To the south of the western gateway is the tomb of Qutb Sahib. It is a simple structure enclosed by wooden railings. The marble balustrade surrounding the tomb was added in 1882. The rear wall was added by Fariduddin Ganj-e-Shakar as a place of prayer. The western wall is decorated with coloured fl...Read more
Probably the oldest continuously inhabited area in Delhi, the area around the Qutb Complex, commonly known as Mehrauli is the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs in ad 1060. The only remnants of this period are the fort walls and the Iron Pillar, which may...Read more
Delhi is not one city, but many. In the 3,000 years of its existence, the name ‘Delhi’ (or Dhillika, Dilli, Dehli,) has been applied to these many cities, all more or less adjoining each other in their physical boundary, some overlapping others. Invaders and newcomers to the throne, anxious to...Read more
Chirag Dilli is named for the much-revered Sufi mystic, Nasiruddin Mahmud, Roshan Chiragh-e-Dehli (‘The Illuminated Lamp of Delhi’), who came to Delhi in the early fourteenth century and was a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya, and later became his successor. Along with Khirki village, south-west of...Read more
Lodi Garden, once called Bagh-i-Jud, was the royal burial ground for the Sayyid and Lodi rulers of Delhi. Located on Lodi Road between Safdurjung’s Tomb and Khan Market in south Delhi, the garden covers an area of approximately 90 acres, dotted with beautiful monuments and tombs. With its...Read more
The name Daryaganj (Darya – river; ganj – wholesale market) suggests that this was originally a wholesale mart for grains and other bulk goods that came to Delhi on the river Yamuna, which flowed just below the city walls on the east. On the west, Daryaganj was bounded by a prominent market street...Read more
In the mid 14th century, when Firoz Shah Tughlaq ascended the throne of Delhi, he (like many of his predecessors and successors) decided to leave his mark by building his own city, Firozabad, with its accompanying citadel. Little remains of Firozabad the city. This is largely because two subsequent...Read more
Known simply as Purana Qila or Qila-e-Kohna (both meaning `old fort’), this fortress was built in the 1530’s. The site however does have a history that makes it truly old, and also historically and culturally of great significance. It is believed to be the site of one of the oldest settlements in...Read more
The Red Fort is the modern name for the Qila e Moalla (the ‘Exalted Fort’) built as a focal point of the new capital city of Shahjahanabad, established by the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in the mid-17th century. The fort was designed by the architect Ustad Ahmed; construction began in 1639 and ended...Read more
The imperial city of Shahjahanabad was established in the mid-seventeenth centruy by the emperor Shahjahan as his capital. Over the last more than three and a half centuries it has seen many changes - new buildings have of course replaced many of the older ones, but also new roads have been built,...Read more