Mosque (Lashkari Bazar)
Bust, Afghanistan
The Great Mosque of Lashkari Bazar is located along the western perimeter of the large open enclosure preceding the South Palace or Great Palace. It consists of an elongated rectangle, divided into two aisles running parallel to the qibla (west) wall. The two aisles are divided by sixteen columns into two rows of sixteen small bays. At the center of the hall, four columns support a larger, square nave that divides the hall into two. Remnants of arches suggest that a domed vault surmounted this central nave. A large mihrab in the form of a rectangular niche indicated the direction of prayer under this central bay on the qibla wall. 

Excavations of the mosque indicated that it had been renovated. Changes included renovations to the columns and pillars of the prayer hall, and the construction of a forecourt. The original mosque may have had an even larger forecourt, but excavations were not extensive enough to determine the situation.


Sources

Schlumberger, Daniel. Lashkari Bazar: Une residence royale ghaznévide et ghoride. Part 1A: L’architecture, 67-69. Paris: Diffusion de Boccard, 1978.
Location
Bust, Afghanistan
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