Qutub Minar

 

Qutub Minar,delhi india

The Qutub Minar (hindi: कुतुब मिनार, urdu: قط,ب مینار‬‎) is a minaret that forms a part of the Qutub minar, an UNESllCOWORLD Heritage site in the Mehrauli area of Delhi,India. Qutub Minar is a 73-metre (239.5 feet) tall tapering tower of five storeys, with a 14.3 metres (47 feet) base diameter, reducing to 2.7 metres (9 feet) at the peak. It contains a spiral staircase of 379 steps. Its design is thought to have been based on the Minaret of Jam, in western Afghanistan.

Qutab-ud-din-Aibak, founder of the Delhi Sultanate, started construction of the Qutub Minar's first storey around 1192. In 1220, Aibak's successor and son-in-law Iltutmish completed a further three storeys. In 1369, a lightning strike destroyed the top storey. Firoj shah tughalaq replaced the damaged storey, and added one more.Sher Shah suri also added an entrance to this tower while he was ruling and Humayun was in exile.

The Minar is surrounded by several historically significant monuments of the Qutab complex, including Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, which was built at the same time as the Minar, and the much older iron pillar of Delhi. The nearby pillared Cupola known as "Smith's Folly" is a remnant of the tower's 19th century restoration, which included an ill-advised attempt to add a sixth storey.

Tourism and Tourists attraction

Tourists visiting in delhi

Qutub Minar has some adjoining structures that lend shine of some of its fame. The Qutub complex houses the iron wonder nearby. The Iron Pillar is one of the metallurgical interests of the world. It is a thing to study as well as famous tourist destination. Traditionally people believe that if anyone standing in front of pillar with his back towards the column can encircle it with their arms, all his wishes will be fulfilled. Government has built a fence around it for safety.Qutub Minar is one of the ancient monuments situated at the heart of India, Delhi. It can be said as the true masterpiece of the Mughal Islamic craftsmanship and holds a historic importance. The minaret has holy verses of Quran inscribed in it and detailed carvings making it a reason to be the main tourist destination in Delhi. There are also a few ruins and gardens to decorate the ground around the minaret.

Almost 10 crore INR has been allocated to Qutub Minar by the government for the development of tourism in Delhi keeping in mind the popularity of this minaret.The construction of a sywalkbetween Qutub Minar and the metro station is expected to commence to attract the tourists. It is regarded as the tallest brick monument having an incredible height of 72.5 meters.It is also included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of Delhi.Qutub Minar complex consists of different ancient structures of the Mughal dynasty. The first storey of the Qutub Minar was completed in the lifetime of Qutb-ud-din. His son-in-law and successor, Iltumush, added the next three storeys.

Architecture

The tower's style is basically Iranian, though likely patterned on Afghanistan's Minaret of Jam, and adapted to local artistic conventions by the incorporation of "looped bells and garlands and lotus borders into the carving".Aybak also started Qutub Minar along the patterns of Iranian minarets but built by Hindus artisans.Numerous inscriptions in Parso-Arabic and Nagari characters in different sections of the Qutab Minar reveal the history of its construction, and the later restorations and repairs by Firoz Shah Tughluq (1351–89) and Sikandar Lodi(1489–1517).

The tower has five superposed, tapering storeys. The lowest three comprise fluted cylindrical shafts or columns of pale red sandstone, separated by flanges and by storeyed balconies, carried on Muqarnas corbels. The fourth column is of marble, and is relatively plain. The fifth is of marble and sandstone. The flanges are a darker red sandstone throughout, and are engraved with Quranic texts and decorative elements. The whole tower contains a spiral staircase of 379 steps.At the foot of the tower is the Quwwat ul Islam Mosque. The minar tilts just over 65 cm from the vertical, which is considered to be within safe limits, although experts have stated that monitoring is needed in case rainwater seepage further weakens the foundation.