Jamia Masjid
The giant
Jamia Masjid
is located in the Shahr-e-Khaas area of Srinagar. This mosque was built by Sultan Sikandar in 1394. It is considered one of the most important mosque of the Kashmir valley. Thousands of people come here to pray during the special Friday prayers and other religious festivals.
The architecture of the mosque is highly influenced by Indo-Saracenic architecture. It took almost 8 years to get complete. The mosque has two main entries, where the entry from the south side consists of a recessed atrium that further leads you to the inner courtyard of the masjid. It consists of four turrets, and in front of every turret, there is a green lawn that comprises the garden area of the masjid.
Jamia Masjid is considered as the most
important mosque of the Kashmir valley
.
The lawns of the four sides are separated by small paths. In the middle of the garden, there is a water tank in which a beautiful fountain is placed. People call it the ablution tank, they purify themselves in order to pray. The garden is well maintained with the purple and yellow pansies and the mustard-colored marigold flowers in the side rows of every garden.
The history had a great place in Jamia Masjid. The mosque has always been the root cause of the spread of Islamic knowledge in the valley. However, it faced the closure of 21 years during the Sikh regime of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Jamia masjid had gutted three times in the past but was re-constructed every time. The first time it was reconstructed by Sultan Hassan Shah, in 1480. The second reconstruction was done by the Mughal Emperor Jehangir, and it took almost 17 years to get complete.
The third time, when the mosque was blazed to fire, it was during the reign of Aurangzeb. It is said that when he heard about the fire, he only inquired if the chinar trees were safe, for the building of the mosque can be re-built but the grown chinars can’t be restored. This re-construction only took three years to get completed.
The mosque is taken care of by the
board of Anjuman-e-Awqaf
. It was constituted in 1975. The board takes care of all the expenses of the mosque. Although the mosque is operational by the famous Mirwaiz family of the Kashmir valley. The mosque has a total capacity of 33,333 people at one time.
It has now become a
popular tourist destination
. Visitors who love to roam around the ancient architecture and history visit here. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that you have to cover your head before entering the premises of the Jamia Masjid.
If you are planning your
Kashmir trip
, then you must have a visit to this beautiful and cool mosque where you will surely find the eternal peace.
How to reach:-
From the Srinagar international airport, it will take you almost 30 minutes to reach here.
If traveling from Jammu, this route will take you almost 7 hours and 40 minutes that is almost a distance of 265 km.