QUTAB MINAR, QUTAB COMPLEX, NEW DELHI

The Qutab Minar , a tower in Delhi, India, is at 72.5 meters the world's tallest brick minaret. It is situated in the Qutb complex, amidst the ruins of ancient Hindu temples which were destroyed and their stones used to build the Qutb complex and minar. Construction commenced in 1193 under the orders of India's first Muslim ruler Qutb-ud-din Aibak, and the topmost storey of the minaret was completed in 1386 by Firuz Shah Tughluq. The Qutb Minar is notable for being one of the earliest and most prominent examples of Indo-Islamic architecture.
It is surrounded by several other ancient and medieval structures and ruins, collectively known as Qutb complex. The complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Delhi, and was also India's most visited monument in 2006, as it attracted 38.95 lakh visitors, even more than the Taj Mahal, which drew about 25.4 lakh visitors.
The complex was added to by many subsequent rulers, including Firoz Shah Tughlaq and Ala ud din Khilji as well as the British.
In 2004, Seismic monitors were installed on the minar, which revealed in 2005 Delhi earthquake, no damage or substantial record of shakes. The reason for this has be cited as use on lime mortar and rubble masonry which absorbs the tremors, plus it is built on rocky soil, which further saves it during earthquakes.

Qutb Minar & Iron Pillar

A 7 meter (23 foot) high iron pillar stands in the courtyard of the mosque and it’s said that if you can encircle it with your hands whilst standing with your back to it, your wish will be fulfilled; however, the pillar is now protected by a fence.

Qutb Minar and Alai Darwaza (Alai Gate)

The tower has five distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony, and it tapers, like something out of a fairy tale, from a 15 meter (50ft) diameter at the base to just 2.5m (8ft) at the top.

Qutb Minar

The first three storeys are made of red sandstone, the fourth and fifth storeys of marble and sandstone.
Decorative motives on upper levels of Qutb Minar, showing both Hindu and Islamic elements

Minar gate

The stairs inside the tower coil so steeply that they’re enough to make the hardiest climber dizzy and claustrophobic, and it was no surprise when a stampede during a school trip in 1979 resulted in a number of deaths. After that accident , entry to the Qutub Minar is closed to public since 1981, while Qutub archaeological area remains open for public.

Inscription

Qutub Minar elevation shot from the base.

The Qutab Minar itself is a soaring 73meter (240foot) high tower of victory that was started in 1193,
immediately after the defeat of the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi.

inscription on the tower

Inscriptions in the Kufic style of calligraphy, form regular bands throughout the Qutb Minar

IRON PILLAR , QUTAB COMPLEX, NEW DELHI

The iron pillar of Delhi, India is a 7 meter (22 feet) high pillar in the Qutb complex which is notable for the composition of the metals used in its construction.
The pillar—almost seven meters (22 feet) high and weighing more than six tons—is said to have been fashioned at the time of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (375–413), though other authorities give dates as early as 912 BCE. The pillar initially stood in the centre of a Jain temple complex housing twenty-seven temples that were destroyed by Qutb-ud-din Aybak, and their material was used in building the Qutub Minar and Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque. The pillar and ruins of the temple stand all around the Qutb complex today. The pillar is 98% pure wrought iron, and is a testament to the high level of skill achieved by ancient Indian ironsmiths. It has attracted the attention of both archaeologists and metallurgists, as it has withstood corrosion for over 1600 years in the open air.
The name of the city of Delhi is thought to be based on a legend associated with the pillar.

Detail showing the inscription.

The pillar bears a Sanskrit inscription in Brahmi script which states that it was erected as a standard in honour of Lord Vishnu. It also praises the valor and qualities of a king referred to simply as Chandra, who has been identified with the Gupta King Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (375-413). The inscription reads (in the translation given in the tablets erected by Pandit Banke Rai in 1903):
He, on whose arm fame was inscribed by the sword, when, in battle in the Vanga countries (Bengal), he kneaded (and turned) back with (his) breast the enemies who, uniting together, came against (him);-he, by whom, having crossed in warfare the seven mouths of the (river) Sindhu, the Vahlikas were conquered;-he, by the breezes of whose prowess the southern ocean is even still perfumed;-
(Line 3.)-He, the remnant of the great zeal of whose energy, which utterly destroyed (his) enemies, like (the remnant of the great glowing heat) of a burned-out fire in a great forest, even now leaves not the earth; though he, the king, as if wearied, has quit this earth, and has gone to the other world, moving in (bodily) from to the land (of paradise) won by (the merit of his) actions, (but) remaining on (this) earth by (the memory of his) fame;- (L. 5.)-By him, the king,-who attained sole supreme sovereignty in the world, acquired by his own arm and (enjoyed) for a very long time; (and) who, having the name of Chandra, carried a beauty of countenance like (the beauty of) the full-moon,-having in faith fixed his mind upon (the god) Vishnu, this lofty standard of the divine Vishnu was set up on the hill (called) Vishnupada.
It is believed by some that the pillar was installed in its current location by Vigraha Raja, the ruling Rajput Tomar king. One of the inscriptions on the iron pillar from A.D. 1052 mentions Rajput king Anangpal II.

