Rumi Darwaza

Lucknow


Just beyond the Bara Imambara, the striking Rumi Darwaza was built in the 1780s by Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula. It's unusual but imposing, and said to be a copy of an entrance gate in Istanbul. 'Rumi' (relating to Rome) is the term Muslims applied to Istanbul when it was still Byzantium, the capital of the Eastern Roman empire.