A Walk Around Tughlaqabad.Pdf
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
CORONATION PARK 2. GHIASUDDIN TUGHLAQ’S TOMB its southern entrance, this a walk around tomb houses the remains of The self-built tomb of Ghiasuddin Tughlaq, the founder of the Zafar Khan. His grave had Tughlaq Dynasty, is one of the early examples of Indo-Islamic probably been at the site architecture and was possibly fi nished by his son and successor TUGHLAQABAD prior to the construction Muhammad bin Tughlaq in the year 1328. Located on the southern Delhi Metro of the outpost and was Route 6 side of the fort, the tomb is approached through a causeway that consciously integrated into runs over a vast, now-dry water reservoir. The causeway leads one Civil Ho Ho Bus Route the design of the mausoleum Lines to the entrance platform about 8 ft above the road level, shaded by a Heritage Route by the sultan himself. pipal tree. The outer walls of the south-eastern bastion are punctured ingeniously with SHAHJAHANABAD Red Fort loopholes and this space was perhaps the most suited to spot the invaders. The cells Kotla underground are accessed Connaught Firoz Shah Place from the peripheral corridor Jantar Mantar at places which now have NEW DELHI Route 5 been cautiously guarded by Rashtrapati Bhavan wire mesh doors to ensure security. Purana Route 7 Qila 3. ADILABAD FORT NIZAMUDDIN Lodi Route 4 Humayun’s The fort of Adilabad was built in AD1327–28, soon after the death of Garden Tomb Safdarjung’s Ghiasuddin Tughlaq, by his son Muhammad bin Tughlaq allegedly as Tomb a symbol of his own might and power. Perched over a hillock, the fort SAFDARJUNG in fact seems to be an extension of the Tughlaqabad Fort, built in the same period with a similar style and materials used in construction. Route 3 The fort, though much smaller in scale than Tughlaqabad, has a Hauz Khas similar layout with the outer and inner fortifi cations strengthened with double-storied bastions and gates at regular intervals. About Siri The outer fortifi ed wall is battered and strengthened at regular a kilometre in length and half as wide, the fort from its north SULTAN GHARI Jahanpanah intervals with bastions. Fairly symmetric in plan, the square side offers an impressive view of Tughlaqabad Fort as well as Chirag Dilli (8 m x 8 m) mausoleum inside encloses three graves. The one in the tomb on its left. The inner wall houses remnants of a palace Khirki the centre of the room is that of the sultan himself. Next to him lies complex, centrally aligned within the overall layout. A walkway Route 1 TUGHLAQABAD Qutb MEHRAULI his son Muhammad bin Tughlaq, and next to that is the grave of along the inner enclosure travels around the double-storied cells Mehrauli Village Minar Route 2 Ghiasuddin’s wife’s. along the fortifi cation. One can also see a cluster of underground Mehrauli In the bastion over the entrance, along the north-west is another cells on the east side for storing grains and landscaped courts on Archaeological Park octagonal tomb in similar style. According to an inscription over either side of the palace. SPONSOR Created by INTACH This publication has been made possible Delhi Chapter by World Monuments Fund’s Sustainable Tourism Initiative, sponsored by American Express. Tughlaqabad.indd 1 27/07/12 1:01 PM arg te M sta la E Okh Tughlaqabad fascinating structures inside, the entire city from a single point. Almost Extension Bus Stand Toilets mosque and remains of houses on reduced to rubble, this mound even g Parking either side are the fi rst to appear. today rises up to a height of 70 ft ar M The remains of the Mughal houses from the road and commands a s da vi City M covering an extensive area show panoramic view of the vast fort. On a u Ra A r n an that this place was inhabited during the south this provided a bird’s eye Gu d M ay Mughal times. Close knit, straight- view of the surrounding countryside pee Ma lined interlocking planes at places and enabled advance warning of an r g Okhla Industrial Area also reveal signs of plaster over stone, approaching enemy. Hamdard which is the otherwise dominant Leaving the citadel and turning University building material in the rest of the right is a walkway that leads to the fort. Storage tanks for construction once existing royal palaces. Amidst Palace Area ESI materials, a linear market street dense thorny vegetation is a vast underground, and a large mound excavated area, possibly a lake that M ehrauli Badarpur Road Citadel M.B. Road 1 C h G Tughlaqabad Fort an CITADEL Entry