Adhai din ka Jhonpra - Architecture

Adhai Din ka Jhonpra is one of the oldest mosque in India that was built on the basis of Indo-Islamic architecture. Mohammad Ghori ordered the construction of the mosque which was designed by Abu Bakr of Herat who came with the Sultan. Each side of the building has the height of 259 feet. People can enter the mosque from southern and eastern gates.

Exterior Structure of the Mosque

Total number of pillars in the mosque were 344 and the actual building had 124 pillars out of which 92 were on the eastern side and 64 were on the other sides. Iltumish also built a huge screen whose arches were built by using yellow limestone.

There are seven arches out of which the largest one has the height of 60 feet while others are smaller ones. There are small panels in the arch to pass sunlight. The arches also have the verses of the Holy Quran. Along with this, there are inscriptions written in Kufic and Tughra script.

Interior Structure of the Mosque

The measurement of the interior portion is 200 feet x 175 feet. The design of the pillars are similar to the temples of Hindus and Jains. Historians say that many pillars belonged to Hindu and Jain temples but some were constructed by the Muslim rulers. The ceilings of the mosque are also a combination of Hindu and Islamic architecture.

Muazzin Towers

Muazzin towers are located in two minarets each having a diameter of 10.5 inches. The location of these minarets is on the top of the screen wall whose thickness is 11.5 feet. The minarets have angular and circular flutes which were one of the features of construction of Delhi Sultanate.