Friday Mosque, Malé, Kaafu Atoll The Friday Mosque in Malé is the most important heritage site of the country with continuous use from the time of construction. The mosque building is the biggest and one of the finest coral stone buildings in the world. In 2008 UNESCO included Malé Friday Mosque and its complex in their Tentative World Heritage List. Malé Friday Mosque is located in the capital island Malé, and was built in 1658 CE during the reign of Sultan Ibrahim Iskandhar I (1648- 1687 CE), replacing the original mosque built in 1153 by the first Muslim Sultan of Maldives, Sultan Mohamed Bin Abdullah. There is neither written record of how and from what this latter mosque was built nor record on its measurements. It is believed that this mosque was renovated by Sultan Ahmed Shihabuddeen in 1338 CE. The mosque complex has the mosque building, a large minaret, high quality coral stone wells, a sundial and a cemetery with mausoleums and tombs of past kings and dignitaries of the country. The mosque complex is surrounded by a boundary wall. The mosque building has a hypostyle layout with the two prayer halls with “Dhaalas” or verandah like antechambers on three sides. There is a large Mihrab chamber and the Mimbar is located in the corner of the Mihrab chamber. It has three entrances with rising steps. The mosque is built on a highly decorated coral stone platform with coral stonewalls and timber roof structure. The roof is three tired with a modern metal roofing finish. It has a highly decorated coffered ceiling with stepped recesses. The columns are made from coral stone. With its fine carvings, the entrance steps, carved wooden doors, lacquer calligraphy and decoration, the quality of workmanship is among the best in Maldives. The roofing and all other woodwork in the new Friday Mosque were done by local carpenters. The expert carpenters who carried out the work were “Ali MaavadiKaleyge” and “Mahmud Maavadikaleyge” of Kon’dey Island in Huvadhoo Atoll. The title “Maavadikaleyge” literally means “chief carpenters”. Their graves are to be seen in the eastern section of the mosque grounds. The mosque complex has a large unique cylindrical minaret made from plastered coral stone and tied with metal bands. It is painted in white with decorative calligraphy and metal bands. The complex has many coral stone mausoleums and tomb stones carved with unique designs that are the finest and the biggest collection in the country. Historical developments: Sultan Muhammad Ibn Abdullah built the country’s first Friday Mosque soon after his conversion to Islam in 1153 CE, on the exact spot where the present Friday Mosque is. There is no record of the exact measurements and architectural techniques used in the construction of this first mosque. Eight years after his ascension to the throne, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar I ordered the construction of a new Friday Mosque in Male’ in 1656 CE (1066 AH), as the existing one was by then too small to hold the many worshippers who wished to attend the prayers. The earlier mosque was demolished and a new Friday Mosque was built of coral stone on the site of the old mosque. Building the new mosque took approximately one and a half years and the work was completed in 1658 CE. In 1668 CE Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar returned from his pilgrimage to Mecca and ordered the construction of the Munnaaru (the minaret) and a southern gateway to the mosque. The Minaret was completed in 1674 CEand was said to closely resemble the minarets of Mecca of that time. During the second succession of Sultan Mohammed Shamsuddin III (1903-1934 CE), when for the first time, the thatched roofs of the Mosque and the Southern Gateway were replaced with corrugated iron sheets in 1904 CE. The first Friday Mosque, as well as the new one constructed by Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar I, had thatched roofs as was the custom of the time. Sultan Mohammed Shamsuddheen III replaces original thatched roof with corrugated iron sheets in 1912 CE. In the later part of 1963 CE the roofs were carefully dismantled and replaced using teak wood. The old corrugated iron sheets were replaced with aluminium. Between 1987-1988 CE Conservation work was carried out by a team of Indian experts from the National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property, with the assistance of a team from the National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research in Malé
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 11:56:50 +0000
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