page_title: Goaldi Mosque
section_title: Architectural features
hierarchical_section_title: Goaldi Mosque / Architectural features
caption_attribution_description: বাংলা: গোয়ালদি মসজিদের ভেতরে অবস্থিত মেহরাব, সোনারগাঁও, নারায়নগঞ্জ English: Mehrab of Goaldi mosque, Sonargaon, Narayanganj This is a photo of a monument in Bangladesh identified by the ID BD-C-40-39
context_page_description: The Goaldi Mosque is a mosque in the historic Bengali capital of Sonargaon. It was built during the Bengal Sultanate under the reign of Sultan Alauddin Hussain Shah. It is one of the few surviving medieval monuments in Sonargaon Upazila, Bangladesh.
context_section_description: The Goaldi mosque is a good example of the 'enclosed square type' mosque of Bengal that is distinguished by a cubical prayer chamber with corner towers and entrances on all sides except the qibla wall. A single dome caps the mosque; engaged ribbed turrets define the four corners; and the cornice is gently sloped. Circular corner towers are a deviation from the usual octagonal corner towers. This is the only example of circular corner towers in the Dhaka district. Accentuating the cornice is a row of small niches with floral motifs inside.
  The east facade has three arched openings, embellished on either sides with rectangular panels of delicate relief work in the form of a niche with an ornamental hanging lamp motif. The north and south facades similarly display three arches, though only the center arch is open while the two side arches are blind.
  The cubical prayer chamber measures 7.57 m and the walls are 2 m thick. The dome is carried on squinches that spring from the tops of stone pilasters, two on each wall. The qibla wall has three mihrabs. The use of black basalt for the central mihrab was a common practice during the sixteenth century. It is decorated with beautiful, intricate patterns composed of an ornamental hanging lamp motif. The two flanking mihrabs are decorated in similar fashion but instead of black basalt they are made of brick and fine terra cotta work. Lotus motifs are found carved in the spandrels and are closely related to the lotuses held by the Hindu god, Surya.
caption: Mihrabs inside Goaldi Mosque
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