Khatu is the location of one of the four mosques I had discussed in my Four Ghurid Mosques post. The mosque is of significant historical importance, but the rest of the town is pretty intriguing as well. For me, Khatu is an example of the hundreds of small towns across India that have enough going in terms of architectural and urban history to warrant interest by conservators (and even tourists). Unfortunately the town lies in the middle of nowhere both literally and figuratively.

The town appears to have been some kind of outpost town that was important enough to have accumulated, over the centuries, one of the first royal mosques ever built in India, havelis dating from different periods, dargahs of various saints, chattris commemorating local Hindu nobility etc. The hills abutting the town are the probable reason for the town’s (strategic) importance – standing on top of these hills offers views of the surrounding plains for miles around.

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Click here to go to my flickr set of Khatu photos

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Fortifications around Khatu

One of the gateways to the fortified area

Entrance to a “building in the garden” type haveli

A more urban haveli style, defining the street

Haveli entrance

Streetscape

One of the dargahs that dot the town

Another dargah

Yet another dargah, this one halfway up one of the hills flanking the town

A small mosque

A motley group of small put-together mosques and dargahs at the top of a hill