The sombre beauty of Sat Mosque

Sat Masjid is a historic mosque located in the Mohammadpur area of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. Also known as the Seven Domed Mosque, Sat Masjid is a remarkable example of Mughal architecture in Bangladesh.

The Sat Gambuj Mosque is near the northwestern outskirts of Dhaka in the Mohammadpur area. It is a fine example of the provincial Mughal style of architecture introduced in Bangladesh in the 17th century. The mosque’s most notable features are its seven bulbous domes crowning the roof and covering the main prayer hall. Probably erected by Governor Shaista Khan, the monument stands in a romantic setting on a buttressed 15-foot-high bank overlooking an extensive flood plain.

A few kilometres to the north of Peelkhana, for long the end of Mughal Dhaka, was the Jafarbad or Katasur area, originally part of mouza Sarai Begumpur.

Many of the mouzas (or revenue circles) were delineated during the reign of Shershah and later by Kartalab Khan. A small urban settlement on a route along the river, this was an alternative to reach Brahmaputra or Garh Jaripa without having to go through the hostile areas along the main stream of Sitalakhya and Brahmaputra on the east.

This is evident from its geographic and strategic location, origin of the names of the locality, and the remnants around it.

The place where the seven-domed mosque is was known as Sarai Jafarbad or Katasur, under Sarai Begumpur. There was a small agricultural community in between Pilkhana and Jafarbad where the Sat Gambuj Mosque was built. The area became like a jungle due to disuse, dereliction, and desertion. However, in last 55 years, it has become one of the most planned and most expensive residential enclaves of Dhaka. The Sat Masjid Road is the major peripheral road of the district to its west and is believed to have been built roughly along where the old Bank river Turag was.

Picturesquely situated on the edge of a river, the Shat Cumbuj Mosque’s exterior is the most innovative of all the Dhaka Mughal-period monuments. The north and south ends of this three-domed rectangular mosque are each marked by two enormous double-storied corner pavilions; when viewed from the east these give the impression that the mosque has five exterior bays. On the east are three cusped entrances arches flanked by shallow niches. Slender engaged columns with bulbous bases demarcate the central bay (as seen as the Lalbagh Fort Mosque, although this mosque’s colonettes are more prominent).

Its interior compares favourably with that of others dating to the second half of the 16th century. The central mihrab has two rows of cusping, and its surface is embellished with moulded plaster relief, recalling the ornateness of the mihrab in the mosque of Haji Khwaja Shahbaz.

Editorial Desk