MECZET KHIRKII DŻAHANAPANAH
Khirki Masjid has four open yards, comes from 1380 r. The neighboring village of Khirki, took its name from the mosque.
Near the mosque, among the fragments of the ruins of the fourth city of Delhi, Dżhanapa-nah, you can see the high platform of Bejay Mandal and the Begumpur Mosque (Begumpur Masdżid) with many domes.
TUGHLAKABAD
Tughlakabad, the fourth city of Delhi, located east of Kutab Minar, it was surrounded by strong, massive wall. It led to the city 13 bram. The tutor of Tu-ghlakabad was Ghijas ad-Din Tughlak Shah, while the quarrel between Ghijas and the saintly husband Nizam ad-Din contributed to the construction of the city. Well, the ruler took from the saint the workers employed in the construction of his tomb. Outraged, Nizam ad-Din cursed Ghijas and said, that the city will be inhabited by shepherds (Gujjar). Nowadays the curse works completely.
The dispute between Nizam ad-Din and Ghijas ad-Din did not end with a mutual curse. While the king was preparing his revenge, the saintly man spoke his words calmly to his followers, which are still alive in India today: "Delhi is far". Substantially, Ghijas was in 1325 r. murdered far from Delhi, during his journey.
The fort walls are made of huge rock blocks, from the outside, on the south side of the walls there is an artificial lake, in the center of which is the tomb of the king. A long causeway connects the tomb with the fort, and both structures have inward sloping walls.
Drive
It's best to combine a visit to Tughlakabad with a visit to Kutab Minaru and take the bus from there.
KUTAB MINAR TEAM
Situated 15 km south of Delhi, the Kutab Minar complex dates back to the early Muslim rule in India and is a good example of the early Afghan style in architecture. Kutab Minar itself is a towering victory tower, which Muslims received in 1193 r., just after defeating the last Hidu kingdom in Delhi. The tower has almost 73 m in height, diameter at the base is 15 m and decreases gradually, so that at the very top it counts 2,5 m.
Kutab Minar has five floors, marked with balconies. The first or three storeys are made of red sandstone, fourth and fifth – sandstone and marble. Construction was started by Kutab ad-din, but he only erected the first tier. It was completed by the successor of Qutabad-dina, while in 1368 r. Firuz Shah Tughlak rebuilt the upper floors and topped the tower with a dome. Earthquake in 1803 r. caused the dome to collapse; w 1829 r. an unknown Englishman replaced her with a new one. Recognized as inappropriate, it was removed a few years later.
Nowadays, this wonderfully decorated tower is slightly tilted; it's amazing, how well it has been preserved through the ages past. Currently, it is not open to the public due to a tragedy, as happened a few years ago, when for some reason panic broke out in the tower, leading to the death of many children from the school trip.
Kuwwat al-lslam mosque
Kuwwat al-lslam Masdżid (Mosque of the Power of Islam) is the first mosque built in India. The construction on the foundations of the Hindu temple began in Kutab ad-Din in 1193 r., over the centuries it was expanded and rebuilt by successive rulers. The inscription on the eastern gate says, that the material for the construction of the mosque was taken from "27 idolatrous temples". Many elements of the mosque come from Hindu and Jain temples.
In years 1210-1220 Altamiś, son-in-law of Kutab al-Din, initially surrounded the small mosque with a courtyard with cloisters. Whereas in 1300 r. Ala ad-Din added the courtyard to the magnificent one, eastern Alai Darwaza (Ali's gates).
The Iron Pole In the courtyard of the mosque, you can see the 7-meter-high Iron Pillar, which stood in this place long before the construction of the mosque. The six lines of Sanskrit inscription indicate, that the pole was erected in front of the Hindu temple of Cherry, probably in Bihar, in memory of the ruler in the years 375-413, Candragupty Wikramaditja, the king of the Gupta dynasty.
The inscription makes no mention of this, how this iron pillar was made, with remarkable purity of metal. Scientists have not found out to this day, under what conditions the highest quality iron was obtained, non-oxidizable by 2000 years. The prophecy says, that who will hold the pole with his hands, standing with his back to him, this will come true.
Alaj Minar
Ala ad-Din, by rebuilding the mosque, at the same time, he undertook the implementation of a much more ambitious plan to build a second victory tower (alai minar). Ali's tower was to be twice as tall as the Kutab Minaru! However, Ala ad-din died, leaving a 27-meter fragment of the tower. Nobody decided to finish this overly ambitious work. And yes, the abandoned tower looks down on the Kutab Minar and the mosque with melancholy (is located north of both facilities).
Another
Coming from 1310 r. Ali's Gate (alai minar), facing southwest of Kutab Minaru, is the main entrance to the complex. Near the gate there is the tomb of Imam Zamin, and the tomb of Altamiś, who died in 1235 r., located in the northwest corner of the mosque.
In the village of Mehrauli, a little further west of the entrance, there is the tomb of governor Adham Khan, which was supposed to lead to suicide by the beautiful Indian singer Rupmati, following the capture of the city of Mandu (about Mandu teeth. ordinary Madhya Pradesh). In a fit of anger, the ruler of Akbar threw him from the terrace in the fort in Agra.
In the area there are summer residences and tombs of the last rulers of Delhi, successors of the last Mughals. The vacant space between the two tombs was reserved for the last king of Delhi, who died in exile in Rangoon (To Rango) in Burma (Myanmar; Myanmar) w 1862 r., after becoming entangled in the Indian uprising in 1857 r.
Drive
The best way to get to Kutab Minar is by bus #505 from New Delhi Railway Station, from the side of the Ajmer Gate (Ajmer Gate) or from Janpath, opposite the Janpath Hotel.