Mazar-e-Quaid
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Quick Facts
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Tomb of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah also called Mazar-e-Quaid (Urdu: مزار قائد) or the National Mausoleum refers to the tomb of the founder of Pakistan,Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.He was died in 1948 and was buried in Karachi.It is an iconic symbol of Karachi throughout the world. The mausoleum completed in the 1960s, is situated at the heart of the city.
Yahya Merchant was the person who designed the mausoleum. Mazar-e-Quaid is the largest mausoleum in Pakistan. It has total area of 61 acre (3100 m²) which makes it the largest mausoleum in Pakistan. More than 10,000 visitors visit this mausoleum every day from all over the country and the rest of the world to see the marvelous mausoleum of Quiad-e- Azam.
Yahya Merchant was the person who designed the mausoleum. Mazar-e-Quaid is the largest mausoleum in Pakistan. It has total area of 61 acre (3100 m²) which makes it the largest mausoleum in Pakistan. More than 10,000 visitors visit this mausoleum every day from all over the country and the rest of the world to see the marvelous mausoleum of Quiad-e- Azam.
History
Ayub Khan (1907 – 1974)
On 31 July 1960, the then president of Pakistan Ayub Khan laid the foundation stone of the mausoleum on Mohammad Ali Jinnah Road (M A Jinnah Road). The government of Azad Kashmir provided the wood for the construction of the mausoleum. In the foundations of the mausoleum, copies of biography of Jinnah, some old coins and copy of Pakistan Resolution were also preserved. The design of the mausoleum was prepared by Mr Yaya Merchant. The mausoleum was opened to general public on 15 January 1971.
Architecture and Design
The mausoleum is made of white marble with curved Moorish arches and copper grills reset on an elevated 54 square meters platform. Since the main mausoleum stands on the rear side of the platform and draws the whole attraction by the maximum advantage it takes of the available height, the back portion is shortened and almost closed by a low retaining wall. There are no steps on this side, which faces east. The original idea of the architect was perhaps to leave it in that position and let it remain concealed by the rough ridge that still clings on to the north-east corner of the enclosure. However, the little area available on this eastern side has been developed as a backyard and, without disturbing the original concept, a low flat roofed rectangular building has been put up, five feet away from the platform, to be used as a relic chamber. One part of the chamber is reserved for housing the relics of Quaid-e-Azam and the other accommodates the graves of the devoted companions of the Quaid. This later adjunct is a very simple construction deliberately meant that way so that the attention from the main building is not diverted.
The work on the dome with radius of 70 feet commenced in 1964. Inside under the dome, a 80 feet long chandleries weighing 26 tonnes was installed in January 1970, which was donated by the Chinese government. The mausoleum has four entrances. Two feet around the grave, is 21 feet x 17 feet brass protection to save the silver work which weighs 18,000 tolas and the work was completed in December 1970. From the main entrance to the grave are 21 stairs.
The rectangular building is a hypostyle hall with a curtain wall in the middle that divides it into two portions - the relic museum in the north and the grave complex in the south. The roof rests on twenty-four square pillars, arranged six in length and four in width. The grave complex is longitudinal, aligned east and west with an additional bay for a separate grave of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah to the north. The remaining portion accommodates the museum show-cases, all of which are air-conditioned. This is a commodious rectangular hall, with only a jutting-in of the space for the single grave of Miss Jinnah. There are five arched entrances - the arches are the miniature model of the high arch in the main mausoleum leading into this building, two on the south that give opening to the grave complex, two on the east and one on the north for the museum proper. The exterior face of the wall is veiled by long panels of jali work in masonry that stretches from the floor to the cornice. There are seven panels on each side of the main door on the north. On the east eight panels occupy the space between the doors while eight and six are respectively on the western and eastern sides. The southern side has six panels between the doors and three each at the ends. The western side has also got twenty-seven panels. The jali work in the panels consists of a series of chain motif joined one to the other.
