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Id Kah
Mosque |
 The
Aitida Mosque, a grand Islamic structure located
in the center of the city of Kashgar, has a
history of more than five hundred years.
Shakesimirzha, the ruler of Kashgar, had the
mosque built here first in1442, where he would
say prayers to the souls of his deceased
relatives. Extended and renovated time and again
through the ages, it has finally reached its
present shape and size.
The mosque, 140 meters long from south to north
and 120 meters from east to west, covers an area
of 16,800 square meters and consists of the Hall
of Prayer, the Doctrine-Teaching Hall, the gate
tower, a pond and some other auxiliary
structures. The gate of the mosque, built of
yellow bricks with the joints of the brickwork
pointed with gypsum, has distinct lines. On both
sides of the gate are eighteen-meter high round
brick columns half embedded in the wall. On top
of the columns stands a tower where the imam
would call out loudly at dawn every day to wake
up the Muslims and summon them to attend service
in the mosque. In the tree-graced courtyard,
there is a pond, and on its bank many pottery
pots are placed, which are to be used by the
Islam believers to clean their bodies. The main
hall with wide eaves is 160 meters long and 16
meters wide. The hall's ceiling, with fine
wooden carvings and colorful flower-and-plant
painting patterns, is supported by one hundred
carved wooden columns. In the middle part of the
wall in the main hall, there is a deep shrine in
which a stepped throne is placed. During
service, the First Maola stands in the shrine to
lead the prayer. And on Fridays or Corban, the
First Maola conducts "Wa'z", standing on the
steps of the throne. After entering the main
hall, the followers would seat themselves facing
west both inside and out, in proper lines. |
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