Inscription about Iron Pillar

The iron pillar of Delhi.

A fence was erected around the pillar in 1997 in response to damage caused by visitors. There is a popular tradition that it was considered good luck if you could stand with your back to the pillar and make your hands meet behind it.

QUTAB COMPLEX, NEW DELHI

Hallway inside the Qutb complex.
Pillars and the ceiling.



The most famous monument situated in the complex is the Qutb Minar; other important constructions in the complex are the Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque, the Alai Gate, the Alai Minar, the Iron pillar, and the tombs of Iltutmish, Alauddin Khilji and Imam Zamin; surrounded by Jain temple ruins.

Remnants of the earlier Jain structure.

Sanctuary of the Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque, Qutub Minar complex

A pavilion

A pavilion inside Qutab complex

Sun shadow clock

Parrots at Qutb complex

The Entrance to the Qutab Complex

A Chattri at the entrance.

Mosque

The mosque at the entrance to the "Qutab Complex".

QUWWAT UL-ISLAM MOSQUE, QUTAB COMPLEX, NEW DELHI

East entrance domed ceiling, Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque




Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque (Might of Islam) (also known as the Qutb Mosque or the Great Mosque of Delhi) was built by Qutb-ud-din Aybak, founder of the Mamluk or Slave dynasty. It was the first mosque built in Delhi after the Islamic conquest of India and the oldest surviving example of Ghurids architecture in Indian subcontinent. The construction of this Jami Masjid (Friday Mosque), started in the year 1193 CE, when Aibak was the commander of Muhammad Ghori's garrison that occupied Delhi. The Qutub Minar was built simultaneously with the mosque but appears to be a stand alone structure, built as the 'Minar of Jami Masjid', for the muezzin to perform adhan, call for prayer, and also as a qutb, an Axis or Pole of Islam. It is reminiscent in style and design of the Arhai-din-ka Jhompra or Ajmer mosque at Ajmer, Rajasthan, also built by Aibak during the same time, also constructed by demolishing earlier temples and a Sanskrit school, at the site.
According to a Persian inscription still on the inner eastern gateway, the mosque was built by the parts taken by destruction of twenty-seven Jain temples built previously during Tomars and Prithvi Raj Chauhan, and leaving certain parts of the temple outside the mosque proper. Historical records compiled by Muslim historian Maulana Hakim Saiyid Abdul Hai attest to the iconoclasm of Qutb-ud-din Aybak. This pattern of iconoclasm was common during his reign, although an argument goes that such iconoclasm was motivated more by politics than by religion.

Pillared hallway inside the mosque (Remains of Jain temple hallway)

Outside view of Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque

Sanctuary of the Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque

Sanctuary of the Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque, Qutub Minar complex

Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque & its inscription

The mosque is built on a raised and paved courtyard, measuring 141 ft. X 105 ft, surrounded by pillared cloisters added by Iltutmish between 1210 and 1220 CE. The stone screen between prayer hall and the courtyard, stood 16 mt at its highest was added in 1196 CE, the corbelled arches had Arabic inscriptions and motifs. Entrances to the courtyard, also uses ornate mandap dome from temples, whose pillars are used extensively throughout the edifice, and in the sanctuary beyond the tall arched screens. What survives today of the sanctuary on the western side are the arched screens in between, which once led to a series of aisles with low-domed ceilings for worshippers . Expansion of the mosque continued after the death of Qutb. Qutbuddin's successor Iltutmish, extended the original prayer hall screen by three more arches. By the time of Iltutmish, the Mamluk empire had stabilized enough that the Sultan could replace most of his conscripted Hindu masons with Muslims. This explains why the arches added under Iltutmish are stylistically more Islamic than the ones erected under Qutb's rule, also because the material used wasn't from demolished temples. Some additions to the mosque were also done by Alauddin Khilji, including the Alai Darwaza, the formal entrance to the mosque in red sandstone and white marble, and a court to the east of the mosque in 1300 CE.

Quwwat al-Islam Mosque with its five corbelled arched screens

The mosque is in ruins today but indigenous corbelled arches, floral motifs, and geometric patterns can be seen among the Islamic architectural structures. To the west of the Quwwat ul-Islam mosque is the tomb of Iltutmish which was built by the monarch in 1235.