Gol Gumbaz – World’s Largest Echo Dome

Gol Gumbaz

Gol Gumbaz

Location Bijapur, Karnataka, India

Designer Yaqut of Dabul

Completion date 1659

Gol Gumbaz (Kannada: ಗೋೋಲ ಗುಮಮ ಟ) (Urdu: ‫)گول گمبد‬is the mausoleum of Mohammed Adil Shah (1627–55) of
the Adil Shahi dynasty of Indian sultans, who ruled the Sultanate of Bijapurfrom 1490 to 1686.

The tomb, located in the city of Bijapur, or Vijapur in Karnataka, southern India, was built in 1659 by the
famous architect, Yaqut of Dabul. The structure consists of a massive square chamber measuring nearly 50 m
(160 ft) on each side and covered by a huge dome 44 meters/137.5 feet in diameter making it among one of
the largest dome structures in world. The dome is supported on giant squinches supported by
groined pendentives while outside the building is supported by domed octagonal corner towers. The Dome is
the third largest surviving from the pre-modern world after the Hagia Sophia of Constantinople and the Basilica
of St. Peter in Rome. It while its general diameter is just a shadow larger than the Pantheon in Rome, the area
it covers is substantially larger. Covering one of the biggest single chamber spaces in the world over an area of
18,225 square feet (1,693 square meters), it is a fifth larger than the better known Pantheon in Rome which is
14,996 square feet (1,393 square meters).

The acoustics of the enclosed place make it a whispering gallery where even the smallest sound is heard
across the other side of the Gumbaz. At the periphery of the dome is a circular balcony where visitors can
witness the astounding whispering gallery. Any whisper, clap or sound gets echoed around 7 times. Anything
whispered from one corner of the gallery can be heard clearly on the diagonally opposite side. It is also said
that the Sultan, Ibrahim Adil Shah and his Queen used to converse in the same manner. During his time, the
musicians used to sing, seated in the whispering gallery so that the sound produced could reach every corner
of the hall.

Right below the whispering gallery, in the hall the dancers provided entertainment. Each tower consists of
seven storeys and the upper floor of each opens on to a round gallery which surrounds the dome. In the centre
of the chamber is a square raised podium approached by steps in the centre of each side. In the centre of the
podium are the tombs of Muhammad Adil Shah II and his relations. To the west of the podium in a large apse-
like projection is the mosque, also raised slightly above the floor level of the chamber.

Gol Gumbaz Circa 1860

Henry Hinton, a photographer from Britain was one of the first to record the splendid beauty of Gol Gumbaz. He
mentions in Print 1 of The Ruins of Beejapoor, in a series of nineteen views from collodion negatives
(Bombay, 1860).

"…built on a terrace 200 yards square. Height of tomb externally 198 ft, internally 175. Diameter of
dome 124 feet, 4 minarets of 8 storeys, 12 ft broad entered by winding staircases terminating in
cupolas'. The Gol Gumbaz, a grand mausoleum of Muhammad Adil Shah, though a structural triumph
of Deccan architecture, is impressively simple in design, with a hemispherical dome, nearly 44 mts in
external diameter, resting on a cubical volume measuring 47.5 mts on each side. The dome is
supported internally by eight intersecting arches created by two rotated squares that create
interlocking pendentives. A cenotaph slab in the floor marks the true grave in the basement, the only
instance of this practice in Adil Shahi architecture."

One can easily make out the restoration carried out on the structure by comparing the photographs. The
surroundings have been converted into a splendid garden and the site is maintained by The
Archeological Survey of India.