Thousand Lights Mosque

 

Thousand Lights Mosque

January 19, 2026, Sunday

We had a slower day yesterday, which we all needed. Karl led an optional tour in the afternoon to the Thousand Lights Mosque. Just like in much of Asia, connections open doors. The man who spoke to us last week is a well-connected Muslim. He got us in the prince's palace and he knows one of the imams at this mosque. It is not open to the public, but he met us and arranged for a private tour.

This building is the prayer hall. When it was built, the wife of the Nawab who donated the land to build the mosque said they should illuminate the building for all to see with 1,000 oil lamps, hence the name. 

The lower floor is the prayer hall. We were not there during prayer time. The second floor houses two shrines. 

Shrine to the prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussain replicating the original in Karbala, Iraq. This recreation gives local Shia Muslims an imagined experience of visiting the sacred site in person.

This shrine was to the son-in-law of the prophet and the first imam, Ali. The name Shia is acknowledging Ali. They are beautifully crafted from fine wood inlaid inscribed with portions of the Koran.

Karl is holding a Turbah. It is a clay tablet Shia Muslims place on the ground and press their foreheads on it when they pray to make sure they are praying on pure earth and not natural or man-made materials. The soil can be from anywhere but often really comes from Karbala.

Unlike the Hindus who cremate their dead, Muslims believe in burying their deceased. A large portion of the property was a graveyard.

Vall-ji recommended a restaurant near the mosque called the Wild Garden Cafe. The students have told us they loved it! We walked to it from the mosque, which was a life threatening experience! The cafe was amazing and unlike anything we have seen in India so far. It is on a piece of property with several high end boutique stores and a lit garden. The food was good too. We had a pasta and chicken dish and pita with hummus. 

Collecting our laundry. The hotel had very expensive laundry service, so we collected our outer clothes into one large pile and sent it out. We had to sort it out when it came back. Emily pushed the cart floor by floor, and people pulled our their clothes. She ended up with only five unclaimed items. They came back clean and pressed.