ADHAI-DIN-KA-JHONPRA (TWO AND A HALF DAY MOSQUE)

The mosque of the two and a half days is called Adhai din ka Jhonpra in Hindi. It would draw its name from the festival of the Urs, the great pilgrimage in the honor of the Sufi saint Maïn ud-Din Chisti buried just beside, and which lasted 2 days and half originally. But a legend claims that the name of the mosque would come from its construction flash. Qutab ud-Din, lieutenant of Mohammed of Ghor in the twelfth century, would have destroyed a set of Hindu and Jain sanctuaries to build instead this mosque, by recovering the original materials. This common practice at the beginning of the Muslim occupation still has repercussions today and undermines the harmony between the Hindu and Muslim communities throughout the country. At the back of the courtyard, the magnificent façade of the prayer hall dates from Sultan Iltutmish (1211-1236), successor of Qutab ud-Din. Its seven monumental arches are decorated with Koranic verses. In the past, two huge minarets surrounded the central arch. It is one of the oldest mosques in the country. Behind the facade of typical Persian style, the prayer hall made of colonnades and domes is typical of the architecture of Hindu temples at that time. It is the oldest building in the city. The building served its religious role until 1947. At independence, the Indian government placed it under the responsibility of historical monuments. The mixture of genres gives this religious building a unique atmosphere.