Jama Masjid, this great mosque of Old Delhi, the largest in India was built by more than 5000 artisans under the supervision of Wazir Saadullah Khan, designed by architect Ustad Khalil, took 6 years to be completed. The cost to build the mosque came to a whopping 1 million rupees at the time.The mosque houses several relics of Islamic religious significance like an age old transcript of the Quran printed on deer skin, the footmarks, sandals, and a red beard-hair of the Holy Prophet Mohammad.

The austere grandeur of this structure is sure to impress at the first glimpse. The mosque faces west towards the Holy city of Mecca. Three sides of the mosque are covered by open arched colonnades, featuring a lofty tower-like archway in the center. The roof of the mosque is capped with three marble domes with alternating striping in black and white marble.

The Jama Masjid is flanked by slim red and white minarets on all four sides which reach high into the sky. In the north east corner of the mosque is a small shrine which houses relics of Prophet Muhammad, such as a red hair from his beard, his sandals and his footprint imprinted on a marble slab.

The courtyard in front of the mosque occupies 408 square feet and can accommodate 25,000 individuals during prayer. The hauz, in the center of the courtyard, is an ablution tank for washing hands, face and feet before entering the main building for prayer.It symbolizes the ritual of baptism needed to enter the community of believers.

The highly decorative mosque has three great gates, four towers and two 40 m-high minarets constructed of strips of red sandstone and white marble. Travellers can hire robes at the northern gate. This may be the only time you get to dress like a local without feeling like an outsider so make the most of it.

One of the best examples of Mughal architectural extravagance of Shah Jahan, this 350 years old shrine has a collection of relics that date back to several centuries.

Initially known as the Masjid-i-Jahanuma, meaning World Reflecting Mosque in Persian, Jama Masjid is another favorite tourist attraction situated opposite the Red Fort in the capital city-Delhi.

As God speaks in the silence of the heart and listening is the beginning of prayer, come experience the holy Azaan at Jama Masjid- the most beloved mosque in Delhi.