Mehrauli Archeological Park and Qtub Minar Complex: Week 5 / Day 35 / Feb 14
New Delhi, India: Today is going to be about a lot of really old stuff in the New Delhi area. The Mehrauli Archeological Park and Qtub (or Qutub depending on your spelling preference) Minar Complex together hold over 100 significant monuments and buildings. Fear not, I did not visit them all.
Upon arriving at the archeological park I was immediately approached by two men who wanted to talk to me. I initially misunderstood what they wanted and, once again, assumed that someone wanted me to take a picture for them. However, this time they did not want to take a picture with me. They saw that I had a camera and wanted me to take a picture of them. I was glad to oblige and I sent them a copy of the picture via email.
After my conversation with them, I started to explore the park. The first thing I encountered was a deep well from the 11th century covered with a surprisingly flimsy grate.
Moving on I passed a large rose garden from which one could see the towering Qtub Minar in the background.
Because I apparently cannot resist pretty flowers, I wandered around the rose garden for a bit before getting back to the ancient buildings.
The first two building I saw were a boathouse built by a British officer in the 19th century and the tomb of Quli Khan built in the 16th century.
Nearby were several other buildings and several feral pigs.
As I continued wandering through the park I was surprised at how empty it was. I then noticed a group of young men sitting on the grass chatting and one of them leapt up to call me over. I walked over to talk to them for a bit and answer the usual questions about where I am from, where I am going, and what I think of India. Leaving them, I rounded a corner of a building complex and got the sense I may have gone the wrong way.
Continuing my way down this road, past the shelters at the side of the road, I came to a large gate. There a security guard explained that I was coming in the wrong way, but that he would escort me to the ticket booth. After paying my entrance fee, I then found myself in the Qtub Minar complex (so much for the archeological park I guess).
The dominant feature (as one might have guessed) of the Qtub Minar complex, is the Qtub Minar.
Built in 1192 as a victory tower, it commemorates the defeat of the Rajput king and the beginning of Muslim rule in India. In addition to building the tower, a large mosque was also built nearby.
An interesting feature of the mosque is the distinctly non-Muslim look of the pillars supporting the roof. These pillars were built from a Hindu temple that was destroyed on the same site. This was done both for convenience and for the symbolism of using old materials to build the new mosque. Because the pillar segments differed in length, spacer stones had to be placed within the pillars to level things out.
Within the center of the mosque is The Iron Pillar.
This pillar dates from the 4th century and, is 23 ft tall and weighs over 6 tons. Oddly, it has not been destroyed by rust over the years. Because of the woods used in the smelting of the iron when it was made, there is a high phosphorous content in the pillar. This high phosphorous content leads to the formation of a specific hydrogen iron phosphate hydrate that coats and protects the pillar. Inscribed on the pillar are verses in Sanskrit attesting to the wonderfulness of Chandragupta II.
At the far end of mosque is a large arch indicating the direction of Mecca.
However, this is a Corbel Arch rather than a True Arch, as the technological advancement of the True Arch had not yet appeared in India.
Beyond the mosque is the tomb of Iltutmish, the Second Sultan of Delhi.
Near this tomb is the beginning of the Alai Minar. Envisioned by Alauddin Khalji as a tower that would be twice the size of the Qtub Minar, construction was abandoned shortly after the death of Alauddin.
Although very crude in appearance, the structure shown is only the inner core, which was to be dressed with outer stone much as the Qtub Minar was.
In the back of the complex is a set of buildings comprising the tomb of Alauddin Khalji and a madrasa. Here is the first lasting example of a True Arch in India.
And, once they built this, and a True Dome, they began to appear everywhere.
Moving back towards the beginning of the complex, I walked through the Alai Darwaza.
This huge structure is built of sandstone and marble and has stone screens over the windows. Outside of this building is the tomb of Imam Zamin.
Finally, before leaving I walked past a cupola known as Smith’s Folly.
The top portion of the Qtub Minar was knocked off by an earthquake in 1802. It was repaired by Major R. Smith in 1823, but with a Bengali style chhatri. However, it was removed in 1848 as it did not fit the rest of the tower’s style.
Leaving the complex, I headed out for dinner and back to my apartment.
