Another famous mosque in India - Thousand Lights Mosque - is located in the ancient city of Chennai (Madras). It was built in 1810 by order of the governor Nevaba Umdat-ul-Umraha, and is the largest Shiite shrine. However, the door of the mosque are open not only to Shiites, but also for the rest of the Muslims.

Originally conceived as a construction of the hall, where Shiites can congregate for prayer and celebrations during the holy month of Muharram. But a few years after the creation of the site was converted into a mosque.

Its a great name - "Thousand Lights Mosque" - the temple was due to the fact that in the place where it is located, was formerly the assembly hall for the light which is actually used thousands of candles.

The entire temple complex is surrounded by a wall and has an area of ​​about two hectares. On its territory, in addition to the mosque, a library and a cemetery. The mosque was rebuilt many times, but still retained its distinctive features. The architecture of the building itself you will notice the influence of the West, and it is different from the traditional style of other famous mosques in India, which were largely built during the time of the Mughals. The main features of Thousand Lights Mosque are five broad carved domes, which have a flattened shape and look like mushroom caps. Also noteworthy are its two high and concise in form of a minaret. On the walls of the mosque can be seen inscriptions which are quotations from the Muslim holy book - the Koran.

Another distinctive feature of this mosque is that it has a special separate room, where only women praying.