Sidi Saiyyed Mosque
Also called: Sidi Saiyyed ni Jali · Topic: India, a Home to Many: Diasporas and Refuge · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Sidi Saiyyed Mosque is a mosque in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, built in 1572–73. It was built by Sidi Saiyyed, an Abyssinian (African) noble who served in the army of the Gujarat sultans. It was completed in the last years of the Gujarat Sultanate, just before Akbar conquered Gujarat in 1573. It shows the important place Africans held in medieval Indian courts.
Example
The mosque is famous for its jali, a carved stone screen with holes like a net. The screen shows the twisted branches of a tree. This "Sidi Saiyyed ni Jali" has become a symbol of Ahmedabad, and IIM Ahmedabad uses it in its logo.
Don't confuse with
- Sidi Bashir Mosque, Ahmedabad: this is another mosque in the same city, famous for its "shaking minarets". Its towers sway when one of them is shaken.