This six-domed mosque is locally considered to be contemporary
with Khan Jahan Ali style mosques of Khalifatabad and located at Mohammadabad,
present day Barobazar, Jessore. Based on architectural style the date of
construction can be estimated to be fifteenth century.
The mosque is a multi-domed rectangular type Sultanate mosque
with a rectangular structure crowned by six domes. The Golkata Mosque is located
approximately 100m east of Jorbangla Mosque.
The mosque is 46'8'' X 26'0'' rectangle externally while internally
it has a rectangular plan of 30'7'' x 19'4''. The structure is a single chamber,
internally divided into six equal grids roofed over by six hemispherical domes.
The eastern façade has three framed arched openings to the prayer hall flanked
by two blind arches on each side. The northern and southern façades have two
framed arched openings to the prayer hall flanked by two blind arches on each
side. There are three mihrabs, each aligned with the three entrances at east
and the central portion of the qibla wall is projected westward from the ground
to the roof. Stylistically this kind is known as Khan Jahan Ali architecture,
commonly found in and around south-western part of Bangladesh.
The structure is buttressed by four massive corner octagonal
turrets. These turrets end at the level of parapet walls and ribbed in typical
Bengali Sultanate fashion. The façades are capped by sloped cornices pointed at
center. Exterior façades are of plain brick texture with framed arched opening.
All entrances are almost of equal breadth while the central ones are slightly taller. There are three terracotta mihrabs in the qibla
wall; the central one is slightly larger than the side ones. All three mihrabs are
decorated with pointed arches.
The mosque was restored and repaired by the Department of Archaeology, Bangladesh and is now a protected monument.
Sources:
Asher, C. B. Inventory of Key Monuments. In The Islamic Heritage of Bengal, George Michell, editor. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 1984.
Hasan, P. Sultans and Mosques: The Early Muslim Architecture of Bangladesh. London: I. B. Tauris, 2007.
Islam, I., and Noblea, A. Mosque Architecture in Bangladesh: The Archetype and Its Changing Morphology. Journal of Cultural Geography, 17(2), 5-25, 1998.