Jama Masjid and Shah Hamdan Shrine

The Jama Masjid of Srinagar is the city's great congregational mosque, founded in the late fourteenth century and rebuilt after fires over the centuries. Its form is a surprise to visitors who expect domes and minarets: instead it is a vast square courtyard surrounded by arcades, with pointed, pagoda-like towers rising over the gateways, built in brick and timber in a style that blends Persian and Central Asian ideas with local woodworking. Inside the prayer hall, hundreds of tall deodar pillars support the roof, and the effect of walking among them is calm and forest-like. A garden courtyard in the middle gives the building an open, peaceful feel despite the crowds in the lanes outside. Not far away, on the bank of the Jhelum, stands the Shah Hamdan shrine, known as Khanqah-e-Moula, a wooden mosque and shrine associated with the Sufi scholar Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, who is credited with spreading Islam and crafts through Kashmir in the fourteenth century.

The shrine is an outstanding example of the Kashmiri timber tradition. Its walls and ceilings are covered in painted papier-mache, carved wood and geometric khatamband panels, in deep reds, blues and golds, with a pyramidal roof topped by a small spire and hanging bells. Both sites are active places of worship, so visits should be respectful: dress modestly, remove shoes, cover shoulders and legs, and for women carry a scarf for the head.

Access for visitors, particularly non-Muslim visitors, varies by site, by time and by prayer schedule, and some areas may be closed to tourists, especially around Friday prayers and religious days. A guide can read these conditions and help you choose a good time, and the walking tours linked here that include lunch are a sensible way to see both in a morning.

What to look for are the details: the carved lintels and brackets of the Jama Masjid gateways, the way sunlight falls through the colonnades onto the courtyard garden, and the interlocking joinery that holds the shrine's walls together without nails in many places. The surrounding streets are rich in life, with bakeries, sweet sellers, dry fruit and spice shops, and craft stalls, so allow time before or after to wander.

Keep photography discreet and ask before photographing worshippers. Early in the day the sites are calmest. If you are visiting in the cold months, bring warm socks, since floors can be cold when shoes are off. Pairing this stop with an old city walk and a visit to Hari Parbat gives a coherent day of historic Srinagar, and a shikara ride in the late afternoon makes a gentler end.

History adds depth to the visit. The Jama Masjid was founded under Sultan Sikandar and enlarged by his son, and fires in later centuries led to rebuilding, so the present structure reflects several periods. The shrine of Shah Hamdan commemorates the saint who is said to have introduced crafts such as shawl weaving and woodwork to the valley, which is why artisans hold him in special regard.

Standing in the courtyard, you can feel how faith, trade and craft grew together in the old city. If you have time, wander the lanes behind the mosque for spice sellers, copper beaters and bakers.