About Aali Masjid

Aali Masjid

The Aali Masjid is the second largest mosque in Srinagar City after Jamia Masjid. It was constructed in 1471 AD, during the rule of Sultan Hassan Shah. The conservation of the Mosque was the follow-up of the Cultural Resource Mapping of the Srinagar city undertaken by the INTACH, Jammu and Kashmir Chapter. Given the widespread vandalism of the region’s built heritage, especially of religious buildings like mosques, shrines, khanqahs etc; the Chapter realised the need for undertaking the conservation of a religious building as a model to impress on how traditional buildings can be preserved, restored or conserved sympathetically. The Mosque is one of the best examples of the vernacular wooden architecture of Kashmir and has a rich historical background. The history of the mosque corresponds to four distinct political periods, the Sultanate, Mughals, Afghans and the Dogra period. The last known renovation to the Mosque was undertaken during the Dogra rule. While undertaking the conservation works on site, all the necessary conservation principles were adhered to. Lying derelict for many years, the conservation plan proposed the restoration of the building to its original usage – to serve as a mosque. The philosophy of intervention ensured minimum intervention in order to maintain the historic integrity of the building. The philosophy of conservation adopted for the restoration of the mosque is as follows: Minimum intervention to the fabric of the building Reversible interventions wherever possible Maintenance of traditional form of architecture with regard to material, construction techniques and other details. Oral conversations with the local community was undertaken to develop better understanding of the changes to the building fabric during various repair and renovation processes. The project was implemented with active participation of local craftsmen, masons and contractor. Following the immense success of this project, the pool of craftsmen and skilled labour thus created is also being employed for other conservation works being undertaken by INTACH, Jammu and Kashmir Chapter in Kashmir. Najar 9697321959