Kazimar Big Mosque

The Kazimar Big Mosque, or Kazimar Periya Pallivasal, is the oldest mosque in Madurai. Its founder, Kazi Syed Tajuddin, a descendant of the Prophet whose father had come from Yemen, built it on land given by the Pandya king Kulasekara. Building began in 1281 and took three years, and the mosque opened for prayer in 1284.

The founder died in 1293 and lies in the large cemetery around the mosque; his death anniversary, kept as Founder's Day, is marked each year on 15 Rajab. His descendants still manage the mosque. It holds about 1,200 worshippers and sits in the old city, within 500 metres of the Periyar bus stand, about a kilometre from Madurai Junction and 1.5 km southwest of the Meenakshi Temple.