Delhi-SightSeeing

Red Fort

Lahore Gate

The main gate to the fort takes its name from the fact that it faces towards Lahore, now in Pakistan. You enter the  fort hero and Immediately find yourself in a vaulted arcade now given over to small shops. This was once the Meena Bazaar -    the shopping centre   for  ladies  of  the  court.  The arcade of shops loads into the Naubat Khana which used to be a gallery for musicians   but   is   now  just  an  open courtyard.

Diwan-e-Am

The 'Hall of Public Audiences' was where the emperor would sit to hear complaints or disputes from his subjects. His alcove in the wall was marble paneled and set with precious stones — many of which were looted following the Munity. This elegant hall was restored by Lord Curzen.
 

Diwan-i-Khas

The Hall of Private Audiences’ was the luxurious chamber where the emperor would hold private meetings. Centerpiece of the hall, until Nadir Shah created it of Iran in 1739, was the magnificent Peacock throne. The solid gold throne has figures of peacocks standing behind it, their beautiful color coming from countless inlaid precious stones. Between them was the figure of a parrot carved out of a single emerald. This masterpiece in precious metals, sapphires, rubies, emeralds and pearls was broken up and the so-called peacock throne displayed in Tehran simply utilizes various bits of the original.
 

In 1760 the Marathas removed the silver ceiling from the hall so today it is a pale shadow of its former glory. Inscribed on the walls of the Diwan-i-khas is that famous Persian couplet:

If there is a paradise on earth
It is this, It is this, It is this
 

Royal Baths

Next to the Diwan-i-Khas are the hamams or baths — three large rooms surmounted by domes and with a fountain in the centre. One of the baths was set up as a sauna.
 

Moti Masjid

Built in 1659 by Aurangzeb the pearl Mosque is next to the baths. It is made of marble and free on Fridays.
 

Other

The Rang Mahal pavilion or ‘Painted Palace’ took its name from the painted interior which has now gone. The khas mahal was divided into room for worship, sleeping and living. The khas Mahal was the Private palace of the emperor and was divided into rooms for worship, sleeping and living. There is a small Museum of Arcaelogy in the Mumtaz Mahal. The Delhi Gate to the the south of the fort led to the Jami Masjid.

Sound & Light Show: Each evening a son et lumiere show recreates events of India's history, particularly those con nected with the Red Fort. There are shows in English and Hindi and tickets are available from the ITDC in L Blocks, Connaught Place or at the fort. One of the slogans in the fight for independence was that the tri-coloured Indian flag would replace the Union Jack over the Red Fort.

Jami Masjid: The great mosque of old Delhi is both the largest mosque in India and the final architectural extravagance of Shah Jahan. Commenced in 1644 the mosque was not completed until 1658. The mosque has three great gateways, four angle towers and two minarets which stand 40 metres high and are constructed of alternating vertical strips of red sand stone and white marble. There's also a fine view of the Red Fort from the east side of the mosque. The Jami Masjid has a capacity of 25,000 people.

Raj Ghat: North-east of Feroz Shah Kotla, on the banks of the Yamuna, a simple square platform of black marble marks the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated following his assassination in 1948. A ceremony takes place each Friday, the day he was killed. Jawahhrlal Nehru, the first  Indian   Prime Minister,  was also cremated here in 1964. The Raj Ghat is now a beautiful park.

Feroz Shah Kotla: Erected by Feroz Shah Tughlaq in 1354 the ruins of Ferozabad, the fifth city of Delhi, are  between  the old and new Delhis. In the fortress-palace is an Ashoka pillar with Ashoka's edicts (and a later inscription) on the 13 metre high column. The ruins of an old mosque and a fine well can also be seen in the area but the ruins were used for the contraction of later cities.

Connaught Place: At the northern end of New Delhi, Connaught Place is the business and tourist centre of New Delhi. It's a vast traffic circle with an architecturally uniform series of buildings around the edge — mainly devoted to shops, airline offices and the like. It's spacious but busy and you're continually approached by people willing to provide you with every imaginable necessity from an airline ticket to Timbuktu to having your fortune read.

Jantar Mantar: Only   a  short stroll  down  Parliament St from Connaught Place this strange collection of salmon coloured structures is another of Maharaja Jai Singh II's observatories.   The  ruler  from  Jaipur constructed  this observatory  in  1725 and it is dominated by a huge sundial known as the 'Prince of Dials'. Other instruments plot the course of heavenly bodies, the paths of stars and predict eclipses.

