Great Mosque of West Sumatra, Amazing and Unique Mosque in the World

Mirwaners! Couple days ago, I traveled to West Sumatra where there are lot of interesting tourist attractions. One of tourist attractions of West Sumatera that I visited is the Great Mosque of Sumatra West. This great mosque is exactly located on Khatib Sulaiman Street, Alai Parak Kopi, North Padang, West Sumatera. I’m so proud that I have been here because this mosque has some uniqueness which makes it an iconic mosque in the West Sumatra region. This unique mosque consists of three floors. The first floor is used as a place of ablution and an additional place if the main floor is full. Then the second floor is the main room in the mosque which is used as the main place of prayer in congregation. While the third floor can also function as an alternative place for worshipers, or as a place to rest if visitors are not many. The lower part of the mosque's floor is also interesting because it is equipped with a red tapestry carpet that is used as a prayer mat, and is a gift from the Turkish Government.

Great Mosque of West Sumatra, Amazing and Unique Mosque in the World

When I was there, I saw some features on this unique mosque.  Do you wanna know what are they? Here are the features of the Great Mosque of West Sumatra. 

1. Mosque appears without dome 

The most striking thing about the Great Mosque of Sumatra West is that the mosque appears without a dome. The appearance of the none-dome mosque is a representation of the philosophy of Adat Basandi Syarak-Syarak Basandi Kitabullah, which means that adat (custom) is based, supported by the Islamic Shari'a based on the Qur'an and Hadith.

Instead, the roof of the mosque is designed in the form of a four roof with each corner soaring into the sky like Rumah Gadang (Big House). Although it is shaped like a Gonjong Rumah Gadang, the roof of the mosque reflects the 4 corners of the cloth used by 4 caliphs to move the stone of Hajar Aswad. Now this Great Mosque of West Sumatra is an icon of religious tourism in West Sumatra. 

2. Earthquake Resistant Mosque 

Great Mosque of West Sumatra, located in the heart of Padang on Khatib Sulaiman Street and Ahmad Dahlan Street, was designed as an earthquake resistant mosque with a magnitude of 10. The mosque was built on an area of 40,343 square meters and can accommodate 20,000 worshipers. 

3. Carrying the Minang Culture 

Great Mosque of West Sumatra, in addition to the roof that resembles Rumah Gadang, it also has Minangkabau carving patterns on its walls. The main room of the mosque is filled with Minang carved interiors and calligraphy. The Mihrob section is like a hajar aswad and there are carvings of golden colored 99 Prophet’s names. 

4. Nicknamed the Thousand Doors of Wind Mosque

This mosque, which was designed by an architect named Rizal Muslimin, has quite a lot of doors, making this mosque nicknamed the name of the Thousand Doors of the Wind Mosque. Do you know who Rizal Muslimin is? Rizal Muslimin was the winner of an architectural competition attended by 323 architects from various countries. On the side of the Great Mosque there is a patterned tower like the Nabawi Mosque in Medina, which makes this mosque look even more magnificent.

So, for those who have plan to travel to West Sumatra, don’t forget to stop by here for doing prayer.

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Mirwan Choky