Mosque of Mahabat Khan

The only Mughal Mosque in Andar Shehr in Peshawar to survive the depredation of the sikhs, its entrance a narrow gateway between jewellery shops.

Built in the 1670s, this beatifully proportioned  Mughal structure, named after a regional governor who served under both Shah jahan and Aurangzeb, 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 N.W.F.P, the minarets were frequently used in Sikh times "as a substitute for the gallows" by General Avitabile, an Italian military advisor to Ranjit Singh.. A fire that raged through the Andarshar Bazaar in 1895 (the Gazetteer continues) failed to destroy the mosque thanks only to 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.