The mosque was founded by Pangeran Jayakarta (Akhmad Jaketra) in 1620, a year after he and his followers fled from the Fish Market to the Jatinegara Kaum area. This was because his residence was invaded and burned down by Jan Pieterszoon Coen on May 30, 1619.
When we arrived there, two children were crossing the road on a striped line in front of the Assalafiyah Mosque, which looked relatively quiet that afternoon. There were only three motorbikes parked on the pedestrian path, and several workers were working to repair the mosque.
After the location of the Prince Jayakarta Tomb was announced to the public by his descendants in the 1960s, which during the Dutch occupation was hidden, the tomb and mosque buildings were always repaired and improved by every Governors of Jakarta.
When passing through the gate there's a landmark on the right side pillar which reads "The Prince Jayakarta (Achmad Jaketra) Tomb Complex, built 1640 AD in Jatinegara Kaum, Tomb of the fighters who fought the Dutch colonialists." The year of 1640 was the year Prince Jayakarta died. While the landmark on the pillar of the gate on the right reads: "Masjid Jami' Assalafiyah, built in 1620 AD in Jatinegara Kaum by Prince Jayakarta (Achmad Jaketra)".
The landmark of the wakaf land of the Assalafiyah Mosque and the status of the Cultural Heritage is on the left side of the alley, covering part of the view towards Prince Jayakarta Tomb behind it, under a cupola without walls, under a huge banyan tree. Some of the tombs were new tombs, unlike at the Tomb of Pangeran Sanghyang which were all old tombs.
Right outside the main door of the Assalafiyah Mosque there's a large drum (bedug) and kentongan, which were all made of teak wood. What's interesting about this bedug was the nails and large round pegs that attach the drum skin to the frame, while the teak wood itself did not show any prominent carved ornaments.
In ancient times, the Jatinegara Kaum area was said to be an area of teak forests, so that until today this place is famous as a center for teak furniture handicrafts.
The canopy that extended from the gate to the main building of the mosque, although functionally useful, but it obscured the view towards the Masjid Assalafiyah and damages the architectural beauty of the mosque. It's quite unfortunate. The good news was, this canopy had been replaced with a new structure which looked much better.
I took a chance to take pictures of the inside of the mosque, towards the mihrab, with my back to the area normally reserved for women. The mosque entrance was on the left. Originally the Jatinegara Kaum Assalafiyah Mosque was a small building supported by four pillars and a cupola. The entire mosque carpet was covered with a green prayer mat.
Calligraphy writing in Arabic letters appeared to adorn the walls of the upper mihrab and above the entrances. In addition to the teak pulpit in the mihrab and calligraphy writing along the upper walls, including the calligraphy letters of Allah and Muhammad, there were three large wooden clocks standing in the front corner of the room.
Stained glass adorned the doors and windows of the Jatinegara Kaum Assalafiyah Mosque, which was the main source of room lighting during the day, because the top of the room was practically covered with concrete, leaving a small rectangular hole under the cupola of the mosque. Although the stained glass ornaments could be said to be ordinary and simple, they were not like what I saw at the Museum of Bank Indonesia, for example, they were enough to beautify the view in the mosque room.
The pillars of the Assalafiyah Mosque were made of concrete and teak wood. The material from wood looked more classic and elegant, but it did have its age, unless it's processed to be weather-resistant and not be eaten by moths and termites.
The tomb and building of the Masjid Assalafiyah had undergone several repairs and changes. The first restoration was carried out in 1700 by Prince Sageri, then Aria Tubagus Kosim refurbished it again in 1842. Governor Ali Sadikin made the Assalafiyah Mosque building into two levels and erected a minaret in 1969.
The inside of the roof top of the Assalafiyah Mosque also had stained glass on all four sides, and there's a crystal chandelier containing 12 small lamps and a large lamp in the middle. The outer part of the roof was in the form of an overlapping pyramid which was angled at the end, in contrast to the Great Mosque of Demak which was straight without curves.
Although the Assalafiyah Mosque, a legacy of Prince Jayakarta, does not seem to be short of money to make repairs and upgrades to its facilities, the spatial layout and design of the area outside the main mosque still needs improvement, especially on the front side. As I recall, the last time I passed the front of the mosque, the appearance of the front has changed much better than when this article was first published.
The address of the Assalafiyah Mosque is at Jl Jatinegara Kaum No 49, Kecamatan Pulogadung, East Jakarta. Phone 021–4704428. GPS Location : -6.20236, 106.90086, Waze.
Label: East Jakarta, Jakarta, Mosque
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