Timeless Pettah

A naattami hauls his heavily laden cart across Gas Works Junction, in September 2020. Centre left is the Old Town Hall, built in the neo-Gothic style by the British colonial government in 1873. It is now used by the Colombo Fire Brigade. In the distance are the minarets of the Jami Ul-Alfar Masjid, or Red Mosque, towering over Main Street.

^{*shot on an M6MkII & EFM15-45mm/3.5-5.6, courtesy Canon/Metropolitan.}

Purity

Interior of the Jami ul-Alfar Mosque, on 2nd Cross Street, in the Pettah. Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 2016.

Prayer Wear

Kufi caps (most often worn by Muslim men at prayer, but also on some formal occasions) for sale outside the Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque, on 2nd Cross Street, in the Pettah. Colombo, Sri Lanka. April 2021.

^{5DMkIV & EF 16-35mm/2.8L courtesy Canon/Metropolitan.}

Thou Shalt Not be Late

As dusk falls over the city of Colombo, and the evening azaan sounds the end of another day of Ramazan fasting for Muslims, a man protests vocally at not being allowed to enter the Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque for evening prayers. Anti-Covid regulations allow only fifty worshippers entry, and this man was too late to get in. Sri Lanka, April 2021.

^{5DMkIV & EF 16-35mm/2.8L courtesy Canon/Metropolitan.}

The Red Mosque, Colombo, Sri Lanka #2

A view of the original two-storey Jami Ul-Alfar Masjid, designed by Saibo Lebbe in 1908, in the Indo-Saracenic style, with the new wing, built in 2007, towering above it. For a greater part of the 20th century, before more modern high-rise buildings obscured it, the striking colours of the mosque on 2nd Cross Street, in the old Colombo area of Pettah, were an identifying beacon for ships approaching the Colombo Harbour. April 2016.

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Posted in belief, cityscapes, creations, explorations, journalism, life, tourism, urbanTagged 24mm, 600D, belief, chequered, Colombo, colourful, columns, contrast, culture, design, history, Indo-Saracenic architecture, Islam, Jami Ul-Alfar Masjid, Red Mosque, religion, Saibo Lebbe, Sri Lanka, stripes, tower, travel, worship

Interior of the Red Mosque, Colombo, Sri lanka #3

Designed by Saibo Lebbe in the Indo-Saracenic style, and built in 1908, the Jami Ul-Alfar Masjid on 2nd Cross Street, in the old Colombo area of Pettah, has remained an enduring landmark of the city. April 2016.

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Posted in belief, explorations, life, people, street, urbanTagged 24mm, 2nd Cross Street, 600D, architecture, archway, belief, black & white, chequered, Colombo, columns, decorative, design, devotees, doorway, historic landmark, Indo-Saracenic architecture, Islam, Jami Ul-Alfar Masjid, Muslims, people, Pettah, pillars, Red Mosque, religion, Saibo Lebbe, Sri Lanka, street photography, tiles, travel, worship

2nd Cross Street, Pettah

A Borah businessman chats with a Tamil street vendor, the latter washing his handcart for a day of selling streetfood in the Pettah, one of the oldest parts of Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, Colombo. The name comes from a shortened and Anglicised version of Pita Kotuwa, or “outer fort”. It is largely a Tamil-speaking neighbourhood in a Sinhalese-majority country, Tamil being common to both the Muslim Moors and the Tamils who live and run many of the businesses in the Pettah. The striking striped building is the Jami Ul-Alfar Masjid, more commonly known as the Red Mosque. Built in 1908, for much of the first part of that century it was an identifying landmark for ships approaching the Colombo Harbour, until more recent high-rise buildings obscured it. April, 2016.

600D+EFS24/2.8@1/100,f/2.8,ISO100

Posted in explorations, life, people, street, urbanTagged 24mm, 2nd Cross Street, 600D, black & white, city, Colombo, Eid, Jami Ul-Alfar Masjid, Muslims, people, Pettah, Ramadan, Ramazan, Red Mosque, shops, Sri Lanka, street photography, travel, urban

Quiet Study

Friday morning at the Red Mosque, Colombo. Sri Lanka, April 2016.

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Posted in belief, explorations, life, street, urbanTagged 24mm, 600D, belief, black & white, book, chairs, Colombo, devotee, Islam, Jami Ul-Alfar Masjid, people, Pettah, Ramadan, reading, Red Mosque, religion, scripture, Sri Lanka, study, worship

“Surely the Morning Recitation is Witnessed”*

A lone Muslim prays on a Friday morning in the Jami Ul-Alfar Masjid on 2nd Cross Street, in the old Colombo area of Pettah. Designed by Saibo Lebbe in the Indo-Saracenic style, and built in 1908, the Red Mosque, as it is more commonly known, has been an enduring landmark of the city. Each of the four main pillars is hewn from a complete teak tree brought to Colombo from Puttalam. Sri Lanka, April 2016.

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*From the Quran’s Chapter 17, the Sūrat Al-Isrā (The Night Journey), Verse 78

Posted in belief, explorations, life, people, urbanTagged 24mm, 2nd Cross Street, 600D, belief, black & white, Colombo, columns, devotee, Indo-Saracenic architecture, Islam, Jami Ul-Alfar Masjid, kneeling, morning, Muslims, people, Pettah, pillars, prayer, Red Mosque, religion, Saibo Lebbe, Sri Lanka, staircase, stairs, teak, worship

The Red Mosque

Designed by Saibo Lebbe in the Indo-Saracenic style, and built in 1908, the Jami Ul-Alfar Masjid on 2nd Cross Street, in the old Colombo area of Pettah, has been an enduring landmark of Sri Lanka’s commercial capital. April 2016.

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Posted in belief, explorations, issues, journalism, life, people, poverty, street, urbanTagged 24mm, 2nd Cross Street, 600D, Arabic script, architecture, archway, beggar, belief, Colombo, doorway, elderly, gate, gateway, Indo-Saracenic architecture, Islam, Jami Ul-Alfar Masjid, Muslims, patterns, people, Pettah, Red Mosque, religion, seated, Sri Lanka, worship