Bara Gumbad Masjid (1494)
Bara Gumbad Masjid Towards the right, set a little back from Muhammad Shah's tomb is the Bara Gumbad. This is a square tomb with an all-encompassing massive dome, which leaves hardly any space for a roof. It is decorated with stuccowork and painting from inside, while the outside is a mix of grey, red and black.
Begumpuri Masjid
Begumpuri Masjid Jahanpanah, so lovingly planned and so carelessly given up by Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq (1325-1351), is survived by painfully little today. Remaining buildings speak of grandiose and much planning; the idea was to encompass all the Delhis before it in one all-embracing fortress. However like most ideas of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq (see history) it defied all practical steps taken to make it a reality and Jahanpanah was left as it was when about halfway through.
Fatehpuri Masjid
Fatehpuri Masjid The red sandstone Fatehpuri masjid stands on the western end of Chandini Chowk. It is topped off by a dome and is flanked by tall minarets. It was built by one of Shah Jahan's wives Fatehpuri Begum in 1650.
Jama Masjid in Delhi
¤ The Biggest Mosque In India
Near the Red Fort about 500m away is the Jama masjid, the biggest mosque in India. It was begun by Shah Jahan in 1650 and completed six years later and the whole cost about a million rupees. It is hard to imagine a building more suited to evoking the awe of the majesty of Allah in man. The mosque stands on a rocky elevation. Its huge gateway looks down at you like fastidious connoisseur from an immense platform which has steps that lead up to it.
Constructed in Sandstone and white marble, Jama Masjid can be entered from both the directions - North and the South Gates. The eastern gateway is supposed to remain open in Friday and was used by the emperor himself. Jama Masjid is cluttered by devotees who offer namaz, especially during Muslim Festival. For those who don't belong to non - Muslim community, a specified time is mentioned to enter the mosque.
Khirkee Masjid
¤ The Construction
The Khirkee mosque was built by Khan-i-jahan Junan Shah the prime minister of Feroze Shah Tughlaq in 1380. The mosque gets its name from its exquisite windows or khirkees.
Gordon Risley Hearn in his The Seven Cities of Delhi (1906) after describing the mosque as 'a very fine one' says:
In plan it is square and within the encircling wall there is a colonnade; but the interior, instead of being left open, as other mosques of the time were, has arcades in the shape of a cross; four courts are thus left open… the windows in the outer walls are closed by heavy sand stone grilles… (the) mosque is well worthy of inspection…
Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid in Delhi
¤ A Must Visit Site
Quwwatu'l-Islam MosqueThe Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid can be a bewildering experience for those unfamiliar with its history. On one hand there is the beautiful, curvaceous Islamic calligraphy, the arabesque designs and then there are pillars with clearly pre-Islamic Hindu motifs. The reason is of course quite simple; the pillars were taken from the 27 temples of Qila Rai Pithora, the city of the Rajput king Prithviraj Chauhan (see history). This in fact has been recorded by Qutub-ud-din in his inscriptions, who calls it the Jami Masjid (Friday Mosque) in his inscriptions.