In the interior of the grave complex, there are three graves in a row and one to the north. The northern one, which is decorated with a series of black floral design at the base, belongs to Miss Fatima Jinnah, Jinnah's sister. Out of the three graves, the northern one belongs to Liaquat Ali Khan, who died as Prime Minister of Pakistan. The extreme southern grave belongs to Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar. In the middle lies buried Nurul Amin, who rose to be the Vice-President of Pakistan. All these graves are made of Italian white marble, and they are of the box type, like the sarcophagus of Jinnah, placed on a triple base. But the sides of these graves are tapering inward while that of Jinnah are diverging outward. These are all plain graves, except that of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, which has a basal floral ornamentation.
Around the mausoleum there is a park fitted with strong beamed spot-lights which at night project light on the white mausoleum. Thus the glowing tomb can be seen for miles at night.The mausoleum is located in a manner that all main thoroughfares of the city should converge here. The site once lay at almost at the end of the old city, but today it occupies a central place with the new growth of the city. The thoroughfares that impinge on the site strike at the four angles of a parallelogram which encloses the monument.
The work on the dome with radius of 70 feet commenced in 1964. Inside under the dome, a 80 feet long chandleries weighing 26 tonnes was installed in January 1970, which was donated by the Chinese government. The mausoleum has four entrances. Two feet around the grave, is 21 feet x 17 feet brass protection to save the silver work which weighs 18,000 tolas and the work was completed in December 1970. From the main entrance to the grave are 21 stairs.
The rectangular building is a hypostyle hall with a curtain wall in the middle that divides it into two portions - the relic museum in the north and the grave complex in the south. The roof rests on twenty-four square pillars, arranged six in length and four in width. The grave complex is longitudinal, aligned east and west with an additional bay for a separate grave of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah to the north. The remaining portion accommodates the museum show-cases, all of which are air-conditioned. This is a commodious rectangular hall, with only a jutting-in of the space for the single grave of Miss Jinnah. There are five arched entrances - the arches are the miniature model of the high arch in the main mausoleum leading into this building, two on the south that give opening to the grave complex, two on the east and one on the north for the museum proper. The exterior face of the wall is veiled by long panels of jali work in masonry that stretches from the floor to the cornice. There are seven panels on each side of the main door on the north. On the east eight panels occupy the space between the doors while eight and six are respectively on the western and eastern sides. The southern side has six panels between the doors and three each at the ends. The western side has also got twenty-seven panels. The jali work in the panels consists of a series of chain motif joined one to the other.
In the interior of the grave complex, there are three graves in a row and one to the north. The northern one, which is decorated with a series of black floral design at the base, belongs to Miss Fatima Jinnah, Jinnah's sister. Out of the three graves, the northern one belongs to Liaquat Ali Khan, who died as Prime Minister of Pakistan. The extreme southern grave belongs to Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar. In the middle lies buried Nurul Amin, who rose to be the Vice-President of Pakistan. All these graves are made of Italian white marble, and they are of the box type, like the sarcophagus of Jinnah, placed on a triple base. But the sides of these graves are tapering inward while that of Jinnah are diverging outward. These are all plain graves, except that of Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, which has a basal floral ornamentation.
Around the mausoleum there is a park fitted with strong beamed spot-lights which at night project light on the white mausoleum. Thus the glowing tomb can be seen for miles at night.The mausoleum is located in a manner that all main thoroughfares of the city should converge here. The site once lay at almost at the end of the old city, but today it occupies a central place with the new growth of the city. The thoroughfares that impinge on the site strike at the four angles of a parallelogram which encloses the monument.
Ceremonies
In the Photo, Navy Guards replacing the Older Ones at Tomb of Quaid.
Official and military ceremonies take place here on special occasions, especially Pakistan Day on 23 March,Independence Day on 14 August,Birth and death anniversaries of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, 25 December and 11 September respectively, and Birth (30 July) and death (8 July) anniversaries of Madar-e-Millat Fatima Jinnah . Dignitaries and officials from foreign countries also visit this place. On 25 December each year cadets of Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul mount guard of honour at the mausoleum to pay homage to the man whose country they take allegiance to very proudly defend.