Thousand Lights Mosque, Islamic mosque in Anna Salai, Chennai, India

Thousand Lights Mosque stands on Anna Salai with a plain white plastered wall, an arched wooden doorway and a small lattice window. Above it rise three large rounded domes, the central one highest, with two smaller domes behind and a slender white minaret with a balcony to the right. Inside are five domes, the central one 9 metres high and 6 metres across, and twin 15-metre minarets facing Mecca.

An assembly hall (ashoorkhana) was built on this wedge-shaped site in 1810 by a member of the Arcot Nawab family, Umdat ul-Umara, for Shia gatherings during Muharram. A neighbouring plot was later donated to the community, and a mosque was raised there by 1820. It was rebuilt in 1900, reconstructed in 1936, and replaced in 1981 by the present building.

The name comes from the thousand oil lamps lit to illuminate the assembly hall that once stood here during Muharram. The mosque is a centre of azadari, and the chief Shia Qazi of Chennai works from it, a post held continuously by one family.

Remove your shoes before entering and wear clothing that covers your shoulders and knees out of respect for the sacred space. Women should bring a scarf to cover their hair when approaching the prayer hall.

The mosque's twin 15-metre minarets, with internal staircases, face Mecca, and the present onion domes show Abu Dhabi architectural influence. The building seen today dates from 1981, after a 1970s decision that the earlier structure needed major repair and expansion.