| Mecca Masjid |
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This principal mosque stands 100 yards Southwest of the Charminar. The mosque is said to comprise bricks brought from Mecca built into the central arch, hence the name. The five arched facades were carved out of a single piece of granite, a stone which took five years to quarry. The courtyard houses a large pond flanked by two stone and slab seats. Legend has it that a visitor who sits on one of these seats will
definitely return to Hyderabad. A room in the courtyard is said to contain sacred relics, one of which is the hair of Prophet Muhammad.
The construction of the Mecca Masjid was begun under the orders of Sultan Quli Qutub
Shah in 1617 and was completed in 1694 under direct orders of Emperor
Aurangazeb. The mosque is one of the largest in the country and can accommodate ten thousand people at one time.
It is the biggest mosque in Hyderabad and is adjacent to Charminar just across the road. The constructions of this mosque was
started by Sultan Muhammad Qutub Shah, The work continued during the reign of Abdullah Qutub Shah and Abul Hassan
Tana Shah and was completed in 1694 by the Moghal Emperor Aurangzeb.
The hall of the mosque is about 75 feet high, 220 feet wide and 180 feet long, Each of the two
octagonal columns on either side are made out of a single piece of granite, It took about 8000 Masons and laborers and 77 years to complete.
It is said that when the foundation stone was being laid, Sultan Muhammad Qutub Shah invited all the pious religious elders of
the city. It was announced that the king wanted the foundation stone to be laid by one who had never missed his prayers. None
came forward, therefore Sultan Muhammad himself laid the foundation for he had never missed even his midnight prayer since
the age of 12.
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