• Mr. Qutb ordered to make a minaret and then it is called as Qutb Minar. It is really red Isramic tower 10 km south of Delhi, being made of red sandstone. It was inscribed as a World Heritage monument in 1993 by UNESCO. Mr. Qutb was Qutb-ud-din Aibak and he built the Quwwat-ul-islam mosque and the first storey of the Qutab Minar. The construction of the tower began in the year 1193, immediately after the defeat of the last Hindu Kingdom in Delhi. Qutb-ud-din may have started to build this just as a particularly large minar associated with the mosque for calling people to prayer, or it may have been built as a victory tower.

• The tower is five-story and 72.5 m high. It is tapering from 2.75 m in diameter at its peak to 14.32 m at its base and alternating angular and rounded flutings. Inside there are 379 steps circular staircase. The construction began in the reign of Qutb-ud-din but during his lifetime only the first story of the tower was constructed. His son-in-law Iltutmish, the next ruler, added the next three stories. In 1368, Feroz Shah Tughlaq quite a bit of the repair work and replaced the damaged fourth storey with two stories. These were faced with marble and red sandstone. He also added a small dome. An earthquake brought the dome down in 1803. A British engineer, Maj. Smith replaced it with another in 1829. However, that dome was removed some years later, by the then governor General, Lord Hardinge.
  The Qutab Minar used to be accessible to the top floor till the early 70's. Then people falling off, intentionally or otherwise, forced the government to restrict access to only the first story. And finally, in the mid 80's, a stampede of school children closed access completely.
  Although this ornate tower stands with a slight tilt today, yet it has undoubtedly survived through the centuries remarkably well. But, the archeological department has taken the initiative and redone the face of much of the first story and the base with new sand stone pieces.

• The surrounding archaeological area contains funerary buildings, notably the magnificent Alai-Darwaza Gate, the masterpiece of Indo-Muslim art (built in 1311), and two mosques, including the Quwwatu'l-Islam, the oldest in northern India, built of materials reused from some 20 Brahman temples.

• Quwwat Ul Islam Mosque is known as the Quwwat Ul Islam (Might of Islam), this is the earliest extant mosque in the country. It consists of a rectangular courtyard, 43.2 meters by 32.9 meters, enclosed by cloisters which were erected by Qutb-Ud-Din Aibak with the carved columns and other architectural members of twenty such Hindu and Jain temples. The construction of the mosque was begun in 1193 AD by Qutb-Ud-Din Aibak of the Mamluk(or the slave) dynasty and completed in 1197 AD. A massive stone screen of lofty five arches was put up in front of its prayer hall which imparted an Islamic character to the building. The screen is beautifully carved with borders of inscriptions and geometrical and arabesque designs. But the hand of the craftsmen used to Hindu motifs is nonetheless clear in naturalistic curved lines.
• The seven-meter-high pillar stands in the courtyard of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque. An inscription in Sanskrit of six lines clearly indicates that it was initially erected outside a Vishnu temple, possibly in Bihar, and was raised in memory of the Gupta King Chandragupta Vikramaditya, who ruled from 375 to 413. It is said to have been built sometime then and brought to Delhi by the Tomar king Anangpal, somewhere in the 11th century. There is a hole on the top where there might have been a sculpture of Garuda, Vishnu's celestial vehicle. The inscription however does not tell us how it was made. The quality of the iron used for constructing the pillar is exceptionally pure and has not at all rusted even after 1,500 years. It is said that if you can encircle the pillar with your hands whilst standing with your back towards it, your wish will most certainly be granted. But, that can not happen anymore, since the the pillar was protected by a railing.

• Mosque has been enlarged twice by the successors. At first in 1211, successor Shansuddin Iltutmish (1211-1236) added the second and third stories of the Qutab Minar and 6 more arches to the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque. Area became as big as three times. Secondly, Alauddin Khalji (1296-1316) added a southern entrance to the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, the Alai Darwaza, the base of Alai Minar and a madrassa. It was built in 1295-1315 and area became 10 times of the original the mosque. The fourth and fifth stories of the Qutab Minar were added by Firoz Shah Tughlaq.

• Alai Minar : Ala-ud-din conceived a very ambitious construction program when he decided to build the second tower of victory that would be exactly like the Qutab Minar, except that it would be twice as high. When he died the tower stood 27 meters high. After his death nobody was willing to continue with his overambitious project. The incomplete tower stands to the north of the Qutab Minar and the mosque.

• Right map shows 1=Qutab Minar 2=Alai Minar 3=Iron Pillar 4=Quwwat Ul Islam Mosque 5=Iltutmish's tomb 6=Alauddin's madrassa 7=Alai Darwaza 8=Imam Zamin's tomb

• Open 9:00 - 17:00 Entrance fee:Indian 10 rupee=30 cent Foreigner 5 dolors

• Reference : Delhigate.com

Islamic victory monument	Red sandstone is really red	carved with figure of plants	used to ascend in the gate
Alai-Darwaza Gate made of red sandstone and marble		ceiling is red sandstone,too	look outside from dome
Wide lawn outside dome	The pillar and arches	fourth century iron pillar	Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque
Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque was built in 1192 - 1999. Comparing the bigness of the tower with building.
Erected by Aibak with the carved columns of twenty such Hindu temples			square and arches
Imcomplete Alai Minar, 27m high		Red minar and mosque	Good-bye minar

2002/11/01