A Walk Around The Red Fort

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 in 1648, though signifi cant additions continued through the 19th century. An oblong, irregular octagon in shape, the Red Fort has a perimeter of 2.41 km and has two main gates, the Lahore Gate and the Delhi Gate. In Shahjahan’s time the Yamuna fl owed beside the fort and water was channeled from it into the surrounding moat. The main palaces – those occupied by the royal family – were situated along what was then the river front.