PLACES OF WORSHIP
1. Baha’i Temple
India’s answer to the Sydney Opera House, this remarkable building (see Baha’i Temple) – an abstract composition inspired by the shape of an unfurling lotus flower – was built in 1986 by the Baha’is and is open to everyone. Founded by 19th-century Persian visionary Baha’u’llah, the Baha’i faith stresses the links between the major world religions and has over five million followers worldwide.
The Baha’i Temple, popularly known as the Lotus Temple
2. St James’ Church
Possibly the city’s most attractive church (see St James’ Church), this Colonial gem was built by the legendary Anglo-Indian soldier James Skinner (1778–1841). Barred from serving in the British army owing to his mixed race, Skinner established his own irregular cavalry regiment, Skinner’s Horse, which still forms a part of the Indian army to this day.
The Colonial-style St James’ Church
3. Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
Built in 1783 in honour of the eighth Sikh Guru Har Krishan, this is the city’s largest Sikh temple. The guru visited Delhi in 1664 during a cholera and smallpox epidemic, tending to the sick and offering them fresh water from the sarovar (lake) on the site, which is still believed to possess medicinal properties.
4. Zinat ul Masjid
Popularly known as the Ghata (Cloud) Masjid, this beautiful building was commissioned by Aurangzeb’s daughter Zinat ul Nisa and was completed in 1707. It is the only one of the city’s later Mughal monuments grand enough to rival the earlier creations of Shah Jahan.
5. Lakshmi Narayan Mandir
This eye-catching Hindu temple (see Lakshmi Narayan Mandir), popularly known as Birla Mandir, was commissioned by industrialist B D Birla and consecrated in 1939 by Gandhi – one of the first temples in India open to everyone, irrespective of caste. The spacious interior is centred on a shrine to Lakshmi and her consort Narayan (Vishnu), flanked by images of Durga and Shiva.
6. Nizamuddin
One of the most magical places in Delhi, the wonderfully atmospheric religious complex of Nizamuddin grew up around the revered dargah (Muslim shrine) of the Chishti Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya. Among the cluster of structures now surrounding the saint’s tomb are the Jamat Khana Masjid (1325) and the graves of the famous poet Amir Khusrau (1253–1325) and Princess Jahanara, Shah Jahan’s daughter.
7. Lal Mandir
This Jain temple (see Lal Mandir) is one of the city’s most important. Topped by a cluster of towers, made of red Kota stone, it has a richly painted interior, full of diminutive marble images of various Jain gurus in glass cases. Next to the temple is a small “bird hospital”, where birds are fed and cared for – evidence of the profound respect that the Jain religion has for all forms of life.
8. Akshardham Temple
This gargantuan modern Hindu temple (see Akshardham Temple), inaugurated in 2005, was built in honour of the sage Bhagwan Shri Swaminarayan (1781–1830), who left his birthplace in Uttar Pradesh at the age of 11 and walked for seven years and 12,000 km (7,456 miles) before establishing an ashram in Gujarat. From here, he preached a message of non-violence and spiritual unity, attracting many Hindu followers as well as Muslim and Zoroastrian devotees.
Visitors at Akshardham Temple
9. Begumpuri Masjid
Built in the 1340s by Muhammad bin Tughlaq as part of his city of Jahanpanah, this little-visited but atmospheric mosque (see Begumpuri and Khirki Masjids) is one of the finest in Delhi. The mosque is centred on a huge courtyard surrounded by domed arcades, with a fortress-like gateway leading into the prayer hall – a perfect example of Tughlaq architecture at its rugged and imposing best.
10. Jama Masjid
Despite the exodus of many of the old city’s Muslims during the Partition in 1947, Delhi’s spectacular Jama Masjid remains a key centre for Islamic worship.
Jama Masjid, India’s largest mosque
