History, Importance, Timings, Architecture, Interesting Facts and Travel Guide of Qutub Minar, Delhi, India
Qutab Minar, the famous heatitagw site of Delhi is the tallest minaret of rubble masonry in the world. This longstanding structure of Qutab Minar symbolises Delhi in its entirety - a fine blend of various architectural styles of traditional Islamic to the Indic, including the inscriptions from different cultures such as Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit decorated on the many buildings in its complex representing people from all backgrounds.
The Minaret is a symbol of the lost glory of the Delhi Sultanate. The construction of Qutab Minar went through the history of two powerful emperors Qutb – ud – din – aibak and Shams – ud – din - Iltutmish. .
Qutab Minar was built during 1199 and 1220 AD. This complex is been accompanied with a number of historically significant monuments like the Alai Darwaza , the Iron Pillar edict. This structure is situated in Mehrauli, and circumscribing the Lal Kot area. The construction of main shrine of mosque was completed in the year of 1197. Later, three more storeys were added to the minaret during the rule of his successor Iltutmish around 1220. After that, again in 1368, the last storey of the Qutub Minar was added by Firoz Shah Tughlak when it was repaired by subsequent storms.
The architecture seen in the Qutab Minar complex is a fine amalgamation of Indian and Islamic architecture, intricately decked with inscriptions and geometric patterns. The newly arrived Muslims from the Islamic West when moved to India, they assembled political and religious centres. The Qutab Minar serves as a central market to these new Muslim communities as well as being a reminder of Islam's existence in the region. The architecture of the minaret varies greatly from the commonly used design of the mosques constructed in the Middle East. This can be inferred from the different materials, techniques, and decoration that were used in the construction of the Qutab Minar. It is also separated from the main mosque, which clearly highlights the effect of native culture of India in the traditional way of how Islamic structures were designed in ancient India.
Interesting Facts of Qutub Minar, Delhi
●The materials used in construction of Qutub Minar vary with storeys. The material used for building first three storeys is red sandstone while the remaining storeys are made up of marble and sandstone.
●It has been a challenge for scientists to see a more than 2000 years old Iron pillar standing.
●There is a memorising lighting show every week from 7 pm to 10 pm .
●It is the first monument in India where the facility of e-ticket was introduced.
●Picture of Qutub Minar is been issued on the Delhi metro travel cards.
●Qutub Minar is been awarded as cultural UNESCO World heritage site.
Timings and Tickets Price of Qutub Minar, Delhi
Qutub Minar is open all day week from 7 AM - 5 PM
Evening slots are preferred in the scorching heat of Delhi during summers but if one wants to avoid a massive crowd, then morning slots are also convenient for exploring. To encourage night tourism, the government recently illuminated Archaeological Survey of India’s monuments till late in the evening.
Since the complex is an open place, the best time to visit Qutab Minar is in winter afternoons where one can experience the monumental architecture in the buildings, tombs, relics of the complex with sunlight giving an aesthetic background for all your pictures and videography.
The ticket fare for Indian Adults is Rs 35 INR /- while the same for foreigners is Rs 500 INR /-
The tickets could also be pre – booked via ASI’s website online.
How to Reach Qutub Minar, Delhi, The Capital of India
There is a Qutab Minar Metro station on the yellow line. The Mehrauli Archaeological Park is adjacent to the complex, which consists over a thousand structures of historical significance. Delhi being the capital of India and largest metropolitan area of India, and major tourist destination, of India where people across the world visits around the year. It is very well connected with all major cities of India via road, rail and air network. Delhi has multiple major railway junction from where you can get train to all region of India. Delhi has domestic and international Airport from where you can get flight to all major cities of India and across the globe. You can find private taxi and public transport as well from both airport to reach to city center. Delhi is located at 46 km from Noida, 40 km from Gurugram, 242 km from Agra, 41 km from Gaziabad, 243 km from Chandigarh. You can get direct buses and train from almost all cities to reach Delhi.
