Gol Gumbaz


Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur is the mausoleum of king Muhammad Adil Shah, Adil Shah Dynasty. Construction of the tomb, located in Vijayapura, Karnataka, India, was started in 1626 and completed in 1656. The name is based on Gola gummata derived from Gol Gombadh meaning "circular dome". It follows the style of Indo-Islamic architecture. Even a slight whisper by someone standing in its gallery can be heard everywhere else in the gallery, and if somebody claps, the sound of it echoes several times

Architecture

The structure is composed of a cube, 47.5 m on each side, capped by a roof 44 m in external diameter. Eight intersecting arches created by two rotated squares that create interlocking pendentives support the dome. At each of the four corners of the cube, is a dome-capped octagonal tower seven stories high with a staircase inside. The upper floor of each tower opens on to a round gallery which surrounds the dome. The dome is one of the largest domes constructed before the modern era.
Inside the mausoleum, hall is a polygonal podium, with steps on each side. In the middle of the podium, a cenotaph slab on the ground marks the actual grave below, "the only instance of this practice" in the architecture of the Deccan sultanates. In the middle of the north side, "a large semi-octagonal bay" protrudes out. With an area of 1,700 m2, the mausoleum has one of the biggest single chamber spaces in the world. Running around the inside of the dome is the whispering gallery where even the softest sound can be heard on the other side of the mausoleum due to the acoustics of the space.
There is a museum within the complex. The museum was established during British rule in 1892.

Gallery