Arab Serai

Arab Serai is a walled caravanserai inside the Humayun's Tomb complex in Delhi, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site there. It is linked to Haji Begum, Humayun's widow, who is said to have built it around 1560 after her pilgrimage to Mecca to lodge some 300 Hadhrami Sayyids, sheikhs and attendants she brought back. Their role was to recite the Qur'an at the emperor's tomb.

The serai grew into a centre of Islamic observance, known for annual Mawlid celebrations with recitations, naats and Sufi gatherings, and for hospitality offered with dates and coffee. Several Hadhrami family lines settled here. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture conserved the serai between January 2017 and November 2018, and in 2019 announced work on its stepwell with German embassy funding. Visitors enter through a gateway into the walled enclosure.