The Sidi Sayed Mosque of Gujarat

by Areeb Khan Professional Laundry Attendant

Built-in 1572 by the Gujarat Sultanates in the last year of their existence before they were overthrown by the Mughals, the Sidi Sayyed Mosque has become emblematic of the state of Gujarat. In fact, the stone latticework of the marble screen done on a semicircular arch window also serves as the official logo of IIM Ahmedabad. The mosque, therefore, occupies a position of pride in the city’s landscape and her inhabitant’s imagination.

In here pervades an all-encompassing peace one would not normally hope to find, situated as it is, in the middle of a bustling city.

Gujarat Sultanate can be credited for a significant part of the most astonishing Islamic design in Ahmedabad as well as quite a bit of Gujarat. The mosques worked in their period equal a portion of the best in the nation, and perhaps on the planet as well. The charm of the city can be enjoyed by checking into any of the hotels in Ahmedabad and then exploring on foot or taxi.

It was made in the year 1572-73 by an Abyssinian known as Sidi Saeed or Sidi Saiyyed. He came to Gujarat from Yemen and later served Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Madmud III. He was known as the aristocrat who helped poor people and had an extensive accumulation of books. He manufactured this glorious landmark amid the rule of Sultan Muzaffar Shah III, the last sultan of Gujarat before the Mughal takeover.

The mosque was utilized as a Government office when the British ran the administration. In 1880 CE paper throws of the cut screen were taken and two wooden models were made for the Museum of Kensington and New York.

The front of the mosque is entirely straightforward with two minarets on the sides (the minarets have fallen now and just the base exists), while the back divider is the place where all the famous jalis are. The wazu (bathing) lake is a small pond. You can see the jalis from the front of the mosque, yet in the event that you need to take great shots, leave the mosque and go to its rear and take pictures from that point. You will get a much cleaner shot.

The jails are an aggregate of eight angled windows which are decorated with these stone cut unpredictable jalis. Around the time when it was getting finished, Ahmedabad tumbled to the Mughals, and the last window in the focal point of the back divider was left without a jali. We can just envision what it would have looked it had the Mughals postponed their intrusion by one more year.

Once you reach Ahmedabad, you can check into any of the hotel surrounding the airport. This mosque is not very far from the airport and hence accessibility will not be a problem.