Khilingrong Mosque

Khilingrong Mosque is a blend of Tibetan, Balti and Kashmiri Architecture

Elevation of Khilingrong Mosque (Source: Agha Khan Cultural Service)

The Khilingrong Mosque displays a unique and stunning architectural style that blends elements from Tibetan, Kashmiri, and Persian traditions. Its intricate woodwork carvings, featuring a fusion of floral and geometric patterns, are particularly remarkable for their meticulous detail and craftsmanship. Max Klimburg highlights the Shah-e-Hamdan mosque in Srinagar, Kashmir, constructed in 1395 AD, as a significant influence on the architectural landscape of the Gilgit Baltistan region, including the Khilingrong Mosque.

He elucidates various architectural influences observed in the region, such as the Thatar building style utilizing wooden pegs instead of traditional joinery, the introduction of the Khanqah, a preference for centralized square ground plans, and the distinctive pyramidal roofs topped with Qubbahs. These architectural characteristics strongly reflect influences from Kashmir and Ladakh, possibly deriving inspiration from Hindu stone structures, as evidenced by the prevalence of centralized square layouts in both regions. The slender spires adorned with umbrellas, commonly found on stupas and chortens in Ladakh, likely served as prototypes for the Cholo and Qubbah ensemble observed in Kashmir, with Baltistan potentially receiving this architectural feature from Kashmir.

Balconies in First Floor

The mosque has a central square base plan with a converging pyramidal top, a design form associated with Tibetan and Himalayan architecture. A prayer hall on the mosque's ground level has a finely carved veranda on one side. This prayer hall is the one primarily used for conducting prayers in the mosque. The structure is supported by a central structural column in the middle of the hall.

The mosque is situated around 300 meters from the Shigar Fort complex and served as the public mosque for the Amacha Raja of Shigar. Khilingrong Mosque was most likely built around the same time as Shigar Fort in the 17th century.

The Khilingrong mosque is structured with two levels: ground and first. On the first floor, there is also a prayer hall, mirroring the one found on the ground floor, complete with a central column. This upper-level prayer space is surrounded by wooden arcaded verandas on all four sides and showcases the mosque's intricate wooden arches. Each prayer room, whether on the ground or first floor, features a central pillar adorned with a meticulously decorated cross-bracketed semivoluted capital. Additionally, there are elaborately carved spandrels on the lower veranda's arcades and refined ornamental carvings adorning the entrance, windows, and mihrab inside.

A notable feature of the Khilingrong mosque is a pyramidal roof that converges on top and is crowned with unique Tibetan and Kashmiri style spires. These structures known as ‘cholos’ resemble Tibetan stupas or Chortens. A square base with a pyramidal top and a crowning spire is reminiscent of traditional Himalayan design. Structures with comparable architectural forms are found throughout Ladakh, Nepal, and Tibet. Therefore, it is plausible to assume that this form originated in further Eastern tradition and was transmitted in Gilgit Baltistan

The spire of Khilingrong mosque has a four-side wooden cubicle lantern with four pyramidical-shaped wooden structures with crossed wooden beams. From these beams hang metallic thin  “ ‘wings’ as if meant to catch the wind, possibly imitating bells hanging from Hindu or Buddhist temples”. A unique element of the local architecture, known as a Qubba, is perched atop this cholo tower. It is made of a metal rod with three little metal umbrellas, which hold small hanging metal chains

Wood Carvings & Motifs

Wooden Carvings and Engravings

The Khilingrong mosque showcases a rich fusion of Kashmiri, Tibetan, and local design elements. Its intricate engravings feature a blend of geometric patterns, drawing from Buddhist and Tibetan architectural influences, and floral motifs reminiscent of Kashmiri styles. The mosque's walls are adorned with continuous friezes of these geometric and floral engravings, bordered throughout.

On the first floor, Islamic geometric patterns adorn the Jalis, or latticework, influenced by Persian architecture. Known as Panjiras, these lattices are crafted by assembling small wooden pieces into intricate geometrical shapes and patterns. The arches on the first floor incorporate these Panjira-style Jalis on their lower side, with open arches above. These decorative techniques, including Panjiras and Khatamband, retain their Persian names and were introduced to the Kashmir region by craftsmen and artisans from Iran during the era of Shah Hamadani.

Both structural and non-structural components of the Khilingrong Mosque feature elaborate wood carvings. Even the window frames are intricately carved with patterns. Max Klimburg describes the cornices above the windows on the upper floor, deeply carved with bands of palmette-like plants, and flanked by rows of leafy scrolls and meanders. Similar palmette-frieze cornices adorn the door leading to the lower prayer room and the mihrab. Additionally, a broad cornice-like frieze, comprising deformed swastikas within circles, alternating with rows of continuous meanders, is found beneath the windows around the entire prayer room, topped with a floral scroll alternating in opposite directions.

Similar to Shigar Fort, the Khilingrong Mosque was built using the age-old Cator and Cribbage process, which involves fusing together stone and wood to create an earthquake-resistant structure. The wooden beams cross and are perpendicularly joined at the corners. This local Cator and Cribbage Construction is applied to all forms of architecture in Gilgit Baltistan including Khars (forts) and Masjids, Astanas (Tombs) and Khanqahs.