5/5 MUHAMMED F. 10 months ago on Google
ZEENAT-UL
MASJID
-
THE
CLOUD
MOSQUE
OF
MUGHAL
DELHI
Also
commonly
known
as
Ghata
Masjid
(cloud
mosque),
Zeenat-ul
Masjid
was
built
in
the
year
1707
AD
by
Zinat-ul-Nissa,
Aurangzeb's
second
daughter.
The
mosque
is
believed
to
be
inspired
by
Jama
Masjid
in
Chandni
Chowk,
built
by
her
illustrious
and
much
loved
grandfather,
Shah
Jahan.
Though
much
smaller
in
scale,
and
barely
ever
visited
by
travellers
to
the
city,
the
mosque
still
stands
on
it's
own
-
looking
glorious,
despite
obvious
signs
of
decay.
Zeenat-ul
ghata
Masjid
old
delhi
The
sun
setting
behind
the
mosque
Zeenat-ul
ghata
Masjid
old
delhi
Inside
the
mosque
The
mosque
is
located
at
Shahjahanabad
in
Daryaganj,
which
used
to
be
the
heart
of
the
old
Mughal
capital.
Now
here's
an
interesting
anecdote
about
the
locality
itself
-
Daryaganj
was
originally
designed
to
be
a
market
next
to
the
river
Yamuna,
the
lifeline
of
Delhi.
However,
once
the
British
took
control
of
Delhi
they
made
several
changes,
including
rerouting
of
the
river.
Unfortunately
with
this
change
in
the
course
of
river
(darya),
the
market
was
no
longer
next
to
the
river,
though
the
name
continued
to
be
used.
I
digress,
as
I
always
do
when
I
tell
tales
from
the
past.
Well,
let's
try
and
answer
why
it's
called
Ghata
Masjid.
There
are
actually
two
theories
around
it.
The
first
one
is
about
it's
tall
minarets
which
reach
the
clouds
or
ghata
(not
literally,
of
course),
and
the
second
story
is
about
the
banks
of
river
Yamuna
with
it's
ghat
(steps
leading
to
the
river).
Maybe
there
is
another
story
too,
but
it
doesn't
really
matter
-
the
name
has
stuck,
even
though
some
people
call
it
ghaata
(loss)
masjid
too.
The
mosque
saw
some
dark
times
during
India's
first
independence
struggle
in
1857
when
the
Mughal
rulers
in
Delhi
joined
the
revolt
against
the
British.
Unfortunately,
the
war
was
lost
and
with
that
the
Mughal
empire
in
India
came
to
an
end.
Bahadur
Shah
Zafar,
the
last
Mughal,
was
exiled
to
Rangoon
(Burma
or
Myanmar
used
to
be
a
part
of
British
India
then)
and
large
parts
of
Delhi
were
completely
destroyed,
including
almost
everything
inside
the
Red
Fort.
The
mosque
wasn't
razed
to
the
ground,
but
the
British
decided
to
convert
it
into
a
bakery.
The
tomb
of
Zinat-ul-Nissa
was
moved,
but
no
one
really
knows
where
her
final
mortal
remains
are
now.
Zeenat-ul
ghata
Masjid
old
delhi
Time
for
birds
to
go
back
home
Connection
with
Taj
Mahal
Here's
another
story
from
her
family,
and
this
one
is
about
her
mother,
Dilras
Banu
Begum.
She
was
Aurangzeb's
favourite
wife
and
her
story
takes
us
all
the
way
to
Deccan
where
she
was
buried
in
the
majestic
Bibi
ka
Maqbara
in
Aurangabad.
Here's
the
interesting
bit
-
the
mosque
built
by
her
was
a
miniature
version
of
Jama
Masjid
in
Delhi,
while
Bibi
ka
Maqbara
is
a
miniature
version
of
Taj
Mahal
in
Agra.
What's
even
more
interesting
is
the
fact
that
both
were
built
by
Shah
Jahan,
Aurangzeb's
father,
who
was
thrown
off
from
his
throne
by
Aurangzeb
himself
and
leter
imprisoned
till
death
in
Agra's
Red
Fort.
Such
are
the
fascinating
tales
from
the
Mughal
era.
I
can
just
keep
exploring
them
all
my
life!
Zeenat-ul
ghata
Masjid
old
delhi
Time
for
prayer
at
the
mosque
Zeenat-ul
ghata
Masjid
old
delhi
Ghata
masjid
or
Zeenat-ul
masjid
in
Old
Delhi
Planning
a
visit
to
Ghata
Masjid
Reaching
the
mosque:
I
would
recommend
taking
a
cab
and
coming
here,
or
if
you
are
already
in
Old
Delhi
you
can
take
an
auto-rickshaw
too.
The
closest
metro
stations
are
Chawri
Bazaar
and
Chandni
Chowk,
but
you
will
still
need
to
take
some
transportation
from
there
to
reach
the
mosque.
Entry
fee:
The
entry
to
the
mosque
is
free
Timings:
There
are
no
fixed
timings,
and
you
can
easily
come
here
from
sunrise
to
sunset
Dress-code:
I
don't
know
if
there
is
any,
but
it's
recommended
not
to
wear
shorts.
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