Purana Qila
Purana Qila ( Hindi पुराना क़िला , Urdu پُرانا قلعہ, English : Old Fort = "Old Fortress") is possibly the oldest fortress in Delhi . Within the complex, archaeologists discovered the oldest known building structure of any kind in Delhi, so that the square is often equated with the city of Indraprastha mentioned in the Mahabharata . The square, also known as Shergarh , is one of the seven (or eight) historically significant settlement cores that later grew together to form the megacity of Delhi.
location
The large fort is located about 1.5 km east of the India Gate and about 1.5 km west of the Yamuna River near the center of Delhi. The as UNESCO - World Heritage Site recognized Humayun's Tomb is located about 2 km south-east.
history
The current facility was started in the first half of the 16th century by the Mughal ruler Humayun and expanded after his expulsion by Sultan Sher Shah Suri of Afghan origin . The fortress was built in the area of Indraprastha , which is considered the capital of the mythical Pandavas . It was originally located directly on the west bank of the river Yamuna , which later shifted its course to the east and has long been venerated by the Hindus , so that the settlement history of the place probably goes back more than 5000 years. It could therefore be the first settlement in the Delhi area. During excavations, clay pots were found dating back to around 1000 BC. To be dated.
Attractions
fortress
The 1.5 km long walls of the fort, which is influenced in its architecture by the fortresses of Rajasthan , reach a height of 18 m in places; they are still dominated by three gateways ( Bara Darwaza , Humayun Darwaza and Talaqi Darwaza ), which are accompanied by protruding round towers. While the latter are made of colorless, but extremely hard and in places hardly processed greywacke , the central parts are mostly clad with red sandstone slabs from eastern Rajasthan (see Fatehpur Sikri ). The gates have a crenellated crown , decorative balconies ( jarokas ) and chhatris ; They look very representative due to the different colored stone material, from which simple incrustations were made. The imposing north gate ( Talaqi Darwaza ) even shows two marble slabs with lion reliefs ( vyalas ) - extremely unusual for Islamic art, which is hostile to images .
Qila-i-Kuhna Mosque
The broad, five-portal mosque building, which is elevated by a dome, was built in 1541 by order of Sher Shah Suri. The architecturally varied facade shows - for the first time in India - a game with different colored stone materials. Above all, the central portal, which protrudes slightly from the line, is richly decorated with stone incrustations and reliefs; There is a balcony ( jaroka ) above the portal . The outer side portals are slightly smaller, but are covered by higher blind arches, which again show small decorative balconies. Inside, the mosque is only nave - in after Mecca -oriented Qibla -Wand five richly decorated mihrab niches recessed. In front of the mosque there was once a fountain for the ablution ( wudu ' ) prescribed by the Koran in sura 5,6 before prayer .
Stepwell
At the side behind the mosque is a stepwell ( baoli ), of which there are several in Delhi (e.g. Agrasen Ki Baoli ) and a ruined bath ( hammam ).
Sher Mandal
The two-storey building, begun by the first Mughal Mughal Babur and completed by his son Humayun, was later renamed Sher Mandal in honor of Sher Shah Suri . It served as a garden pavilion, library and observatory . On January 24, 1556, Humayun slipped on the stairs to the observatory and died two days later of his internal injuries.
Surroundings
In the immediate vicinity of the fort area there is another mosque ( Khairul Manazil ), which was later integrated into a Koran school ( madrasa ), and a gate ( Lal Darwaza ) that is well worth seeing .
North Gate ( Talaqi Darwaza )
Stone incrustation
Stepwell and back of the mosque
Khairul Manazil Mosque
Lal Darwaza
literature
- Gordon Risley Hearn: The Seven Cities of Delhi. Ulan Press 2005, ISBN 81-7305-300-6 .
- Rakhshanda Jalil (text), Prabhas Roy (photos): Invisible City - The Hidden Monuments of Delhi. Niyogi Books 2008, ISBN 81-89738-14-3 .
Web links
- Seven Cities of Delhi (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Seven Cities of Delhi
- ^ Andrew Petersen: Dictionary of Islamic Architecture . Routledge, London 1996, ISBN 0-415-06084-2 , p. 65
- ^ Delhi City - The Imperial Gazetteer of India , 1909, Volume 11, p. 236
- ^ Delhi . In: Jonathan Bloom, Sheila Blair (Eds.): Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture , Volume 2. Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-195-30991-X . P. 1
Coordinates: 28 ° 36 ′ 34.3 " N , 77 ° 14 ′ 36.5" E