Qutub Minar: A Tower of Heritage

The Qutub Minar in Delhi is a towering landmark that never fails to fascinate its visitors. It is the first thing you see from a plane while reaching Delhi. From the above, you can see a tall minaret standing alone with lush green background. It forms a part of the Qutub Complex.

The tower is located In the Mehrauli area of Delhi. It is the most visited destination among travelers, history lovers, and archaeological enthusiasts. But things got changed in 2006 and the monuments became the most visited place even beating Taj Mahal. It is 234 feet high and the highest individual tower in the world.

The tower was built to celebrate Muslim dominance in the capital of the country after the death of the last Hindu ruler. Construction was started by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak, but he only constructed the basement. The later construction was taken over by his successor lltumish who build three more stories.

The last two stories were completed by Firoz Shah Tuglak. Different architectural styles from the time of Aibak to Tughlak are clearly visible in the monument. It was built with red and buff sandstone covered with intricate patterns and verses from the Holy Quran. All five stories of the tower are surrounded by a projected balcony and supported by strong brackets which are decorated with Honeycomb designs

Reasons to visit the Tower

1. The height of the monument is 72.5 meters. There are 379 stairs inside which leads you to top.
2. The minar is surrounded by several great historical monuments and all of them together are referred to as “Qutub Complex”
3. The minaret is open for visitors from sunrise to sunset so that visitors can enjoy the scenic view of the monument in different time zones of the day.
4. The minar was used as a watchtower to keep an eye on the territories of the complex and ensure no trespasser enters the complex.

Inside Qutub Complex

Iron Pillar

At first glance it looks like an ordinary pillar and as you get closer you will be astonished to see an iron pillar which is standing tall without rust on it. The Pillar stands in the middle of an empty square in the complex. The history of pillar is dates backs to 375-415 C.E. and was constructed by Chandragupta ll.

Tomb of lltumish

The tomb was built in 1235 A.D. Entrance of tomb is decorated with intricate patterns making it beautiful example of Indian Heritage. It was constructed with new material not making use of remains used in other buildings in the Qutub Complex. Tomb is considered as a scared place of worship and even today you can find people visiting the tomb for offering prayers.

Alai Darwaza

Alai Darwaza is the main gate from the southern side of Quwaat- ul- Mosque in the Qutub Minar Complex. Built by Allaudin Khilji, the sultan of Delhi in 1131 AD the gate has domed the entrance which is constructed using red sandstone and is adorned with white marble.

Alai Minar

The minar is an unfinished tower in the Qutub Complex.  Construction was started by Alaudin Khilji and came to halt in 1316 following his death. Today the massive red rubble structure stands at a height of 2.5 meters.

 SOME OF THE PLACES NEAR QUTUB MINAR:

• Tom of Adham Khan
• Drgah of Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Bhaktiar Kaki
• Zafar Mahal
• Jahaz Mahal
• Tomb of Balban
• Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb

Current situation of Monument

Even after more than eight centuries since its foundation Qutub Minar stands erect. The Archaeological Survey of India looks after the preservation work. Despite being old and few kilometres away from city centre the tower attracts more than million tourists each year.

Qutub Minar is a symbol of Indian culture, to all the history lovers and enthusiasts this place is must visit for them to explore about the important events happens in the golden history of country.

Visit this important historical monument of the country and explore the hidden facts about the monument.

The post is written by Ritika Arora: Content Writer, MyTravaly