Delhi Sightseeing

Qutub Minar:

The Qutub Minar stands tall as one of the prominent examples of Indo-
Islamic architecture in India. It falls under the category of UNESCO world heritage site. The
Minaret is 72.5 m high with a diameter of 14.3 metres at the base and 2.7 metres in the top floor.
It is made of fluted red sandstone and is covered with intricate carvings and verses from the
Quran.

Hstorical significance:

It is said, that Qutub –ud din Aybak, the first Muslim Ruler of India being inspired by the
Minaret of Jam (in Afganistan) laid the foundation of Qutub Minar in 1193 A.D, but could not
complete its basement. His successor Iltutmish added three more storeys in the year 1368 and
was completed by Firuz Shah Tugluq by adding the fifth and last storey.

In historic times the purpose of a Minar was to call for people for assembling during prayers at
the mosque and this is true for Qutub Minar as well with the quwwat ul islam mosque situated to
its north east. The other reasons ascribed to its construction are as a tower of victory, a
monument signifying the might of Islam , or watch tower for defence.
Humayun's Tomb:

Nasir ud-din Muhammad Humayun (17 March 1508– 4

March 1556) ( was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afganistan, Pakistan and
parts of northern India from 1530–1540 and again from 1555–1556. The tomb of Humayun was
built by the orders of Hamida Banu Begum, Humayun's widow in the year 1562. It took eight
years to build the tomb and architects from Herat were especially invited for this purpose.

The Humayun's Tomb complex comprises of the main tomb, (in the honour of emperor
Humayun) , the Barber's Tomb and many others. The complex is a World Heritage Site and the
first example of this type of Mughal Architecture in India. The same style of msusoleum was
adopted for the Taj Mahal in Agra.

The Red Fort:

The Red Fort is a 17th century fort complex constructed by the

mughal emperor Shahjahan in the walled city of Old Delhi. The fort stands at the eastern edge of
Shahjahanabad and gets its name from the massive wall of red sandstone and that defines its
eight sides. The wall is is 2.5 kms long and the height varies from 60 ft on the river side and 110
ft towards the city. The fort was the palace for for moghal emperor Shahjahan's new capital
Shahjahanabad, when he shifted the capital from Agra. Along the fort wall was the Yamuna
River, that fed the moats surrounding most of the wall. After the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, ( which
was the stepping stone for freedom against British Rule made by the Indians), the British Army
used the Fort premises as their headquaters. During this time many of the pavillions and gardens
got defaced. However, in the year 1903, a restoration program of the fort began. After India
achieved independence in the year 1947, the Indian Army took over the fort. In December 2003,
the Indian Army handed the fort over to the Indian Tourist Authorities. The walls of the fort are
smoothly dressed, articulated by heavy string-courses along the upper section. They open at two
major gates, the Delhi and the Lahore gates. The Lahore Gate is the main entrance; it leads to a
long covered bazaar street, the Chatta Chowk, whose walls are lined with stalls for shops. The
Chatta Chowk leads to a large open space where it crosses the large north-south street that was
originally the division between the fort's military functions, to its west, and the palaces, to its
east. The southern end of this street is the Delhi Gate.

Architechtural Design of the fort:

The Red Fort complex was conceived in its totality and despite the subsequent modifications that
it has undergone, the overall unity of the scheme has been maintained. The fort complex
comprises of many smaller structures. A brief description about them has been given in the
following paragraphs.

Diwan - I – Khas / Hall of Private Audiences :

It is a pavilion clad completely in marble, the pillars are

decorated with floral carvings and inlay work with many semi-precious stones.
Diwan - I – Aam/ Hall of Public Audiences:

It is a large pavilion for public imperial audiences with an

ornate throne-balcony (jharokha) for the emperor. The columns were painted in gold and there
was a gold and silver railing separating the throne from the public.

Naqqar Khana/Drum House:

It lies on the eastern side of open space led by the

Chatta Chowk. It is the main gate for the musician's gallery above it.

Nehr - I – Behisht/ Stream of Paradise: The imperial private apartments lie behind the throne
balcony of the Diwan – I – Aam. The apartments consist of a row of pavillions that sits on a
raised platform along the eastern edge of the fort looking out onto the river Yamuna. The
continuous water channel that connects the pavillions is known as the Nahr – I – Behisth. The
water is drawn from the river Yamuna from the tower Shah Burj located at the northeastern
corner of the fort. The palace has been designed to imitate the Paradise as described in the
Koran. A couplet repeatedly inscribed in the palace reads, " If there be a Paradise on earth, it is
here, it is here". Eventhough the basic architecural concept of the fort complex depicts the typical
Moghal Prototypes there are some distinct influences of Hindu influence as well.
Zenanas:

The two southernmost pavilions of the palace are

zenanas, or women's quarters: the Mumtaz Mahal (now a museum), and the larger, lavish Rang
Mahal, which has been famous for its gilded, decorated ceiling and marble pool, fed by the
Nahr-i-Behisht. The third pavillion from the south the Khas Mahal contains the imperial
chambers. These include a suite of bedrooms, prayer rooms, a veranda and the Mussaman Burj,
a tower built against the fortress walls from which the emperor would show himself to the people
for daily ceremony.

The next pavillion comprises of the Hamams or Baths in the Turkish style with Mughal
ornamentation in marble and coloured stones

Moti Masjid:

To the west of the hammam is the Moti Masjid,

the Pearl Mosque. This was a later addition, built in 1659 as a private mosque for Aurangzeb,
Shah Jahan's successor. It is a small, three-domed mosque in carved white marble, with a three-
arched screen which steps down to the courtyard.

Hayat Bakhsh Bagh: To its north lies a large formal garden, the Hayat Bakhsh Bagh, or "Life-
Bestowing Garden", which is cut through by two bisecting channels of water. A pavilion stands
at either end of the north-south channel, and a third, built in 1842 by the last emperor, Bahadur
Shah Zafar, stands at the centre of the pool where the two channels meet.

A view of the Red Fort in the night