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Key Attractions Lal Quila (Red Fort) The Red Fort’s massive curtain wall and battlements dominate the skyline of Old Delhi. Inside, the bastions – built, like the nearby Jama Masjid, by Shah Jehan – are an array of exquisite 17th-century Mughal buildings, which provided the living quarters for the Emperor, his courtiers and family. The flawless balance and proportion of these buildings, as well as the intricate decoration, is wonderful to behold and in complete contrast to the military might of the fort itself. Sadly, the water conduits that would once have cooled the dwellings and gardens are now dry. The Lahore Gate, on the west side of the fort, was a potent symbol in the fight for Independence and is still regarded as a shrine of the Republic. Entrance from Lahori Gate or Chatta Chowk Opening hours: Tues-Sun dawn-dusk. Admission: Rs100 (foreigners). Jama Masjid Jama Masjid is India’s largest mosque and is one of the masterpieces of the Mughal’s greatest builder, Shah Jehan. A huge courtyard, bounded by an arcade and pierced with three gates, lies in front of the prayer hall, which achieves serenity and peace from the perfect harmony of its arches, domes and spaces. The courtyard, which can accommodate 25,000 worshippers, is dominated by two red-and-white-striped sandstone minarets, 70m (230ft) tall. The energetic visitors who climb the 122 narrow steps to the top will be rewarded with a magnificent view of Delhi, smog and all. Shorts and short-sleeved shirts are not permitted – wraps can be borrowed. Matya Mahal, Bho Jala Opening hours: Daily dawn-dusk; closed during prayer times. Admission: Free (mosque); Rs10 to shoe wallah; Rs10 (minaret) and Rs100 (for cameras). Qutb Minar The Qutb Minar is an immense tower, started at the end of the 12th century, to commemorate the Muslim conquest of Delhi. Standing 72.5m (238ft) tall, it is built of fluted red sandstone and decorated with calligraphy representing verses from the Koran. The top two levels are faced in white marble. The Minar rises above a site that is home to the oldest extant Islamic monuments in India. There is the Ala-i-Darwaza, complete with horseshoe-shaped arches, lotus-leaf squinches and elaborate geometric patterns. Next to that, stands the Quwwat-ul-Islam, the first mosque to be built in India. So anxious were the new rulers of Delhi to erect a mosque, they shamelessly pilfered 27 Hindu and Jain temples for building materials. Many of pillars that surround the courtyard are carved with Hindu iconography, which is curiously at odds with the Islamic calligraphy of the Muslim prayer screens. Incongruously, in the centre of the mosque, stands the fourth-century Iron Pillar, bearing inscriptions from the Gupta period. Beyond the mosque is the intricately carved Iltutmish's Tomb. Qutb Minar complex Opening hours: Daily dawn-dusk. Admission: Rs250 (foreigners). Rashtrapati Bhavan Rajpath runs between the Secretariat Buildings and India Arch, the war memorial designed by Lutyens, in 1921. Rajpath is a formal conception, lined with trees, fountains and pools, intended by its architects, Lutyens and Baker, as the epicentre of British India. The Secretariat Buildings combine monumental classical and oriental detail and, while not beautiful, are certainly an imposing statement of colonial power. Rashtrapati Bhavan is an immense palace, supposedly larger than Versailles, which was built as the residence of the Viceroy and is now the official home of the President of India. Every Saturday morning (0935-1015), guards parade before the iron grille gates. While the apartments are private, the gardens are open to the public every year in February/March. Rajpath Opening hours: By appointment; gardens open daily 0900-1600 (Feb-Mar). Admission: Free. National Museum It takes a good few hours to get a decent overview of Indian culture at the National Museum, which is filled with exhibits covering over 5000 years of history. Highlights include excavations from Indus Valley civilisation sites, carved pillars and statues from the Maryan empire (250BC), Gupta terracottas dating from AD400, sandstone figures from Pallava temples, stone and bronze Buddhist statues, Tibetan manuscripts, Naga models and masks, silk paintings from Central Asia, a gallery of 300 musical instruments, and Mughal clothing, tapestries, ornaments and weapons. Janpath Tel: (011) 301 9538. Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700. Admission: Rs150 (foreigners). Chandni Chowk The bazaars that surround Chandni Chowk, in Old Delhi, offer a colourful, heaving and pungent slice of Delhi life, with shops and stalls displaying a spectacular array of goods, from fish and poultry to ‘second-hand’ goods, gemstones and gold, garlands, turbans, tinsel and spare car parts. They are an unmissable part of any visit to the city. Naya Bazaar is the spice market on Khari Baoli, where porters haul sackfuls of spices onto ox carts to be peddled in other parts of the city, while the covered Gadodial Market, just off Khari Baoli, is the wholesale spice market with an incredible display of aniseed, turmeric, pomegranate, dried mangoes, ginger, saffron, reetha nuts, lotus seeds, pickles, sugars and chutneys. Chawris Bazaar became notorious in the 19th century, for its dancing girls who beckoned to men below from the arched windows and balconies of the huge mansions that once lined the street. Today, the mansions have made way for shops specialising in copper and brass Buddhas, Vishnus and Krishnas. Chandni Chowk Opening hours: Daily, approximately 1000-1800; most shops closed on Sunday. Admission: Free. Humayun’s Tomb Often seen merely as a forerunner of the Taj Mahal, Humayun's Tomb is, in its own right, a stunning example of the Mughal architectural style, combining dome, mausoleum and plinth in perfect proportion. The Tomb is set in a square garden designed along Persian lines, shaded and geometric, crisscrossed with waterways and paths. In the grounds, there are some other monuments, including the Tomb of Isa Khan. Lodhi Road and Mathura Road Opening hours: Daily dawn-dusk. Admission: Rs250 (foreigners). Baha’i Temple Otherwise known as the Lotus Temple, the modern Baha’i Temple has often been compared to the Sydney Opera House. Giant white petals of Rajasthani Macrana marble open out from nine pools and walkways in the shape of an unfolding lotus, symbolising the nine spiritual paths of the Baha’i faith. Inside, the central hall rises to a height of over 30m (98ft), without the visible support of any columns. Visitors should take their shoes off before entering. Kalkaji Hill Opening hours: Daily 0900-1900(summer); daily 0930-1730 (winter); closed during prayers (1000-1100 and 1600-1700). Admission: Free. Purana Qila Humayun’s 16th-century Delhi had at its centre the fortress of Purana Qila, which reputedly stands on the site of Indraprastha, the city of the Pandavas in the Mahabharata. Of the buildings that survive today, the Qila-i-Kuhna Masjid was constructed in 1541, by Sher Shah, and represents a successful fusion of the Islamic and Hindu styles. The Sher Mandal is an octagonal observatory and library. The north gate, Talaqi-Darwaza, has been partially rebuilt and gives an impression of how formidable the fortifications would have been in their heyday. The chattri surmounting the west (entrance) gate commands a fine view of New Delhi. Purana Qila is in the throes of an extensive programme of rebuilding and restoration. There is a small museum just inside the south gate. Mathura Road Opening hours: Daily dawn-dusk (fortress); daily 0800-1830 (museum). Admission: Rs110 (foreigners). National Gallery of Modern Art The National Gallery of Modern Art contains a large collection of 20th-century Indian art. There are examples of the work of the painters of the Bengali Renaissance and of the poet and artist, Tagore. The highlight is the room devoted to the pictures of female Indian artist Amrita Sher-Gil (1913-1941), whose portraits – more successful than her genre scenes – are painted with the confident bravura of the youthful Augustus John. The galleries recently have been reorganised to accommodate a programme of biannual exhibitions designed to bring a larger proportion of the 15,000-piece collection before the public. The museum is in Jaipur House – by any yardstick, a grandee’s townhouse – formerly the Delhi residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur. Jaipur House, India Gate Tel: (011) 338 2835. Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700. Admission: Rs150 (foreigners). Tughluqabad The immense and brutal fortifications of Tughluqabad are an impressive monument to the militarism of the Tughluqs, an antidote to any idea that the Delhi Sultans were merely effete builders of mosques and palaces. Nowadays, the only living things that visitors are likely to see at the vast, barren, sun-scorched site are goats, donkeys and the occasional archaeologist, although in the 14th century, the citadel, the third city of Delhi, was the Sultan’s capital. Below the walls is the forbidding tomb of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq, the builder of Tughluqabad. It is approached from a causeway that crosses a lake, now dry. From the high point of the citadel there is a sweeping panorama of southern Delhi. Tughluqabad Opening hours: Daily dawn-dusk. Admission: Rs110 (foreigners). |
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