Chhatta Chowk

The story of Chhatta Chowk

Chhatta Chowk is the covered bazaar inside the Red Fort, tucked behind the Lahori Gate in an arched passage with 32 arched bays serving as shops.

This long market passage dates to the 17th century and was designed for imperial tastes. During Shah Jahan's reign, it was very exclusive, selling silk, brocades, velvet, gold, silverware, jewellery, gems and precious stones for imperial households. Shah Jahan had seen a covered bazaar in Peshawar in 1646, built by the leading noble Ali Mardan Khan, and then ordered the plans sent to Makramat Khan, the supervisor of the fort's construction, so a similar bazaar could be built here.

That is what makes it unusual: it is a covered bazaar, while bazaars were typically open-air, so it was once known as Bazaar-i-Musaqaf, from saqaf, meaning roof. If you look along the passage now, the market is still organized as a long run of small shop-fronts beneath the arched structure, although the arches were walled up in the 20th century and the passage lost its original appearance. The ceiling was also originally painted in colours.

Britannica describes Chhatta Chowk as a unique example of Mughal architecture. It also notes that there are plans to restore the bazaar. So what you are standing in front of is not just a passage, but a royal shopping street built for the court, later altered, and now being considered for restoration.

Pause here and look down the length of the covered lane: the shape of the passage itself is the main thing to notice, because this is the feature that sets it apart from the open markets you normally expect.