Laxmi Narayan Temple: Due west of Connaught Place this garishly coloured modern temple was erected by the industrialist Birla in 1938. It's dedicated to Vishnu and his consort Laxmi, the goddess of wealth.

India Gate: The 42 metre-high stone arch of triumph Lands at the eastern end of the Raj Path. It bears the name of 90,000 Indian Army soldiers who died in the campaigns of WW I, the North-West Frontier operations of the same time and the 1919 Afghan fiasco.

Rashtrapati Bhawan: The official residence of the President of India stands on Raisini Hill, at the opposite end of the Raj Path to India Gate. Completed in 1929 the palace-like building has an elegant Moghul garden, and occupies 130 hectares. Prior to independence this was the Viceroy'r House, the residence of the Viceroy of India. At the time of Mountbatten, Indian last Viceroy, the number of servants needed to maintain the 340 rooms of the building and its extensive gardens was enormous. There were 418 gardeners alone, 50 of them boys whose sole job was to chase away birds!

Parliament House: Sansad. Bhavan, the Indian Parliament Building stands at the end of Sansad Marg. Parliament St, just north of the Raj Path. This is one of the key elements in the design of New Delhi. A straight line drawn from the parliament building down Parliament St, passes through the centre of Connaught Place and extended beyond it intersects the Jami Masjid. The building is a circular colonnaded structure 171 metres In diameter.

Museums
Delhi has a wide range of museums and galleries. Some of the most interestring include:

 National Museum: Located on Janpath just south of Rajpath the National Museum has a good collection of Indian bronzes cotta and wood sculptures dating back to the Mauryan period (2nd-3rd century' BC), exhibits from the Vijaynagar period in south India, miniature and mural paintings and  costumes of the various tribal peoples.  There are film shows most days of the week. Nehru Museum On Teen Murti Rd near chanakyapuri the residence of the first Indian prime minister has been converted into a museum and has items and documents related to his life. There is a sound and light show about his life and the independence movement during the tourist season. The museum is open from 10 am to 5 pm daily, closed on Mondays, admission is free.

Rail Transport Museum: Located at Chanakyapuri, the diplomatic enclave, the railway museum will be of great Interest to anyone who becomes fascin­ated by India's exotic collection of rail­way engines, The collection includes an 1855 steam engine still in working order and a large collection of oddities such as the skull of an elephant that charged a mail train in 1894, and lost. The museum is open from 9.30 am to 7.30 pm from 1 May to 15 July and 10.30 am to 5.30 pm for the rest of the year. It is closed on Mondays.

Tibet House: This small museum has a fascinating collection of ceremonial items brought out of Tibet when the Dalai Lama fled before the Chinese, Downstairs there is a shop selling a wide range of Tibetan handicrafts. It's at 10 Jorbagh, near the Oberoi Inter. Continental Hotel. It's open 9.30 am to 1 pm and 2.30 to 6 pm April-September and 9 am to 1 pm and to 5 pm the rest of the year. It's closed Sundays and admission is free. International Dolls Museum Located in Nehru House on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg the museum displays 6000 dolls from 85 different countries. Over it third of them are from India and an exhibit is being prepared that will show 500 dolls in the costumes worn all over India. The museum is open from 10 am to 6 pm daily, closed Mondays.

Crafts Museum:   Recently relocated to the Aditi Pavilion at the Exhibition Grounds, Mathura Rd, this museum con­tains a collection of traditional Indian crafts in textiles, metal, wood and ceramics. The museum is now part of a village life complex where you can visit rural India without ever leaving Delhi. Opening hours are 9.30 am to 4.30 pm, closed Sundays. Admission is free.

Other
 The Museum of Natural History is opposite the Nepalese Embassy on Barakhamba Rd. It has a modest collect­ion of fossils and a few stuffed animals and birds. Nothing special. There is a National Philatelic Museum at Dak Tar Bhavan, Sardar Patel Square on Parlia­ment St. It's closed on Sundays. At Palam Airport there is an Air Force Museum open from 10 am to 1.30 pm daily except Tuesdays, admission is free.

