Jama Masjid, Delhi

Jama Masjid stands on a raised base in Old Delhi, the walled city founded by Shah Jahan as Shahjahanabad, a short walk from the Red Fort and Chandni Chowk. Its formal name is Masjid-i-Jahan-Numa, the mosque that reflects the world. Shah Jahan, the emperor who built the Taj Mahal, ordered its construction, and it was inaugurated on 23 July 1656.

About 5,000 workers built the mosque at a cost of around one million rupees of the time, under the supervision of the ministers Sadullah Khan and Fazil Khan. The first imam, Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah Bukhari, came from Bukhara, and his descendants have led prayers here ever since as the Shahi Imams.

The mosque is built of red sandstone decorated with white and black marble. Three gateways lead up broad flights of steps into the vast courtyard, which holds about 25,000 people, with a central pool for ablutions. The eastern gate, the largest, was the royal entrance used by the emperor. On the west side the prayer hall is topped by three marble domes with black stripes and flanked by two minarets about 41 metres tall. A cabinet in the north gate is said to hold relics associated with the Prophet Muhammad.

The mosque is a protected Monument of National Importance and remains an active place of worship, especially busy for Friday prayers and Eid.

Visitors can enter outside prayer times. Entry is free, though a fee is charged for cameras and phone photography, and climbing the southern minaret, when open, needs a separate ticket. Shoulders and legs must be covered, and robes are available at the gates. Remove shoes before entering. The nearest metro station is Jama Masjid on the Violet Line.

The courtyard is at least 99 metres on each side, and its marble ablution tank measures about 17 by 15 metres. The prayer hall is 61 metres long and 27 metres wide with seven mihrabs. Each minaret has 130 steps and balconies at three levels. The eastern gate rises three storeys, the northern and southern gates two.

After the revolt of 1857 the British confiscated the mosque and used it as barracks, and the college, dispensary and madrasa beside it were destroyed. It was returned to the Muslim community in 1862 under conditions. Two small explosions went off after Friday prayers on 14 April 2006, and in September 2010 two Taiwanese tourists were wounded by gunmen near gate three.