Places of Worship

Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir:

This famous temple dates back to the time of Aurangzeb's reign. It situated bang opposite the Red Fort, at the entrance of the main road. 'Lal' in Hindi means red for the stones used in the construction. The inner walls are covered with beautiful paintings (in which real gold has been used).

The temple premises house a unique medical center for birds, the  Birds' Charity Hospital. Free treatment is given here, which draws inspiration from the message of  'Live and let Live' given by Lord Mahavir, the twenty fourth Tirthankara of the Jains.
 

Jama Masjid:

Jama Masjid is one of the largest mosques in India. It’s also known as ‘Masjid-I-jahan Numa’ (Jahan means ‘World’ and Numa means -‘Visible’ It’s situated some quarter of a mile from the Red Fort. It was designed as Emperor Shahjahan’s principal mosque.

The construction work continued for six years, ending in 1644. The structure was placed on a high platform so that it’s magnificent facade would be visible from all the adjoining areas. It’s an austere yet beautiful building. As with the other buildings of Shahjahanabad, this one was also in red sandstone. White marble has also been used extensively, specially in the three domes (white marble inlaid with stripes of black). The pulpit is one of its best features, being carved out of a single block of marble. Two slender minarets grace the façade, one on each side, rising to a height of 130 feet. The Jama Masjid has three gates. The eastern gate was reserved for the Emperor when he used to arrive here every Friday and on Id.
  

Gurudwara Shish Ganj:

This Gurudwara was built on the land where the Sikh Guru Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur was martyred by the Mughals in 1675 A.D. It is believed that the night he was murdered along with three of his disciples it was raining very heavily. Because of the fear of the Mughals nobody came to pick the bodies up that night. The next day the head was taken to Anandpur Sahib and the body to where Gurdwara Rakab Ganj is now situated. A century later a devotee named Baba Baghel Singh searched for and found this place and had this place of worship constructed here.
  

Gauri Shankar temple:

Right next to Lal Mandir is a Hindu temple that was there even before Shahjahanbad was established in 1623. Dedicated to Lord Shiva (God of Destruction in Hindu mythology), its home to impressive statues of probably all the deities of the Shaiv sect (the followers of Lord Shiva). It is believed that the patron was Sardar Ganga Appadhar, an erstwhile senior officer in the Mughal army.

There is a very interesting tale attached to this temple. It is believed that the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb gave an order that the temple bells should not be rung. But he couldn’t sleep for three nights in a row because the bells would keep ringing in his ears! At last he had to relent and take back his orders.

These days, major renovation work is being carried out at the temple premises, the height of the ‘shikhara’ (conical roof on the main building) is being raised to 110 ft.
  

Sunahari Masjid (Golden Mosque):