Purana Qila: Just south-east of India Gate and north of Humayun's Tomb and the Nizam-uddin Railway Station is the old fort, Purana Qila. This is the supposed site of Indraprastha the original city of Delhi. The fort has massive walls and three large gateways. Sher Shah, who briefly interrupted the Moghul empire by defeating Humayun, built the fort during his period of rule from 1538 to 1545 before Humayun wrested control of India back. Entering from i he south gate the small octagonal red sandstone tower, the Sher Manzil, was later used by Humayun as a library. It was in this tower that he slipped, fell and received injuries from which he died. Just beyond this is the Qila-I-Kuhran Mosque or Mosque of Sher Shah.

Humayun's Tomb:
Built in the mid-16th century by Haji liegum, wife of Humayun, the second Moghul emperor, this is an early example of Moghul architecture. The elements In its design — a squat building, lightened by high arched entranced, topped by a bulbous dome and surrounded by formal gardens — were to be refined over the years to the magnificence of the Taj Mahal in Agra. This earlier tomb is thus of great interest for its relation to the later Taj. Humayun's wife is also buried in the red and white sandstone, black and yellow marble tomb. Other tombs in the garden include that of Humayun's barber while to the right is the tomb of Isa Khan, a good example of Pathan (Afghan) architecture from the time of the Lodi dynasty. There's a fine view over the surrounding country from the terrace of Humayun's Tomb.

Zoo:
The Delhi Zoo is on the south side of the fort and is open from 8 am to 6 pm in summer, 9 am to 5 pm in winter.

Hazrat Nizam-ud-din Aulia: Across the road from Humayun's Tomb is the shrine of the Moslem saint Nizam ud-din Chisti. He died in 1326 aged 92 and his shrine, with its large tank, is only one of a number of Interesting tombs here. They Include the later grave of Jahanara, the daughter of Shah Jahan who stayed with him during his imprisonment by Aurangzeb Mirza Ghalib, a renowned Urdu poet, alno has his tomh here an does Azam Khan, a favourite of Humayun and Akbar who wax murdered by Adham Khan in Agra. In turn Akbar had Adham Khan terminated and his grave is near the Qutub Minar. The construction of Nizam-ud din's tank caused a dispute between the saint and the constructor of Tughlaqabad further to the south of Delhi.

Lodi Tombs
About three km to the west and adjoin­ing the Indian International Centre are the Lodi Gardens. In these well-kept gardens there are the tombs of the Sayyid and Lodi rulers. Muhammad Shah's tomb (1450) is a prototype for the later Moghul style tomb of Humayun, a design which would even­tually develop into the Taj Mahal. Other tombs include those of his predecessor Mubarak Shah (1433), Ibrahim Lodi (1526) and Sikander Lodi (1517). The Bara Gumbad Mosque is a fine example of its type of plaster decoration.

Safdarjang Tomb
Beside the smaller Safdarjang airport, where Indira Gandhi's son was killed in a light plane accident in 1980, is the Safdarjang Tomb. It was built in 1753-54 by the Nawab of Oudh for his father Safdarjang and is one of the last examples of Moghul architecture before the final remnants of the great empire completely collapsed. The tomb stands on a high terrace in an extensive garden. There are good views from the roof of the tomb.

Moth ki Masjid
South again from, the Safdarjang Tomb this mosque is said to be the finest mosque in the Lodi style. It was around this area that Timur defeated the forces of Muhammad Shah Tughlaq in 1398.

Hauz Khas

About midway between Safdarjang and the Qutab Minar this area was once the reservoir for the second city of Delhi, Siri, which lies slightly to the east. Inter­esting sights here include Feroz Shah's Tomb (1398) and the remains of an ancient college.

Khirki Masjid & Jahanpanah

This interesting mosque with its four open courts dates from 1380. The near­by village of Khirki also takes its name from the mosque. Close to the mosque are the remains of the fourth city of  Delhi, Jahanpanah, including the high Bijai Mandal platform and the Begumpur Mosque with its multlplicity of domes.

Tughlaqabad

The massively strong walls of Tugnlaq-abad, the third city of Delhi, are east of the Qutab Minnr. The walled city and fort with its 13 i(iit.'wny» whn built by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq and its con­struction involved a legendary quarrel with the saint Nizam-ud-din. When the Tughlaq ruler took the workers whom Nizam-ud-din wanted for work on his shrine the saint cursed the king with the warning that his city would be inhabited only by Gujars (shepherds). Today that is indeed the situation. The dispute between king and saint did not end with curse and counter-curse. When the king prepared to take vengeancie on the saint, Nizam-ud-din calmly told his followers, in a saying that is still current in India today 'Delhi is a long way off, Indeed It was for the king was murdered on his way from Delhi in 1325. The- fort walls are constructed of massive blocks and outside the south wall of the city is an artificial lake with the king's tomb in its centre.  A long causeway connects the tomb to the fort, both of which have walls that slope inward.

