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Kalan Masjid, known locally as Kali Masjid is one of the seven mosques that were built by prime minister of Feroz Shah Tughlaq (1351-88), Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah. Located near Razia Sultan's tomb on the Turkman Bazaar Road, the mosque can also be reached by taking the Sita Ram Bazaar Road. An important mosque of Feroz Shah's city, Ferozabad, it was built in 1387 much before the city of Shahjahanabad was completed. The mosque was comparatively constructed on a large scale with 'three-aisle deep prayer chamber, pierced by five openings' and thus was named Kalan, which means big in the Arabic language.
Kalan Masjid
Few characteristics like low domes, sloping minarets and chhajjas of the mosque reflect the typical Tughlaq style of architecture. The courtyard of the mosque is too surrounded by domed cloisters. The entrance of the mosque is from the eastern side and has a high flight of steps that takes directly into the courtyard. Every fourth step is a bit wider than the other steps so that devotees especially women can rest and then move forward. The mosque soon got a new name, Kali meaning black colored by the local population, as initially the outer walls of the mosque were black in color.