Walking in the lane from Chitli Qabar to Turkman Gate, you will probably miss what is perhaps the oldest surviving structure in Shahjahanabad. Now hidden in a narrow alley and surrounded by tall buildings, Kalan Masjid used to be known as one of the tallest mosques of the city. Unlike other mosques, you cannot see its minarets from a distance since it has not got any. Two key features of mosques of the Tughlaq dynasty are the absence of minarets and the use of shallow domes. Other prominent mosques without minarets are Khirki Masjid and Begumpuri Masjid. All of these mosques are attributed to the master architect of the Tughlaq era Junan Shah Maqbool, better known as Khan-e-Jahan, along with his father. His name was included in the long inscription that used to be at the top of the Kalan Masjid gate..
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