Sunehri Mosque, Lahore
{{Short description|Mosque in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan}}
{{For|the Sunehri Mosque in Delhi|Sunehri Mosque (Chandni Chowk)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Sunehri Mosque
| native_name = {{lang|pa|{{nq|سنہری مسیت}}}}
{{lang|ur|{{nq|سنہری مسجد}}}}
| native_name_lang = ur
| image = Sunehri_masjid_top_view_2.JPG
| image_upright =
| alt =
| caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|31.583083|74.319616|format=dms|region:PK_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes =
| religious_affiliation = Islam
| locale =
| location = Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
| deity =
| rite =
| sect =
| tradition = Sunni
| festival =
| cercle =
| sector =
| administration =
| consecration_year =
| organisational_status =
| functional_status =
| heritage_designation =
| ownership =
| governing_body =
| leadership =
| bhattaraka =
| patron =
| religious_features_label =
| religious_features =
| architect =
| architecture_type = mosque
| architecture_style = Indo-Islamic, Mughal
| founded_by =
| creator =
| funded_by =
| general_contractor =
| established =
| groundbreaking =
| year_completed = 1753
| construction_cost =
| date_demolished =
| facade_direction =
| capacity =
| length =
| width =
| width_nave =
| interior_area =
| height_max =
| dome_quantity =
| dome_height_outer =
| dome_height_inner =
| dome_dia_outer =
| dome_dia_inner =
| minaret_quantity = 4
| minaret_height = {{convert|54|m}}
| spire_quantity =
| spire_height =
| site_area =
| temple_quantity =
| monument_quantity =
| shrine_quantity =
| inscriptions =
| elevation_m =
| elevation_footnotes =
| nrhp =
| designated =
| added =
| refnum =
| footnotes =
| website =
}}
File:Prayer_Chamaber_of_Sonehri_Masjid.jpges.]]
The Sunehri Mosque ({{langx|pa|{{nq|سنہری مسیت}}|translit=Sunahirī Masīt}}; {{langx|ur|{{nq|سنہری مسجد }}|translit=Sunehrī Masjid|lit=The Golden Mosque}}), also known as the Talai Mosque, is a late Mughal architecture-era mosque in the Walled City of Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab.
Location
Sunehri Mosque is located in the Walled City of Lahore.
History
Unlike the Wazir Khan Mosque and Badshahi Mosque which were built at the zenith of the Mughal Empire in the 17th century, the Sunehri Mosque was built in 1753 when the empire was in decline.
The architect of the mosque was Nawab Bukhari Khan, deputy governor of Lahore during the reign of Muhammad Shah.Lahore, 'Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, (Routledge, 1996), 159. Local shopkeeper had objected to the construction of a large mosque in a congested area, so Bukhari Khan acquired a fatwa from local religious leaders in order for construction to begin.{{cite news|title=Sonehri Mosque|url=https://sites.ualberta.ca/~rnoor/mosque_sonehri.html|access-date=28 August 2016|agency=Lahore Sites}}
Architecture
File:Golden_Mosque_Under_Horizon.jpg
The mosque was built on a plinth elevated 11 feet off of the bazaars surface, with shops occupying the ground floor beneath the mosque. The shops rents were used to pay for the mosque's upkeep. The architectural style of the mosque reflects influences of Sikh architecture from nearby Amritsar.
The staircase in front of the mosque has 16 steps, and opens up to a small courtyard measuring 65 feet by 43 feet. An ablution tank is in the centre of this courtyard. The prayer chamber measures 40 feet long, and 16 feet wide. The mosque has a gateway, which measures 21.3 metres in length and a courtyard that measures {{convert|161.5|x|160.6|m}}.The marble domes cover seven prayer chambers. Four lofty minarets stand at the four corners of the mosque, each with an outer circumference of {{convert|20|m}}, soaring up to {{convert|54|m}}.
Conservation
In 2011, the Government of Punjab began a {{PKRConvert|5.78|m}} project to restore the mosque with funding from the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation of the United States of America.{{cite news|last1=Malik|first1=Sonia|title=Cultural heritage: Shops hold up Sunehri Masjid restoration|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/325743/cultural-heritage-shops-hold-up-sunehri-masjid-restoration/|access-date=28 August 2016|agency=The Express Tribune|date=23 January 2012}} Minarets were resurfaced while the domes were re-gilded, while new marble floors were installed.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Sunehri Masjid, Lahore}}
- [http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\10\01\story_1-10-2006_pg7_26 Sunehri Mosque withering away]
{{Cultural heritage sites in Punjab, Pakistan |state=autocollapse}}
{{Mosques in Pakistan}}
{{Walled City of Lahore}}
{{Mughal Empire}}
Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 1753
Category:Walled City of Lahore
Category:18th-century mosques in Pakistan
Category:Mosques completed in the 1750s
Category:Mosque buildings with domes in Pakistan