Bhong Mosque

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Bhong Mosque is located in the village of Bhong, Sadiqabad in the district of Rahim yar khan, Pakistan. The compound was designed and constructed over a period of nearly 50 years (1932-1982) and won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1986. A postal stamp with its picture was issued in May 12, 2004 in Pakistan.

1 Infrastructure
2 Benefactor
3 Award
4 References
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Infrastructure

The construction of the mosque was carried out by specialists gathered from all over Pakistan and India: master masons from Rajasthan, India, craftsmen from Multan for the glazed tile, mosaic and woodwork, and painters and calligraphers from Karachi. Workshops were set up to train craftsmen in skills that had originally been passed from father to son. The mosque's design is a mix of Islamic styles, using rare and traditional materials such as ivory, teak, and onyx, along with industrial elements like terrazzo and artificial stone facing. Broadly eclectic in their use of sources, the builders borrowed stylistic elements from nearby Lahore, as well as Iran, Spain and Turkey, and combined them with Western colonial elements of the 1940s.

[edit] Benefactor

The mosque was commissioned in 1932 by Rais Ghazi Mohammad, a wealthy Punjabi landowner, to be the jewel of his new palace compound where another mosque and prestigious religious school already stood. Rais Ghazi Mohammad was given the highest civilian award of Pakistan from the government namely "Sitara-e-Imtiaz" on March 23, 2004 in recognition of his services.

[edit] Award

Critics, mostly Western, have called it "Arabian Nights a la Hollywood," noting how much it delights the Pakistani, yet bemoaning the fact that such a work will now set an architectural standard. To date, it has been the most controversial of the Aga Khan Architecture award winners.