Palopo Old Mosque () is a historical mosque in

South Sulawesi South Sulawesi () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province in the South Peninsula, Sulawesi, southern peninsula of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital and largest ci ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. Constructed in 1604, the mosque is one of the oldest mosques in the archipelago. The mosque is noted for its unique vernacular architectural style.

Description

Palopo Old Mosque was built in the city of

Palopo Palopo or Kota Palopo (Palopo city) is a city located in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the second-largest city in the province. Until it acquired its city autonomy on 10 April 2002, Palopo was the capital of Luwu Regency. The area of the city ...

around 1604 by a scholar from

West Sumatra West Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. West Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean to the west, as well as the provinces of ...

, Datuk Sulaiman who was renowned as Daruk Pattimang. The mosque was constructed during the height of the

Kingdom of Luwu The Kingdom of Luwu (also Luwuq or Wareq) was a polity located in the northern part of the modern-day South Sulawesi province of Indonesia, on the island of Sulawesi. It is considered one of the earliest known Buginese kingdoms in Sulawesi, fou ...

, which had embraced Islam, under the rule of Datu Payung Luwu XVI Pati Pasaung Toampanangi, or Sultan Abdullah Matinroe. Architecturally, it is mostly made of rock and chalk. The main column is made of local wood known as ''cinna gori''. The mosque is also sustained by five pillars which symbolize the Five Pillars of Islam. It mostly retains its original shape, although the

mimbar A minbar (; sometimes romanized as ''mimber'') is a pulpit in a mosque where the imam (leader of prayers) stands to deliver sermons (, ''khutbah''). It is also used in other similar contexts, such as in a Hussainiya where the speaker sits and le ...

has been refurbished because it was eaten by termites and became fragile. The walls of the mosque reach 94 cm and maintain the fresh air of the interior.

References

Mosques completed in the 1600s Mosques in South Sulawesi Palopo Religious buildings and structures completed in 1604 {{Indonesia-mosque-stub