Safa Masjid, Goa

The Shahouri Masjid in Ponda taluka, the biggest and most famous of the mosques in Goa, was built in 1560 by Ibrahim Adilshah of Bijapur. Adjacent to the mosque is a well-constructed masonry tank with small chambers with ‘mihrab’ designs. The two major festivals of Id-Ul-Fitr and Id-Ul-Zuha are celebrated at this mosque with great pomp.

History

Safa Masjid is situated at Shahpur of Ponda Taluka. Also known as the Shahouri Masjid, the mosque is considered an important heritage monument of Goa. The Safa Masjid is a very relevant representative of the history and culture of medieval Goa. The Safa Shahouri Masjid, the biggest and most famous of the 27 mosques in Ponda Taluka was built in 1560 by Ibrahim Adilshah of Bijapur. 'Safa' is an Arabic word that means clean, chaste, and pure. The mosque bears a resemblance to the word appropriately. The Safa mosque has survived the destruction caused by the Portuguese colonizers as part of the Inquisition process.

Architecture

The Safa Masjid is a small single-chambered mosque with a tiled roof having a flight of steps in front. The architecture of the mosque is an Indo-Islamic fusion. The tank and the mosque are made up of laterite stone masonry. On the top half of the mosque, the ‘Mehrab’ double arches are crowned with a beautiful lotus bud motif which adds to the prestige beauty of this mosque. The interesting feature of the Safa Masjid is the huge tank with 44 ‘hammams’ i.e. hot-air baths, in its four interior sides in Islamic ‘Mehrab’ style arcs. One can still see the remnants of the ‘Mehrab’ arcs on all the four sides of the mosque where the top half of the mosque is plastered with cream color with eaves design and ruins of laterite pillars in the surroundings of the mosque.