Jama Masjid, Vijayapura

The Jama Masjid, also called the Great Mosque, is the principal mosque of Vijayapura and one of the defining buildings of the Adil Shahi sultans, who ruled the city from the 15th to the 17th century. Ali Adil Shah I commissioned it as the spiritual and social centre of his capital, and it is still used for prayer.

Its design draws on Persian, Indian and Deccani traditions, with geometric patterns, floral motifs and calligraphy worked into the facade. A broad courtyard lined with colonnades leads to the prayer hall, where carved pillars flank the aisles beneath a fine ceiling and the mihrab is picked out in calligraphy and geometric ornament. Local stories credit the water of the mosque with healing powers and say the building was spared by enemy armies in times of war.