Qutub Minar is the wonderful masterpiece of Mughal architecture built in red and buff sandstone in Delhi, the capital of India. It is the second highest tower in India next only to Fateh Burj at Chappar Chiri village of Mohali district of Punjab. It is estimated that about 3.9 million people visit Qutub Minar every year. It is one of the World Heritage Sites announced by UNESCO.

The construction of Qutub Minar was started by Qutub Ud Din Aibak in 1192 and was completed later by his successor and son in law Shamsuddin Iltumish. Totally the building has five stories with a height of 72.5 meters having a base diameter of 14.3 meters and top diameter of 2.7 meters. There are totally 379 steps and climbing these steps will take you to the top of the building. The first three stories were built with red sand stone and the fourth and fifth stories were built with sand stone and marbles.

It is said that Qutub Minar was built as a symbol of power and as the tower for defense. It was struck by lightning a few times and was slightly damaged and was repaired by the rulers of the times. There are inscriptions at the base of the minaret. The last story of the Qutub Minar was built by the Firoz Shah Tughlak in 1368 and the tower was repaired and restored by Sikander Lodhi from 1489 to 1517 AD and by Major R. Smith in 1829. The earth quake of 1794 affected the minar and this was restored by Major R. Smith. The history of Qutub is inscribed in Arabic on this tower.

There are other structures in the Qutub complex which include the Tomb of Iltumish, Alai Minar and Quwwat Ul Islam. The Tomb of Iltumish is a plain square chamber made of red sandstone built in 1235 A. D. in the Saracenic pattern. It has motifs that reflect the Hindu traditions. There is a famous iron pillar standing in the courtyard of the Quwwat Ul Islam mosque and it was erected in the fourth century AD. The height of the iron pillar is 7 meters and weight more than 6 tons. It is made up of wrought iron and is standing for more than 1600 years without rust proclaiming the metallurgical skills of the artisans of the ancient India.

The gateway of Quwwat Ul Islam mosque is called as Alai Darwaza and was constructed by Alaud Din Khilji in 1311 A. D. Alai Minar is situated in the north of Qutub Minar and is standing with a height of 25 m. there are madrasa, graves, mosque and tombs surrounding the building. Qutub Minar is open to visitors from sunrise to sunset. The entry ticket for people of India and neighboring countries is Rs. 10 per head and for other foreigners it is $5. No fee is charged for children under fifteen years old. This is a good place where you can shoot some excellent snaps. This will be a memoir of your trip to this historical place.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On January 04, 2012lView All Articles

Suhaina Mazhar is a freelance content writer and blogger with five years experience in content writing. http://sumazla.blogspot.com is her blog.

Article Source :

http://www.veethi.com/articles/qutub-minar-article-406.htm

Keywords :
Qutub Minar , qutub ud din aibek , qutub minar delhi