Red Fort
Shah Jahan started construction of the massive fort in 1648. He never
completely moved his capital from Agra to his new city of Shahjanabad in
Delhi because he was deposed and imprisoned in Agra Fort by his son
Aurangzeb. The Mughal reign from Delhi was a short one, however, Aurangzeb
was the first and last great Mughal emperor to rule from here.
The Yamuna River used to flow right by the eastern edge of the fort, and
filled the 10 metre deep moat. These days the river is over 1 km to the east
and the moat remains empty. Entry to the fort is Rs.100 for foreigners and
Fort remains closed on Mondays.
Chandni Chowk
The main street of Old Delhi is the colourful shopping bazaar known as
Chandni Chowk. At the east is Red Fort, end of Chandni Chowk, and north of
the Jama Masjid, there is a Jain Temple. Next to the kotwali (Old Police
station) is the Sunehri Masjid. In 1739, Nadir Shah, The Persian invader,
stood on the roof of this mosque and watched while his soldiers conducted a
bloody massacre of the Delhi inhabitants.
The west end of Chandni Chowk is marked by the Fatehpur Mosque which was
erected in 1650 by one of Shah Jahan's wives.
Lake Gate
The main gate to the fort takes its name from the fact that it faces
towards Lahore, now in Pakistan. After independence, many important
political speeches were given by Nehru and Indira Gandhi to the crowds
amassed on the maidan outside, and on Independence Day each year, the Prime
Minister addresses a huge crowd.
The entry to the fort brings you to a vaulted arcade, the Chatta Chowk
(covered Bazaar). The shops in this arcade used to sell the upmarket items
that the royal household might fancy- silky, jewellery, gold. This arcade of
shops was also known as the Meena Bazaar, the shopping centre for ladies of
the court, in earlier times.
Inside
the fort, the places to visit are Naubat Khana, or Drum House, where
musicians used to play for the emperor, and the arrival of princes and
royalty were heralded from here. Diwan-I-Am: The Hall of Public Audiences
was where the emperor would sit to hear complaints or disputes from his
subjects. Diwan-I-Khas: The Hall of Private Audiences, built of white
marble, was the luxurious chamber where the emperor would hold private
meetings. Centre piece of the hall was the magnificent Peacock Throne. The
solid gold throne had figures of peacocks standing behind it, their
beautiful colours resulting from countless inlaid precious stones. Between
them was the figure of a parrot carved out of a single emerald.
Royal Baths
Next to the Diwan-I- Khas are the hammams or baths-three large rooms
surmounted by domes, with a fountain in the centre. Shahi Burj: This modest,
three- storey octagonal tower at the north-eastern edge of the fort was once
Shah Jahan's private working area. Moti Masjid: Built in 1659 by Aurangzeb
for his own personal use, the small and totally enclosed Pearl Mosque, made
of marble, is next to the baths. One curious feature of the mosque is that
its outer walls are oriented exactly to be in symmetry with the rest of the
fort, while the inner walls are slightly askew, so that the mosque has the
correct orientation with Mecca.
The Rang Mahal or Palace Of Colour, further south again, took its name from
the painted interior, which is now gone was formerly the residence of the
emperor's chief wife. There is a small Museum of Archaeology in the Mumtaj
Mahal, still further south along the eastern wall. It's well worth a look.
Jama Masjid
The great mosque of Old Delhi is both the largest in India. Shah Jahan.
commenced the construction in 1644, the mosque was not completed until 1658.
It has three great gateways, four angle towers and two minarets standing 40
metres high and constructed of alternating vertical strips of red sandstone
and white marble.
The
eastern gateway was originally only opened for the emperor, and is now only
open on Fridays and Muslim festival days. The courtyard of the mosque has a
capacity of 25000 people. It is possible to climb the southern minaret, and
the views in all directions are superb- Old Delhi, the Red Fort, and New
Delhi to the south. You can see also one of the features that the architect
Lutyens incorporated into his design of New Delhi-the Jama Masjid, Connaught
Place and Sansad Bhawan are in a direct line. There's a also a fine view of
the Red Fort from the east side of the mosque.
Coronation Durbar Site
In a desolate field stands a lone obelisk and it was on this site in 1877
and 1903 that the durbars were enacted. It was also here in 1911 that King
George V was declared emperor of India. If you look closely you can still
see the old boy-a statue of him rises ghost-like out of the bushes nearby,
where it was unceremoniously dumped after being removed from the canopy
midway along Rajpath, between India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Feroz Shah Kotla
Erected by Feroz Shah Tughlaq in 1354, the ruins of Ferozabad, the fifth
city of Delhi, can be found at Feroz Shah Kotla, just off Bahadur Shah Zafar
Marg between the Old and New Delhis. In the fortress-palace is 13-metre high
sandstone Ashoka Pillar inscribed with Ashoka's Pillar edicts. The remains
of an old mosque and a well can also be seen in the area.
Raj Ghat
North-east
of Feroz Shah Kotla, on the banks of the Yamuna, a simple square platform of
black marble marks the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated following his
assassination in 1948. A commemorative ceremony takes place each Friday, the
day he was killed.
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Indian Prime Minister, was cremated just to the
north at Shanti Vana (Forest Of Peace) in 1964. His daughter, Indira Gandhi,
who was killed in 1984, and grandsons Sanjay (1980) and Rajiv (1991) were
also cremated in this vicinity.
Akshardham Temple
The magnificent Akshardham Temple stands on the banks of River Yamuna in Delhi. The huge temple is considered to be a modern day wonder and has an interesting collection of around 20,000 statues, floral designs, beautiful arches and wonderfully carved pillars. Built by the Bochasanvasi Aksharpurushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), the temple was inaugurated on the 7th of November, 2005 and the ceremony was attended by the honourable president APJ Abdul Kalam. It took 2 years and a huge sum of Rs 2 billion to get the temple in shape. The temple complex occupies an area of 100 acres of lush lawns.
Apart from the stunning architecture, the temple offers an IMAX theatre, a Swaminarayan Temple and a musical fountain. The halls inside the temple complex have been constructed on various themes including non-violence and vegetarianism. For any traveller visiting India, the Akshardham Temple of Delhi comes as a must-see and holds a lot of significance in terms of religion and spirituality.