Qutab Minar Complex Situated 15 km south of Now Delhi the buildings in thin complex date from the onset or Moslem rule in India and are fine examples of early Afghan architecture. The Qutab Minar itself is a soaring tower of victory which was commenced In 1193, immediately after the defeat of the last Hindu king­dom in Delhi. It reaches 73 metres high and tapers from a 15 metre diameter base to just 2.5 metres at the top.

The tower has five distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony. The first three storeys are made of red sandstone, the fourth and fifth of marble and sandstone. Although Qutb-ud-din commenced construction of the tower he only got to the first storey. His succesors completed it and in 1368 Feroz Shah Tughlaq rebuilt the top storeys and added a cupola. An earth-quake brought the cupola down in 1803 and it was replaced and other modific-ation made at the same time, in 1829.

Today this impressively ornate tower has a slight tilt but otherwise has worn the centuries remarkably well. Visitors in groups of four can go up the tower to the first story, from where there is a fine view, it’s said that people are only allowed up in groups in order to discourage suicides.

 Quwwat-Ul-Islam Mosque: At the  foot of the Qutub Minar stands the first mosque to be built in India, the ‘Might of  Islam'  mosque.   Qutb-ud-din menced   construction  of the  mosque in  1193  but it has had a number of additions and extensions over the cent-uries. The original mosque was built oil the foundations of a Hindu temple and an inscription over the east gate states that it was built with materials obtained from     demolishing     '27     idolatrous temples'. Many of the elements in the mosque's   construction   indicate   their Hindu or Jain origins. The original small mosque was surrounded by a cloistered court by Altamish in 1210-30. Ala-ud-din added a court to the east and the magnificent Alai  Darwaza gateway in 1300. Points of interest in and around the mosque include:

The Iron Pillar:   This seven metre high pillar stands in  the courtyard of tht mosque and has been there since long before   the  mosque's  construction.  It was originally erected there in the 5th century AD by the Hindu king Chandra Varman but a six line Sanskript inscrip­tion   indicates   that it   was probably brought   here   from   elsewhere.   It   It thought to date from the Gupta period and may once have been crowned by a Garuda figure, indicating that it may have been in a temple to Vishnu. What those lines of poetry do not tell is how it was made for the iron in the pillar It of quite exceptional purity. Scientist! have never discovered how iron of such purity that it has not rusted after 2000 years could be cast with the technol­ogy of the time. It is said that if you can encircle the pillar with your hands your wish will be fulfilled. Alai Minar  At the same time as Ala-ud-din made his additions to the mosque he also conceived a far more ambitious construction    programme.    He   would build a second tower of victory, exactly like the Qutab Minar except it would be twice as high! When he died the tower had reached 27 metres and no one was willing to continue his over-ambitious project. The uncompleted tower stands to the north of the Qutab Minar and the nosque.

Other Ala-ud-din's Alai Darwaza gateway is the main entrance to the whole complex. It was built in 1310 of red sandstone and stands just south­east of the Qutab Minar. The tomb of Imam Zamin stands beside the gateway while the tomb of Altamish, who lied in 1235, is by the north-west corner of the mosque.

Around the Qutab
There are a number of other points of interest around this complex. West of the enclosure is the tomb of Adham Khan who, amongst other things, drove Rupmati to suicide following the capture of Mandu (see Mandu). When Akbar became displeased with him he ended up being heaved off a terrace in the Agra Fort. There are some summer palaces in the area and also the tombs of the final kings of Delhi, who suc­ceeded the final Moghuls. An empty space between two of the tombs was intended for the last king of Delhi, who died in exile in Rangoon, Burma, in 1862, following his implication in the 1857 Indian Mutiny.

Tours
Delhi is very spread out so taking a city tour makes a lot of sense. Even by pub­lic transport getting from, say, the Red Fort to the Qutab Minar would be com­paratively expensive.

There are three organizations which arrange Delhi tours. The ITDC (Indian Tourism Development Corporation) have tours which include guides and a luxury coach — they tend to be over­booked. Their office is in L Block, Con-naught Place, but their tours also start from the major hotels. Delhi Tourism, a branch of the city government, also arrange similar tours and their office is in N block. Finally the Delhi Transport Corporation has tours which are cheap­er than the others.