2-981-855 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Jumna Musjid, Delhi, 1876. 'The Jumna Musjid is the chief mosque at Delhi, built by the Emperor Shah Jehan above two hundred years ago. It stands on a platform of red stone, 30 ft. above the level of the city, and 450 ft. square. Three sides of the square were occupied, in the perfect state of the Jumna Musjid, by arcades, with a series of open octagonal pavilions. There was, on each of these three sides, a lofty gateway, with a flight of steps. In the centre of the square was a marble reservoir of water for ablutions. The main building, on the fourth side of the square, is 260 ft. long, with three domes at each end, 150 ft. high, the domes of white marble, ribbed with black. The front, raised on a grand flight of stone steps, is of white marble, but has a broad cornice inlaid with black marble. From the summit of the Jumna Musjid there is an extensive view over the city and surrounding country'. From "Illustrated London News", 1876.