Everyone knows that Makkah Masjid is one of the oldest masjids in Hyderabad and one of the biggest in India and it is a listed among heritage buildings. But there are some facts about the masjid which very few people are aware of. Do you know that Makkah Masjid has one of the oldest sundials of the world? Do you know that 3000 dovecotes were constructed over the roof of Makkah Masjid to provide shelter to pigeons? Do you know who was the ruler who fixed iron grills to stop pigeons from entering inside the Masjid?
The sundial was placed in the Masjid courtyard at the time of Aurangzeb’s regime reign, to calculate the prayer times. Now you can see the sundial near Makkah Masjid cistern (houz). The sundial made up of Sang-e-Musa is nearly 4 ft high.
The 3000 dovecotes were constructed by God-fearing Asifjahi ruler Nawab Mir Mahboob Ali Khan better known as Mahboob Ali Pasha. He had also fixed 5 iron grills in the 5 arches of Makkah Masjid so that pigeons and other birds could not enter the interior portion of the masjid.
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