The Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) in the old city was built in 1860 by Sikandar Begum, one of Bhopal's remarkable women rulers. It is modelled on the Jama Masjid in Delhi, though on a smaller and more intimate scale. The mosque is built in red sandstone with two slender white-tipped minarets and three white bulbous domes — a combination that produces a striking contrast of colours.
The mosque is active and open to non-Muslim visitors outside prayer times. The surrounding neighbourhood in the old city is dense with market streets, textile vendors, and the particular energy of a well-preserved Islamic urban quarter. The Moti Masjid is smaller than the Taj-ul-Masajid but often feels more alive as a space, embedded in the daily rhythms of the old city rather than set apart on a promontory.