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| Kasaumbhil, a nurse by profession built the
Nili Masjid or the blue mosque
in about 1505-06 during the reign of Sikandar Lodi (1489-1517).
She was the nurse of Fath Khan, the son of Khan-i-Azam Masnad,
the governor of Delhi. Located within the Hauz Khas Enclave,
the central chamber of the mosque is all that is left at present.
It has three-arched openings and is surmounted by a dome. The
central arch of the mosque has the inscription that displays
the date of its construction. The mosque is called 'Nili masjid'
because the façade above the chhajja (lintel) is decorated
with blue tiles. |
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| Just south of the Nili Masjid lie the ruins
of an Idgah
with rubble built walls on the west having a series of eleven
mihrabs. The mosque appears to have served the purpose of a
place of worship as well as a battlement. The southern bastion
of the structure has an inscription that informs readers that
Iqbal Khan built the mosque around 1404-05 after the invasion
of Timur. Iqbal Khan was a powerful noble during the reign of
Mahmud Tughlaq's reign. He was popularly known as Mallu Khan.
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| Chor
Minar is a rubble-built tapering tower situated
about 300 meters southeast of the Idgah. Built during the Khilji
period, the tower is fixed on a raised platform and has a staircase
in its interior. The exact use of the tower is not unknown but
it is believed that it may have functioned as a watchtower.
However, some believe that the heads of burglars and thieves
were placed in the circular holes present on the exterior of
the tower to discourage the people from unethical activities.
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