Qutub Minar قطب مینار New Delhi, India

Welcome! The Qutub Minar and Complex is one of my favourite places in Delhi. I went there at sunset to try to get the best light. I have also made a previous posting of this site here

This is the entrance to Qutub Minar but I took it from the exit perspective because the light was so much better

Qutub Minar (The Qutub Tower; Urdu: قطب مینار‎), also known as Qutb Minar and Qutab Minar, is the tallest minar in India. You will see the minar a lot in the following photos!

Construction was started in 1192 by Qutub-ud-din Aibak

The minar is surrounded by several other ancient and medieval structures and ruins, collectively known as the Qutub complex

The tower has 379 stairs, is 72.5 metres (237.8 ft) high, and has a base diameter of 14.3 metres, which narrows to 2.7 metres at the top storey

Decorated with some greenery

The Alai Darwaza is the main gateway from southern side of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque. This is the first building in India to employ Islamic architecture principles in its construction and ornamentation. The Alai Darwaza is the earliest example of first true arches and true domes in India. It is considered to be one of the most important buildings built in the Delhi sultanate period

Local sightseers enjoying their heritage

Built as a Victory Tower, to celebrate the victory of Mohammed Ghori over the Rajput king, Prithviraj Chauhan, in 1192 AD, by his then viceroy, Qutbuddin Aibak, later the first Sultan of Mamluk dynasty. Its construction also marked the end of the last of the Hindu kingdoms in North India, and the beginning of Muslim rule in India, which ended only in the 19th century with the arrival of the British. Even today the Qutb remains one of the most important "Towers of Victory" in the Islamic world

After taking this photo the husband, who couldn't speak English, indicated he would like a copy. Unfortunately he doesn't have email and couldn't give me his postal address. Frustrating!

Kids always love to have their photo taken

Sunset at the complex

The warm sandstone is beautifully illuminated by the sun

Lots of corners and archways

Time for a rest and to contemplate

The victory tower and a victory sign

A family takes a pause at the Qubbat-ul-Islam Mosque

It was the first mosque built in Delhi after the Islamic conquest of India and the oldest surviving example of Ghurids architecture in the Indian subcontinent

A window without a view..........

Qtub Minar is on the flightpath of planes to and from New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport

Lads take a break

Old architecture, modern fashion statement!

Brisk walk through the ruins

The Qutub Minar was used as a watch tower. The earliest extant mosque was built by the Delhi Sultans. Some historians believe that the Qutub Minar was named after the first Turkic sultan (whose descendant- Wajid Ali Shah-repaired it), Qutub-ud-din Aibak, but others contend that it was named in honour of Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, a saint from Transoxiana who came to live in India and was venerated by Iltutmish

Born a slave in Turkey, Qutb rose to prominence as a general during Muhammed Ghari's invasion of India in the 1180s. After Muhammed's assassination in 1206, Qutb seized the throne and crowned himself Sultan of the Mamluk dynasty, often disparagingly called the "Slave Dynasty" after Qutb's origins

Love the white dress

Beautiful columns. They are plundered Hindu columns which came from 27 Hindu and Jain temples razed by Qutb's occupation army

The iron pillar is one of the world’s foremost metallurgical curiosities. The pillar, 7.21-metre high and weighing more than six tonnes, was originally erected by Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (375–414 AD) in front of a Vishnu Temple complex at Udayagiri around 402 AD, and later shifted by Aangpal in 10th century AD from Udaygiri to its present location. Anangpal built a Vishnu Temple here and wanted this pillar to be a part of that temple. (Thanks to Wikipedia for the facts). Next time Fez, Morocco. See you there!

Qutub Minar & the Qutub Complex, New Delhi

Thanks for coming to see my blog. This posting is dedicated to a stunning set of ancient and medieval ruins called the Qutub complex with the famous Qutub Minar (minaret, tower) as its centrepiece. In the first photo you can see a group of colourful Indians about to enter the complex.

The Qutub Minar is the tallest brick and sandstone Minaret in the world, Construction took nearly 200 years. It was completed in 1386 and is a fine example of Indo-Islamic architecture.

I fell in love with it and could hardly drag myself away. I hope the photos give you a sense of the beauty, history and culture that it evoked for me.

Daniela and I are going to Australia on 1 November for 2 weeks so look out for a new posting after 15 November! I can't wait to take photos in Australia!!

Happy Diwali for Monday 27 October to everyone who celebrates it.

Alan
















A gateway arch on the perimeter of the
ruin complex






















The beautiful and imposing Qutub Minar.
72 meters high and made of red sandstone
















The sandstone creates a warm and inviting
feel to the buildings. Reminds me of some of
the temples I saw in Tamil Nadu
















The elegance of the Hindu pillars is stunning






















Very cute little visitor to the ruins.
I wonder what he thinks of it all.
















Alai Minar, the Victory Tower. This minaret
was meant to be twice the height of the completed
Qutub Minar. It was commenced by Alauddin Khalji
but he died before the first storey was completed
and the project was abandoned
















Tomb of Iltutmish. He was the third
Muslim Turkic sultan of the Sultanate of Delhi
He died in 1236






















The arches that define the boundary of the
courtyard of the Quwwatu'l-Islam. The
pillars have clear Hindu motifs and are
believed to have been taken from the 27
temples of Qila Rai Pithora, the city of the
Rajput King Prithviraj Chauhan.






















The famous iron pillar situated in the courtyard
of the mosque is from the 4th century.
It is thought it was brought to Delhi by Anangpal,
the Tomar king who founded Delhi
















Those gorgeous pillars!
















Alai Darwaza the southern gateway of the
Quwwatu'l-Islam






















Iman Zamin's tomb, Alai Darwaza
and Qutub Minar
















Iman Zamin's tomb. Iman Zamin was a Turkish
holy man called Mohammad Ali. He came to
India during the reign of Sikandar Lodi and
was a revered Iman.






















Mirror, mirror in my hand,
who is the fairest in the land?






















Qutub Minar from the Mughal gardens






















Classic view of the minaret.
Difficult to stop taking photos of it!






















Interior of part of the ruins






















Ancient street
















The Qutub complex
















It was a very hot day!
















I don't know what this is.
It is in the Mughal gardens
















The Hindu pillars in all their elegance
















An entrance to the mosque. You can see the
iron pillar in the courtyard on the right






















Soooooooo cute!
Bye bye from Qutub Minar.