Middle Eastern Architect Style Mosque

Hello everyone, good night...

Who is not familiar with one of the mosques in the heart of downtown Lhokseumawe? Its name is the Great Mosque of the Islamic Center, which is a mosque with a very unique but beautiful building that has the nuances of mosques on the Middle East peninsula. The Great Mosque of the Islamic Center was built in 2001 and was stopped several times due to insufficient funds. Slowly but surely the development is progressing little by little until it is finished.

Now, the mosque which has various other facilities has been 100% completed, making it one of the icons of this beloved Lhokseumawe City. The mosque with a place of worship that has three floors is able to accommodate more than 10,000 worshipers. Actually the construction of the Islamic Center is not just the Great Mosque which is in the heart of Lhokseumawe City. But it has various other functions, such as the development and study of Islam in the former state of the famous Samudera Pasai several decades ago. The forerunner of the entry of Islamic civilization in Indonesia to bring Islam to Southeast Asia.

The magnificent mosque which became the icon of Lhoksumawe City with 9 domes, is currently being built at the former establishment of the Rawa Sakti Stadium which has an area of 16,475 square meters. A little story about the stadium "Rawa Sakti" is the largest football field in Lhokseumawe at that time was the Headquarters (home) of the Football Association of Lhokseumawe Around with the nickname "Petro Dollar City" at that time.
The facilities available here are in the form of a very large parking lot, library, canteen/cafeteria, cooperatives, libraries, laboratories, toilets, ablution places for men and women, mosque offices, Islamic school buildings (madrasas) built behind the mosque, parks. Kindergarten and Al-Quran Recitation Park (TPA) and there are several other facilities that I did not mention one by one.

Islamic School Building

Cleansing room

Canteen

Library Room

The character to be achieved in the interior design of the facilities within the Islamic Center consists of three key words, namely: Modern, Traditional (Aceh), and finally Religious (Islamic). The color concept used in the design of the Lhokseumawe Islamic Center is in contrast to the typical colors of Acehnese culture, namely red, yellow, green, black. These colors have a special meaning for the people of Aceh, especially Lhokseumawe and their psychological effect on space. These colors will be the accent color in any room. Meanwhile, to create a modern impression, the use of black and white monochrome colors and natural colors (wood) is needed here. The composition of these colors will be arranged based on the purpose of creating character creation in each room in each facility at the Islamic Center. Source.

This yellow mosque has geometric shapes following the concept of arabesque form which takes ornaments from countries in the middle east. In addition, this mosque also has 9 domes located on it. It has 1 largest dome in the middle of the mosque, surrounded by 4 medium-sized domes and has 4 small domes in each corner of the roof of the mosque itself. The color of this dome is violet which means violet, which is a combination of color types between indigo and purple and is given white stripes to make it more beautiful. This is a successful collaboration of three major countries whose architecture is very advanced and world-renowned, such as Europe, China, and India/Gujarat. Even if we see with the naked eye, almost all mosques in Aceh (90%) adopt the dome of the mosque from the State of India/Gujarat. Indeed, there is no obligation or obligation to apply the theory of the Indian state. In addition, the entire outer wall of this mosque is also installed with garden lights to make it more colorful at night, beautify the mosque itself, and give a more beautiful impression. On the first floor there is a separate ablution area for men and women.

View of the front of the Mosque

View of the right side of the mosque

View of the inside of the mosque

Besides being used as a place of worship/religion and teaching and learning, the Islamic Center is also used as a place for the wedding process. After the wedding went smoothly, the newlyweds used this mosque for a photo session with the backdrop of this magnificent mosque building. Every day there are several residents who take this happy moment. There are also people who come from outside the city stop in Lhokseumawe City for religious purposes and tourism needs.

Marriage Ceremony Process

If we visit in the afternoon at the Islamic Center Mosque, we will see so many children going in and out of the study room and playing in the courtyard of this mosque. In addition, on the outskirts of this mosque there are also very many sellers who trade their wares to children who attend this Islamic Center. Across the road we will also see so many cars that sell Aceh coffee (Arabica Gayo) which has been modified. The number of coffee cars that are mushrooming is a hangout place for local people to spend time resting after being tired from work.

All the photos that I share here I took with the Mirrorless Canon M50 camera that I have and I edited using Adobe Photoshop 2022 software.