Photo: vinodksharma001, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Mirza Najaf Khan was a Persian traveller who came to Delhi during the rule of Mughal ruler Muhammad Shah around 1740. He was later awarded deputy minister of Awadh. His tomb is accompanied by the tomb of his daughter. This tomb is laid in the traditional Mughal Char Bagh (Four Gardens) style.
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A tomb with an onion-shaped dome and a garden. It houses the tomb of Safdar Jang, the Mughal Prime Minister (Grand Vizier) during the rule of Ahmad Shah Bahadur. He was also the second Nawab of Awadh. It is similar to the imperial tombs like the Humayun's Tomb or the Taj Mahal, and it was the first time someone outside the immediate Mughal family built themselves such a tomb and garden complex, reflecting the greatly diminished powers of the emperors by that time.
The huge tomb crowned with a massive dome has an octagonal plan with an octagonal chamber. Each of the eight sides have triple arched entrance and the eight corners are occupied by slopping buttresses. The chamber has doors on seven sides, the lone exception is the western side. The interior of the western wall contains a mihrab, so the tomb can also function as a Mosque. The massive dome stands on a sixteen sided drum and is crowned with a sprawling lotus. The dome is flanked by eight chatris, each of which occupy the mid point of the eight sides. The interior contains seven graves, the central one is believed to be of Muhammad Shah. The interior of the dome has a colourful fresco. The mihrab contains decorative stucco work so does the other seven arched gates. Short tapering minarates on the two back corners and jhakoraha (oriel) windows on the north and south ends are some special architectural features of the Bada Gumbad Mosque. Opposite the mosque is an elongated hall, which served as a sarai or guest house. It is devoid of any ornamentation and is a striking contrast with the mosque.
Lodi Period Mosque is a small red mosque with a triple arched entrance. Although small in size it has an elegant appearance. It was once housed within a walled complex but majority of the boundary wall have long disappeared. The mosque is crowned with a vaulted roof, with stucco ornamentation.
The 8.5-m Lodi Period Turret probably served as a corner tower of a walled enclosure, but the walls have long vanished. The two leveled tower is crowned with a ribbed dome. The lower level contains the doorway and stairs lead to the second level containing a decorated Jharokha (Oriel) styled balcony.
Large Dome
Probably the most imposing structure of Lodi Gardens. The structure stands on a square base topped with a huge dome. Although the structure looks two storied from the outside it is actually a single storied structure. It is built of grey sandstone with traces of black and red stones. On the north west corner is a mosque and on the north east corner is a sarai (guest house). Some historians believe that the Bara Gumbad served as a gate way to the mosque, while other believe it was a tomb. Sadly the occupant of this magnificent tomb can no longer be traced, but he was quite likely to be a high official of Sikandar Lodi's court. The three domed mosque is approached from the east by five arched gateway. The central arch is the largest and the arches diminish in size as one moves away from the centre. The mosque is built in 1494 and is richly ornamented with stuccoes and frescoes. The stuccoes consists of elaborate geometrical designs and inscriptions from the Koran.