Muslim Architecture: Three-Domed Kamolapur Mosque of Gouranadi
Kamolapur Mosque of Gouranadi
This Three-Domed Kamolapur Mosque, a Muslim architecture, is located at Kamolapur village under the Khanga union of Gouranadi upazila of Barishal district. The Ilaa Bus stand is about 10 km north of the way on the Dhaka-Barisal highway from Gouranadi Upazila headquarters. Tulatala Bazar or Kamolapur Bazar is about 2 km east on the road from this Bus stand. The Kamolapur mosque, a Muslim architecture, is situated south of a zigzag road of 250 meters from the Bazar.
Map: Location of Kamolapur Mosque.
There is a myth that this mosque was built by a person named Masum Khan. Observing the construction art, it is guessed that this mosque was built in the 17th century AD. However, No inscription is found on the construction or the history of the mosque. In 1975 AD, the government of Bangladesh declared it a protected antiquity.
This three-domed mosque is built in a rectangular ground plan. It is 17.22 meters in length and 8.08 meters in width with the walls. It is built with bricks and lime-concrete. The walls of the mosque are 1.90 meters wide. The eastern wall of the mosque has three entrances. Each of the entrances has two arches design. The outside arch is multifoil and the inner arch is lancet design. The central entrance of the eastern wall is relatively larger than the other two.
The top panel and the two sides of the central entrance are richened with rosettes, planks, net, etc. ornaments. The terracotta plaques of the mosque have a similarity to the decorated terracotta plaques of the Sultanate realm period. Besides, there are different geometric ornaments of square and rectangular panels across the outer walls and the columns of the mosque. There is a lancet arched window as same as the entrances on the north wall and the south wall.
The top of the mosque has three domes with the finials of the lotus-pitcher design. The dome in the center of the roof is larger. There are eight minarets with the finials of the lotus-pitcher design around the four sides of the domes in other words around the roof. The minarets of four corners with turrets are larger. The columns of the minarets are octagonal. There is a cornice around the mosque along the roof. The cornice extends in a straight line and connects to the four corner columns.
There are three mihrabs on the western wall inside the mosque. The central one is the relatively large among three mihrabs with multifoil arched. In addition, the inner walls of the mosque have several niches small and large. Three domes of the mosque are built on a lancet arch on the width outer walls. This mosque has a partial similarity to the Lalbagh fort of Dhaka in the view of the construction, the walls, the location of the top domes, the entrance position, and the four corner columns. This Muslim architecture is listed and supervised by the Department of Archeology as a protected archaeological heritage of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. [Md. Shahin Alam]
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