BAHADURSHAH ZAFAR MARG

Ferozeshah Fort

This located on the Bahadurshah Zafar Marg near ITO behind Shaheed Park.
History - The last Tughlaq Sultan Ferozeshah Tughlaq (1351-88) got built the Ferozeshah Nagar as the fifth city of Delhi and developed a good market there. This Fort was his capital. Some historians believe that the Sultan got the Fort built in a great hurry which explains its lack of any remarkable architecture or strength. Designed by Malik Ghazi and Abdul Hak, this was popularly known as Kushk-i-Feroz, which meant Feroz's palace.
Fort - Consisting of three rubble built walled rectangular enclosures, it forms an irregular polygonal plan with its eastern wall in one alignment. The eastern wall of the citadel was built on a bank of the River Yamuna. The area if twice that of the Shahjahanabad Fort. The Fort walls are about three feet thick at the base and about one feet thick at the top. From the outside the walls look straigth and from the inside pyramidal. The walls on the backside has completely collapsed. The main entrance is on the west side. On both sides of this, tall dome shaped structures are seen, probably built for security purposes. However, today half of these portions have collapsed. The Fort has five wings with small rooms, which are also in bad shape. Among the three enclosures of the citadel, the central one is the largest and is presently called as 'Kotla Feroze Shah'. It had an imposing main gateway from the western directions and bastions on either side flanked it, the ruins of which can be seen even today.
Ashokan Pillar - Located north of the Jami Masjid stands the 13 meters high sandstone Ashokan Pillar of 3rd century BC on a rubble built three tiered pyramidal structure. Freoze Shah Tughlaq brought this 27 tonne pillar to Delhi from Topar in Ambala, where the great emperor Asoka had erected it. The pillar is similar to the one fixed on the ridge, which was also brought by Feroze Shah. The pillar has seven main inscriptions or edicts of Emperor Asoka written in Brahmi script in the Pali language, apart from some figures and many minor inscriptions. It was so polished that till date it looks as if it is made of some metal. Called the Minar-i-Zarin by Ferozeshah, it glitters like gold when the sun's rays fall on it during the afternoon.
Jami Masjid - Only the southern and western walls with the gateway of this largest mosque of the Tughlaq period survive today. Located just next to the Asokan pillar, the mosque rests on a series of cells on the ground and is still in use. Built of local quartzite stone, the prayer hall and cloisters on the sides of the courtyard, which were used by the royal ladies, have all but disappeared. The mosque has its entrance from the northern direction and was once connected to the pyramidal structure by a bridge. It is said that there is also an entrance to the mosque from the underground cells. Originally covered with lime plaster, Timur visited the mosque to say his prayers in 1398. Impressed by its beauty, he erected a similar mosque at Samarkand in Iran. Later in 1759, Emadul Mulk, the prime minister of the Mughal emperor Alamgir Sani murdered his emperor here.
Baoli - Northwest of the Asokan pillar, in the centre of a garden is a fine large circular baoli of step well with subterranean appartments. It has a large underground drain for the water towards its eastern side. Ruins of other structures are also seen which have not been identified so far due to their present dilapidated condition.

MATHURA ROAD

Old Fort

History - If the beginning of Delhi is considered in terms of the old monuments doting this city, then this Fort comes first. The Fort is situated on top of a plateau and it is believed that remnants of the ancient Indraprastha Nagar are hidden here. This has also been the seat of the legendary ruler Prithviraj Chauhan till he was defeated by Abdali in the battle of Panipat. During the medieval times, Humanyun built the Deenpanah Nagar (asylum of faith) here. This was later destroyed by the Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri who laid the foundations for the present Fort. He had renamed it as Shergarh.

Fort - Built in red sandstone, no uniformity is seen in the architecture. Spread over an area of 2 square Kms, there are three huge entrances to it. The Fort walls are octogonal in shape. The present entrance, an imposing red sandstone gate on the western wall called the Bara Darwaja (Main Gate) is one of the three principle gates. Its double storeyed facade, surmounted by chhatris and approached by a steep ramp, still displays traces of tiles and carved foliage. The northern gate is called the Salami Darwaja or Taliqi Darwaja (Forbidden Gate) has carved reliefs and entry from it is closed. Why this gate has been kept closed is not clear. Over this gate is seen an depiction of a man fighting an animal. Across the road is the red sandstone Lal Darwaja (Red Gate) or Sher Shah Gate, one of the entrances to the township that grew around the fort. The southern gate is the Humayun Darwaja where references regarding Shershah are seen. When the Fort was inhabited, it was close to the river Yamuna. On all its sides deep canals have been built, a major portion of which is used as a lake. In those times, many small bridges linked the Fort with the mainland. Today we can enjoy boating or shikara rides in this lake.

Inside - During excavations, many things like symbols, broken vessals etc have been obtained here from which it has been estimated that this place had links with the Mahabharata period and that this was the capital of the Pandavs i.e. Indraprastha. Porcelain vessals from China, chinese writings have also been found here which throw light on the Indo chines relations in the ancient times.

Qila-e-Kuhna Masjid built by Shershah in 1541 located here is an excellent example of a pre Mughal design. The pyrayer hall of the mosque is about 51.20 meters by 14.90 meters. This is decorated with white marble and bright red sandstone with art work on them. The masjid has sections with five elegant arched niches or mehrabs, fountains with stages on the backside and minars at its corners. On a marble slab inside the mosque is an inscription which when translated reads: "as long as there are people on this earth, may this edifice be frequented and people be cheerful and happy in it." To the south of this masjid is the double storeyed building Shermandal made of red sandstones. This is octogonal in shape and decorated with marbles. It was Humayun's library. Humayun died when he fell down from the stairs of this building on 24 January 1556.

Khair-ul-Manajil Masjid built during the reign of Akbar is also located here. The entrance to this Masjid is made of red sandstones. The light and sound show held here everyday in the evening from 5-9 pm takes you back 5000 years in history.

Timings - 8 am to 6 pm