Delhi

Delhi, being the capital of many empires for centuries - especially of Mughal India, has a number of forts and monuments to boast of. The city has blended the past and the present beautifully. There are strong citadels, such as Red Fort, Old Fort, Jantar Mantar, Tombs of the royal personages and Qutub Minar, which are counted amongst some of the most luring monuments of the capital city of India.

Besides these, one can find a number of other beautiful tombs, mosques and buildings throughout the city that have interesting history and legends attached to them. The lifestyle of the people of New Delhi is interwoven with the age old traditions and customs. Some of the major and the most important monuments in the city are as follows

Qutub Minar
Qutubuddin Aibak laid the foundation of Qutab Minar, as a victory tower, in 1199 AD. Originally, it rose to a height of 72.5 m. It is undoubtedly one of the finest stone towers in India and one of the most important landmarks of Delhi. Iltutmish, the son-in-law and successor of Qutubuddin, completed its construction.

Red Fort
Shah Jahan shifted his capital from Agra to Shahjahanabad and laid the foundation of Red Fort, or the Lal Quila, on 16th April 1639. It took nine years to build this mighty citadel and it got completed on 16th April 1648. It is said that about one crore rupees, an astronomical sum in those days, was spent on its construction.

Humayun's Tomb
The second Mughal Emperor Humayun died just a year after he regained Delhi. His Persian wife, Hamida Begum, supervised the construction of his tomb from 1562-1572. It was designed by the Persian architect, Mirak Mirza Ghiyuath.

Isa Khan's Tomb
Isa Khan's Tomb is situated just outside the Humayun's tomb precincts in New Delhi. It was built in the honor of Isa Khan, a brave and valiant noble under Sher Shah, the Afghan ruler who had overthrown Humayun. It was built in 1547, in an octagonal pattern.

Jantar Mantar
Situated at Connaught Place area of New Delhi, Jantar Mantar is one of the five observatories built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler and founder of Jaipur, in India. Smaller than the one at Jaipur, it is still astonishing because of its capability to make accurate calculations of many astronomical movements.

Old Fort
Said to be built on the site of Indraprastha, mentioned in Mahabharata - the great Indian epic, Old Fort has been the seat for administration for many emperors. Now in ruins, this citadel had the glory of being the seat of the legendary ruler, Prithviraj Chauhan. Sher Shah Suri built it after he demolished the Humayun's city, Dinpanah.

Safdarjung Tomb
Situated besides the Safdarjung airport in New Delhi, Safdarjung tomb was built by the Nawab of Awadh for his father. It is one of the finest examples of architecture in India. The second Nawab of the Awadh dynasty was popularly known as Safdarjung.