The Toli Masjid, also known as Damri Masjid, is a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, in the Hyderabad district of the state of

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

, India. It was constructed during the Qutb Shahi period and completed in . Built in the distinctive Qutb Shahi style, the mosque displays considerable

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

influences. Its chief feature is its extensive ornamentation, consisting of latticed screens, ''chajjas'',

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

work, and various other motifs. It is located on the historically significant

Karwan Karwan is one of the major neighbourhoods in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is a part of the old city of Hyderabad. It is 10 km from the IT hubs like Gachibowli, HITECH City, etc. It had major importance in the trade which happened durin ...

road, and was originally set in a garden. The mosque is a state protected monument.

History

The mosque was commissioned by Musa Khan during the reign of

Abdullah Qutb Shah Abdullah Qutb Shah (also transliterated in different ways) was the seventh ruler of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India under the Qutb Shahi dynasty. He ruled from 1626 to 1672. Abdullah, son of Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah, was a polyglot, ...

, and completed in 1671 CE. Musa Khan was the ''mahaldar'' (chamberlain) of Abdullah, as well as a minister and general. According to the historical record ''Gulzar-e-Asafiyah'', when Musa Khan held the construction charge for the Mecca Masjid, he was provided with a discount of one damri per rupee from the building expenditure. He used this amount to construct the Toli Masjid, hence the name. The mosque is located at

, on the road which connects

Golconda Fort Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani ...

to Purana Pul. This road is historically significant as it connected the citadel of Golconda to the newly established city of Hyderabad. It is listed as a state protected monument. The lands endowed to the mosque have been encroached, and the mosque is in a neglected condition.

Architecture

The Toli Masjid is an example of late Qutb Shahi architecture. Built in the typical Qutb Shahi style, its chief feature is its exuberant decoration, considered a culmination of the decorative tendencies seen in earlier Qutb Shahi mosques. The mosque displays considerable

influences in its style. These include the use of excessive ornamentation, as well as elements such as elephant-tusk brackets and pot-shaped bases for the two

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

s. The niches in the

post and lintel Post and lintel (also called prop and lintel, a trabeated system, or a trilithic system) is a building system where strong horizontal elements are held up by strong vertical elements with large spaces between them. This is usually used to hold ...

style are similar to those in temples used to accommodate images. Additionally, the parapet wall is decorated with miniature minarets just as miniature

shikhara ''Shikhara'' (IAST: '), a Sanskrit word translating literally to "mountain peak", refers to the rising tower in the Hindu temple architecture of North India, and also often used in Jain temples. A ''shikhara'' over the ''garbhagriha'' chamber ...

s are seen in temples.

Exterior

The Toli Masjid is built on a raised platform with a high plinth, which forms the

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

of the mosque. This courtyard, about tall, is accessible by flights of steps from the north, south, and east. Musa Khan's grave is situated near the south-eastern end of the courtyard. The mosque building, higher, is located at the western end. The lower part of the building is constructed from

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

masonry, while the upper part is built out of brick and

lime Lime most commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Bo ...

, probably to carry cut-

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

decoration.

Granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

and black

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

are used for embellishment. The façade has five arched openings, the central arch being a bit wider and more ornate than the other four. Five-arched façades are common in Qutb Shahi mosques, with the number five symbolizing the Panjtan. Decorative granite columns start at each arch and reach up to the roof. This decoration consists of basalt medallions on either side of the arch, and

ornamentation. This is followed by

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...

in the form of a '' chajja'', which are supported by beams and brackets. Finally, a double

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

wall rises above the building, consisting of a series of arched windows, decorated with ''

jali A ''jali'' or ''jaali'' (''jālī'', meaning "net") is the term for a perforated stone or latticed screen, usually with an ornamental pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy, geometry or natural patterns. This form of architectu ...

'' work. Miniature minarets rise above the parapet wall. The façade is flanked by two minarets. The pillars at the corners consist of pot-shaped bases, which support octagonal shafts upon which the minarets rise. The minarets have three sets of galleries, and the central gallery is provided with a balcony, decorated with foliate elements. Each minaret is topped by a dome and

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

. The ceiling above the inner hall is surmounted by three flattish domes. The mosque was originally set in a large garden, of which little trace remains. A

stepwell Stepwells (also known as vav or baori) are wells, cisterns or ponds with a long corridor of steps that descend to the water level. Stepwells played a significant role in defining subterranean architecture in western India from the 7th to the ...

is also located within the premises.

Interior

The mosque is divided into two halls—the outer hall having five arched openings, and the inner having only three. On the western wall of the inner hall, the

prayer niche ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...

is in the form of a semi-decagon. A

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

inscription in the

Naskh script Naskh is a small, round script of Islamic calligraphy. Naskh is one of the first scripts of Islamic calligraphy to develop, commonly used in writing administrative documents and for transcribing books, including the Qur’an, because of its easy ...

is engraved on the prayer niche. The inscription, translated into English, reads:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

{{Qutb Shahi monuments 1671 establishments in India 17th-century mosques in India Heritage structures in Hyderabad, India Monuments and memorials in Hyderabad, India Mosque buildings with domes in India Mosque buildings with minarets in India Mosques completed in the 1670s Mosques in Hyderabad, India Qutb Shahi architecture Religious buildings and structures completed in 1671 Tourist attractions in Hyderabad, India