Khas Mahal

Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad)

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South of the public area of the Diwan-i-Khas in the Red Fort is the Khas Mahal, where the emperor lived and slept, shielded from prying eyes by lace-like carved marble screens. A cooling channel of water, the nahr-i-bihisht (river of paradise), once flowed through the apartments to the adjacent Rang Mahal, home to the emperor’s chief wife. The exterior of the palace was once lavishly painted; inside is an elegant lotus-shaped fountain.

At the time of research, visitors could not enter the Khas Mahal, but parts of the interior were still visible from outside.

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