QUTB MINAR, DELHI

Among my favourite things in Delhi, especially bathed in evening sun, is the Qutb Minar, one of the great sights since its immense tower was built, started in 1199, as a combination of minaret for India’s first major mosque and a Victory Tower (an older, Indian tradition) to commemorate the Turkish conquest. The mosque, named Quwwat-al-Islam or Might of Islam, was built by local masons using Hindu techniques and materials from 27 Hindu and Jain temples demolished by the invaders. Through the lower cusped arch, below left, is glimpsed the famous Iron Pillar, over 7m high, cast around 390AD for King Chandragupta. 

The Minar itself, 72m high, of carved red sandstone topped by a couple of storeys of white marble, the top one being a ‘late’ addition built by Firoz Shah Tughluq in 1368, soars over the complex. Evening light gives the place a ridiculous beauty, especially on the intricate patterns, geometric and foliage, worked in sandstone and marble on the lovely gateway, Ala’i Darwaza, in the bottom pictures below. Built by Ala’al Din in 1311 as a new, formal entrance to the newly extended mosque, this is completely wonderful, both outside and in.