nave is articulated by a lofty pylon, 75' high and 55' wide at the base.
- The pylon houses an 11' deep arched recess which contains the entrance doorway to the sanctuary nave and the windows which light it.
- This arched pylon is the main theme of the structure (and the style as a whole), being repeated by smaller pylons on either side of the central one and also on the gateways in the cloisters.
- The interior of the sanctuary consists of a central nave of 35' X 30' with pillared transepts on either side. The nave is roofed high up by a hemispherical dome.
- The interior nave is vertically divided into three parts. The first level consists of 3 mihrabs and a high pulpit with arched openings to the transepts forming the sides of the room. The second level consists of 8 decorated arches, out of which 4 are squinches, turning the room into an octagon. The third level has a bracket in each corner turning the room into a 16 sided structure. Each side contains an arch, thus creating an arcaded triforium which supports the dome.
- The dome is 57' high on the inside and constructed by means of circular courses of stone. The exterior is covered with a layer of cement to give it a spherical curve.
- Each transept is a pillared hall with an octagonal bay in the centre roofed by a smaller dome. The transept at both ends becomes two storied, the upper compartment surrounded by perforated screens forming a zenana chamber for women.
Exterior
- The rear wall of the sanctuary is worth studying for its treatment.
- Since the qibla resolves itself into an expansive wall with no openings, architects face a problem regarding the design of the exterior.
- The great plane of this wall is relieved by 3 projections, each corresponding to one of the principal compartments of the interior and coinciding with the domes.
- Each projection has a tapering turret on its corner, with a larger replica in each corner of the building itself.