Mohabbat Khan Mosque
Peshawar, Pakistan
About
The Mohabbat Khan Mosque (Urdu, Pashto: موحبّت خان مسجد) is a 17th century Mosque in Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. It is named after the Mughal governor of Peshawar Nawab Mohabbat Khan who served under Emperors Shah Jehan and Aurangzeb and who was the grandson of Nawab Dadan Khan (who had been governor of Lahore). The Mosque was built in 1670s, and is orthodox in design. Its open courtyard has an ablution pond in the middle and a single row of rooms around the sides. The prayer hall occupies the west side flanked by two tall minarets. According to the turn-of-the-century Gazetteer for the NWFP, the minarets were frequently used in Sikh times 'as a substitute for the gallows'. A fire that raged through the Andar Sheher Bazaar in 1895 failed to destroy the mosque because of the unremitting efforts of the faithful. The interior of the prayer hall is sheltered beneath three low fluted domes and is lavishly and colourfully painted with floral and geometric designs
