Fatehpuri Mosque

You've reached the end of Chandni Chowk. Shah Jahan laid out the avenue as an axis of nearly a mile and a half between two poles: the Red Fort to the east and this mosque to the west. A canal once ran down the middle, and the moon reflected in its water, according to a popular explanation, gave the street its name: chandni means "moonlight".

1A queen's mosque

It was commissioned in 1650 by Fatehpuri Begum, one of Shah Jahan's wives, who came from Fatehpur Sikri. It's built of red sandstone, with a single dome and a prayer hall of seven arches. The women of the Mughal court paid for several of the city's buildings. Jahanara, the emperor's daughter, sponsored the great caravanserai and the gardens of Chandni Chowk, for instance.

2Auctioned for 19,000 rupees

After the uprising of 1857 the British confiscated many mosques. This one was put up for auction and bought by the Hindu merchant Lala Chunnamal for 19,000 rupees. According to the sources, he looked after it respectfully. In 1877 the government took it back in exchange for four villages and returned it to the Muslim community. Its twin, the Akbarabadi Mosque, was not so lucky: it was demolished.

A mosque owned by a Hindu banker for twenty years: the Delhi of 1857 is full of paradoxes.

3What to look for

• The red gateway closing the vista down Chandni Chowk.
• The dome, rising behind the facade.
• The Khari Baoli market on your right: Asia's largest spice market grew up in the shadow of the mosque.