Village group

The village group constitutes three monuments−the Jama Masjid (Mosque), Hoshang Shah’s Tomb and the Asharfi Mahal. You can buy tickets to all these monuments from Jama Masjid and hire a local guide before staring the tour. Designed alike Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, the 15th century Jama Masjid is a huge structure on a high plinth, featuring a dome, which is 17 m in height. The mosque was started by Hoshang Shah in 1406 AD and was finally completed by Mohammad Khilji in 1454 AD. This mosque is characterised by huge domes, and long corridors flanked by massive pillars. It is considered to be one of the largest specimens of Afghan architecture.
One corner of the Jama Masjid has a small opening, which goes towards another courtyard—Hoshang Shah’s Tomb. It happens to be the first marble building in the country, the predecessor of the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan apparently sent his architects to study this building before they started working on the Taj. The imposing white dome of this tomb is adorned with a Crescent, which was imported from Mesopotamia. The inner walls are adorned with intricate stone jaalis (lattice) in interesting geometric patterns.