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| DELHI
TOUR |
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| Qutub
Minar |
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Spearing its way
proudly into the sky, Qutub Minar with at a
height of 72.5 mts commands a panoramic view
of the green fields extending into a sprawling
city. The Qutub Minar was built as a victory
memorial by the Muslims who captured Delhi.
Minar is the root of the English word
"minaret" meaning "Little Minar"
or pillar.
Construction Of A Sandstone Tower
 Qutb-ud-Din Aibak laid the foundation of
Qutub Minar in A.D. 1199 for the use of
Mu'azzin (crier) to give calls for prayer and
raised the first storey, which were added
three more storeys by his successor and
son-in-law, Shamsu'd-Din IItutmish. All the
storeys are surrounded by a projected balcony
encircling the Minar and supported by stone
brackets, which are decorated with honeycomb
design, more conspicuously in the first storey.
Numerous inscriptions in Arabic and Nagari
characters in different places of the Minar
reveal the history of Qutub. According to the
inscriptions on its surface it was repaired by
Firoz Shah Tughlaq and Sikandar. Major R.
Smith also repaired and restored the Qutub
Minar in 1829.
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ATTRACTIONS
WITHIN THE QUTUB MINAR COMPLEX
- Quwwat-ul-Islam
Mosque
Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, to the
northeast of Minar was built by
Qutbu'd-Din Aibak in A.D. 1198. It
is the earliest extant -mosque
built by the Delhi Sultans. It
consists of a rectangular
courtyard enclosed by cloisters,
erected with the carved columns
and architectural members of 27
Hindu and Jain temples, which were
demolished by Qutbu'd-Din Aibak as
recorded in his inscription on the
main eastern entrance. Later, a
lofty arched screen was erected
and the mosque was enlarged, by
Shamsu'd- Din IItutmish and Alau'd-Din
Khalji.
- The
Iron Pillar
The Iron Pillar in the courtyard
bears an inscription in Sanskrit
in Brahmi script of 4th century
AD, according to which the pillar
was set up as a Vishnudhvaja
(standard of Lord Vishnu) on the
hill known as Vishnupada in memory
of a mighty king named Chandra. A
deep socket on the top of the
ornate capital indicates that
probably an image of Garuda was
fixed into it.
- The
Tomb of Iltutmish
The Tomb of IItutmish was built in
AD 1235. It is a plain square
chamber of red sandstone,
profusely carved with
inscriptions, geometrical and
arabesque patterns in Saracenic
tradition on the entrances.Some of the
motifs viz., the wheel, tassel,
etc., are reminiscent of Hindu
designs.
- Alai
Minar
The ambitious rubble Alai Minar
was started by Alauddin Khalji but
the sultan lived to see it only to
the height of 24.5m and no body
was ready to complete his
over-ambitious project. It was
built to match the enlarged
Quwwatu'l-Islam Masjid. Today it
is used more like an illustration,
by parents, when you get over
ambitious, the plans remain
unfinished.
- Ala-i- Darwaza
The southern gateway of the
Quwwatu'l-Islam mosque, as
extended by Ala-ud-Din Khalji, is
known as the Ala-i-Darwaza and
among its several inscriptions
is executed to form an ornamental
surface, they mention the date of
its erection as 710 A.D. (1311).
- Ala-Ud-Din's
Tomb And College
To the southwest of the Quwwatu'l-Islam
mosque lie some rooms and halls in
ruins making an L-shaped block.
They are believed to represent
Ala-ud-Din's tomb and college or
Madrasa, which was started by him
to impart instructions in Islamic
theology and scriptures.
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ATTRACTIONS
AROUND QUTUB MINAR
- Tomb
Of Immam Zamin
The gateway through which the
visitor enters the Qutub area is,
infact, the entrance to a Sarai of
the late Mughal period. To the
south-east of the 'Ala-i-Darwaza is the small attractive
tomb of Imam Muhammad Ali, better
known as Immam Zamin, who was a
native of Turkistan and came to
India during the reign of Sikandar
Lodi. - Tomb
of Muhammad Quli Khan
About 150m southeast of the Qutub
Minar is the octagonal tomb of
Muhammad Quli Khan, brother of
Adham Khan, a general and foster
brother of Akbar.
- Jogmaya
Temple
Within the original Lal-Kot and
way from the Qutub-Mehrauli
road is the Jogmaya temple, built
over a century ago during the
reign of Akbar II (1806-37), at
the site reputed to be that of an
ancient temple of the Yoginis,
meaning female semi-divine beings,
from which Delhi derived the
alternate name of Yoginipura.
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