Delhi Red Fort

• Location- near Pragati Maidan, New Delhi
• Founded by- Sher Shah Suri and Humayun
• Constructed around- 1538- 1545
• Timings- 08.00am to 06.00 pm
• Entry Fees- Entry fee for Indian citizens is Rs 5/-

Entry fee for foreign citizen is Rs 100/-

• Photography Charges- No charges for still cameras and Rs 25/- for video cameras

When the second Mughal emperor Humayun decided to make a city of his own he decided on the site of the ancient city of Indraprastha. Humayun was quite a scholar with a fine grasp on such matters and so it is certain that the site was chosen deliberately. When his enemy Sher Shah Suri overthrew him, he destroyed most of Dinpanah (refuge of the faithful) as the city of Humayun was called to make way for his own Dilli Sher Shahi or Shergarh. Incidentally, Humayun was probably the only emperor in history who built a city in Delhi and did not give it his own name – this was typical of Humayun's rather sophisticated demeanor.

Purana Qila Delhi - The Architectural MarveI-. The walls of the immense Qila tower down on the road that takes one to Pragati Maidan from the height of 18m, and run on for about 2km. It has three main gates – the Humayun Darwaza, Talaqi Darwaza and Bara Darwaza (which one uses to enter the fort today). The double-storeyed gates are quite huge and are built with red sandstone. Of all the gates entry was forbidden from Talaqi (forbidden) Darwaza, the northern gate. It is not clear why this was so.

The History of Old Fort- Sher Shah Suri and his successor could not complete the city, and when Humayun defeated Sher Shah's son to take back his city, he did not deal with Dilli Sher shahi as the latter had done with Dinpanah. In fact the Mughal emperor very handsomely completed the city and even used several of the buildings like the Sher Mandal, a rather pretty two-storeyed octagonal building. Humayun used this as his library and, then tripped to his death from its steps.

Purana Qila - Excavation of Grey Ware Pottery-Several excavations have taken place in the Purana Qila in an attempt to prove, or disprove as the case may be, whether it is indeed the site of Indraprastha or not. Diggings have yielded painted grey ware pottery which has been dated to 1000BC. Similar artifacts has been noticed in other sites associated with the epic Mahabharata as well, which seem to conclusively prove that this indeed was the place where Indraprastha once flourished. These excavations have also thrown up material, like coins, associated with the Gupta (about 4-5th century AD) and post-Gupta ages (700-800AD) of Indian history as well.

Qila-i-kuhna Masjid

One of the most fascinating buildings, and also one of the few that still survive, in the Purana Qila is the Qila-i-kuhna Masjid. Sher Shah Suri built it in 1541. It was the emperor’s definite style statement. The mosque serenades with peace and quiet. The prayer hall has five doorways with the 'true' horseshoe-shaped arches. Apparently the idea was the build the whole mosque in marble, but the supply ran out and red sandstone had to be used instead. But the builder used the material very skillfully .As a result spectacular red sandstone and the marble contrast beautifully with each other to give the mosque a very distinctive air. The mihrabs (prayer niches) inside the mosque are richly decorated with concentric arches. From the prayer hall, staircases lead you to the second storey where a narrow passage runs along the rectangular hall. The central alcove is topped by a beautifully worked dome. In the courtyard at one time there was a shallow tank, which had a fountain.