The Mahabat Khan Mosque (

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...

and ur, مہابت خان مسجد) ( hnd, مہابت خان مسیت), sometimes spelt Mohabbat Khan Mosque, is a 17th-century Mughal-era mosque in

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. The mosque was built in 1630, and named after the Mughal governor of

, Nawab Mohabat Khan Kamboh, father of Nawab Khairandesh Khan Kamboh. The mosque's white marble façade is considered to be one of Peshawar's most iconic sights.

History

The mosque was built between 1660 and 1670 by the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, on what was the highest point in the old city. The minarets of the Mohabbat Khan Mosque were frequently used in

Sikh times ''The Sikh Times'' is a Handsworth, West Midlands, Handsworth-based dual-language weekly newspaper primarily targeting Sikhism, Sikhs in the Birmingham area in England. It is written in both Punjabi language, Punjabi and English language, English ...

for hanging prisoners. Five people per day were hanged from the minarets, `as a substitute for the gallows’. Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, refugee tribal elders would congregate in the mosque in order to forge unity amongst Afghans against the Soviets.

Layout

The mosque is 30,155 square feet in size. Its open courtyard has a centrally-located ablution pool and a single row of rooms lining the exterior walls.

Architecture

The prayer hall occupies the west side. The hall is flanked by two tall minarets, which are divided into three sections. The façade of the prayer hall is also capped by 6 smaller decorative minarets that flank the mosque's 5 arched entryways, with an additional 2 minarets flanking the set of 6. The prayer hall is capped by 3 fluted domes. The roofline rises from the outer edges, towards the centre by a series of four small incremental height increases. The roofline is embellished with numerous

merlon A merlon is the solid upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 202. Merlons are sometimes ...

s. The top of the mosque's white marble façade is capped by

cavetto A cavetto is a concave moulding with a regular curved profile that is part of a circle, widely used in architecture as well as furniture, picture frames, metalwork and other decorative arts. In describing vessels and similar shapes in pottery, ...

s, or concave moulding. 5 arched portals offer entry into the main prayer hall. The central arch is the tallest, and features cusped arches typical of the Mughal style. The central arch is flanked by two slightly shorter un-cusped arches, that are designed in the Persian and Central Asian style. These arches are flanked by a smaller arch decorated in a similar style, and row of 7 small arched portals are found above the tip of each arch. The three central arched portals are embellished with

muqarna Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...

s above the row of 7 mini-arched portals, while the outermost arches are instead decorated with ''ghalib kari'', or a network of ribs made of stucco and plaster that are applied to curved surfaces in the archways for decorative purposes. Archways into the mosque are also flanked by vegetal motifs along their upper curves, which unlike the green motifs at

Badshahi Mosque The Badshahi Mosque ( Urdu, Punjabi: ; literally ''The Royal Mosque'') is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled ...

, are multi-coloured. Both the interior and exterior feature panels are embellished with floral motifs and Quranic calligraphy. The interior of the prayer hall is sheltered beneath the three low fluted domes and is eloquently painted with floral and geometric designs.

Gallery

File:MohabbatKhanMosque.png File:PeshawarMahabatKhanM.jpg, The minarets of the mosque feature

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fro ...

s and overhanging eaves File:Flickr - boellstiftung - Altstadt Peshawar.jpg, Peshawar's Jeweler's Bazaar is located next to the mosque. File:Masjid mahabat khan bin ali.jpg, A minaret of the mosque

References

{{coord, 34.01065, 71.57318, region:PK_type:landmark, display=title 1630 establishments in India Mughal mosques Mosques in Peshawar Religious buildings and structures completed in 1630 Mosque buildings with domes

History

Layout

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References