ga Bashi Marg Tughlaqabad Meh a rauli Badar pur Ro b 2 Ghiasuddin ad PWD c a. Village Houses Tughlaq’s Tomb Kaya Maya 1. TUGHLAQABAD FORT This causeway, which has now been f (Mughal) Hospital Tughlaqabad stands on a rocky pierced by the road, originally stood b. Mosque d c. Store Rooms 3 hill part of the Aravallis, and spans in a vast water reservoir created by e d. Burj Mandal Adilabad Fort across approximately 6.5 km. This erecting bunds between the hills. e. Secret Passage magnifi cent fort was commissioned Approximately 13 ft above the f. Tank by the founder of the Tughlaq Dynasty, entrance gate to the fort, originally a Ghiasuddin Tughlaq, in 1321, and side entry used by Ghiasuddin to visit ughlaqabad is considered to be the third extant city of Delhi after A mausoleum, built during Ghiasuddin’s own lifetime, is sited within was completed in a very short span the site of the tomb, is an enclosed, TLal Kot and Siri. Ghiasuddin Tughlaq, the founder of the Tughlaq a vast (now dry) water reservoir which is connected to the city through a of four years. It was essentially built vaulted alley that terminates at a vast Dynasty, during his short reign (AD 1320–24) built the fortifi ed city of long lined causeway. Further south lies another fort named Adilabad built to serve a dual purpose – to resist the open ground overlooking a now dry Tughlaqabad, spanning nearly 6.5 km, over a period of only four years. by Ghiasuddin’s son, Muhammad Shah. It is similar in style, much smaller threat of Mongol attacks and to serve kund (tank). Towards the east, past a few Tughlaqabad stands on a high outcrop of rock towards the south- in scale, to the Tughlaqabad Fort, with an outer and inner fortifi cation. as the capital of Ghiasuddin Tughlaq. steps and a raised walkway, is a large eastern edge of Delhi and is distinctly divided into three parts: the wider About 800 m south-east of Adilabad, is the Nai Ka Kot Fort, also Double-storied bastions and the open space that gives a glimpse of the tapered rubble-fi lled walls surfaced overall layout and the architectural city area towards the north; the citadel; and the adjacent palace towards believed to have been built by Muhammad Shah as a private residence over with Delhi quartzite stone style that prevailed back then. The the south-west. The fort with remarkably massive stone fortifi cations before he built Adilabad. towards extreme east are a few separates the private palace area from present a composition of extreme walls here are the thickest you can fi nd surrounds the irregular ground plan of the city. The walls built of random Timings: 7.00 am–6:30 pm. features that are of particular interest. the populated citadel which is about grandeur revealing the sensitivity and in any of the forts in India, at places rubble masonry, rise in places to a height of nearly 30 m and have a Entry: Indian Citizens–Rs 5, Foreign Nationals–Rs 100, The market street below, quite well 160 ft across. The stripped walls, profi ciency of both the patron and about 10–15 ft thick rising up to 50– pronounced batter with frequent bastions and numerous slits. free for children upto 15 years. Free entry to Adilabad Fort maintained till today, has partitions arched gateways, and remains of the craftsmen during that time. According 100 ft, strengthened by double storey on either side with additional room intersecting fabric of the palaces, to popular lore, the fortress was bastions and gateways in between for storage beyond every unit, while residences, audience halls, and cursed by Hazrat Nizamuddin and was some of them. The city is believed to openings and arched niches address intersecting courtyards sprawl over abandoned within a few years after once have had fi fty-two gates of which lighting concerns. Above the market an area of 120 acres symbolizing the its construction. only a few remain till today. street is a large open court that power and opulence of the Tughlaqs. The main entrance to the fort today On the right, a natural pathway towards the east overlooks the Burj The outer fortifi cation walls and is on the southern side, immediately leads to the citadel, fairly square in Mandal, which possibly is the highest bastions include loopholes, designed facing the causeway that once linked plan, which is about 25 ft above spot within the entire complex and ingeniously for ventilation, light, and it to the mausoleum of Ghiasuddin. the inner entry. With a number of offers a comprehensive view of the especially defense. Tughlaqabad.indd 2 27/07/12 1:02 PM.