The Mosque of Pathok Negara

At the same time when Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat was built in 1757 by Kanjeng Pangeran Mangkubumi who then ascended to throne with the name Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono I or Sinuwun Suwargo, Masjid Agung (The Great Mosque) was erected on the west side of the Palace, now Kampung Kauman.

The mosque and the palace, which lie exactly in the middle of Negara Ngayogyakarta, are surrounded by 4 other smaller mosques, which were set as Pathak Negara (State Border) in four directions/kiblat (in Javanese term, it is called kiblat papat lima pancer). The four mosques are:

1. Jami Mlangi Mosque: Pathok Negara in the northwest.

2. Plosokuning Mosque: Pathok Negara in the northeast.

3. Babaand Mosque Pathok Negara in the southeast.

4. Dongkelan Mosque: Pathok Negara in the southwest.

The dome of each mosque takes the shape of that of Demak mosque, which was built by Sultan Fatah in 1416. From the four mosques, the most frequently visited one until now is Jami' Mlangi Mosque. Jami' Mlangi Mosque is located 6 kilometers west of Yogyakarta in Mlangi sub­village, Nogotirto village, Gamping district.

Its existence led to the establishment of Moslem boarding schools in the surrounding area. Moslem pil­grims to the mosque often visit the grave of Kagungan Dalem or Pangeran Hangabei , who was more popularly called Kyai Nur Iman.

Kyai Nur Iman, formerly RM. Sandiyo, was an ulema (Moslem religious teacher and leader), son of Susuhunan Amangkurat IV. He managed to propagate Islamic teaching and instill the anticolonial spirit by founding pesantrens (Islamic teaching institutions) in Bangil, Ponorogo, Jombang, Besuki in East Java.