The Alamgir Mosque, also known as the Aurangzeb's Mosque (), is a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India. The mosque was completed in the 1670s. The mosque is located at a prominent site above the Panchaganga Ghat. The ghat has broad steps that go down to the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

Overview

Aurangzeb conquered Varanasi in 1669 and constructed a mosque named Alamagir Mosque, in the name of his own honoury title "Alamgir", which he had adopted after becoming the emperor of the Mughal empire. The

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

s could not withstand the test of time and in the 19th century, an English scholar

James Prinsep James Prinsep (20 August 1799 – 22 April 1840) was an English scholar, Orientalism, orientalist and antiquary. He was the founding editor of the ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'' and is best remembered for deciphering the Kharost ...

had to restore them. In 1948 one of the minarets collapsed killing a few people around the time of the floods. Later the government pulled down the other minaret, for security reasons. The mosque is architecturally a blend of Indo-Islamic and

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

architecture. The mosque has high domes and minarets. Two of its minarets were damaged; one minaret collapsed killing a few people and the other was officially brought down owing to stability concerns. The Panchaganga Ghat where the mosque is situated is where five streams are said to join. In October lamps are lighted on top of a bamboo staff as a mark of guidance to the ancestors.

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Aurangzeb Mosque, Varanasi.JPG, Exterior view Interior of Alamgir Mosque, Varanasi, India - October 2014.jpg, Interior view

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{{Mosques in India 17th-century mosques in India Mosque buildings with domes in India Mosque buildings with minarets in India Mosques completed in the 1670s Mosques in Uttar Pradesh Religious buildings and structures converted into mosques Religion in Varanasi Tourist attractions in Varanasi

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