Menara Kudus Mosque
Menara Kudus Mosque The Menara Kudus Mosque or Al-Manar Mosque is located in Kudus in the Indonesian province of Central Java. Dating from 1549, it is one of the oldest mosques in Indonesia, built at the time of Islam's spread through Java. The mosque preserves the tomb of Sunan Kudus, one of the nine Islamic saints of Java, and it is a popular pilgrimage point. It preserves pre-Islamic architectural forms such as old Javanese split doorways, ancient Hindu-Buddhist influenced Majapahit-style red brickwork, and a three-tired pyramindal roof. The most unusual feature is the brick minaret on which a pavilion shelters a large skin drum which is used to summon the faithful to prayer instead of the more common muezzin. Whereas a bedug normally hangs under the eaves of a mosque verandah, in the Kudus Mosque it sits in a tower like a Balinese Hindu temple kul-kul or signal drum used to warn of impending attack, fire, or communal event. No other mosque in Java is known to have a drum tow...