Qutab Minar

Kutub Minar

Qutab Minar, is the tallest brick Minaret in the world, and an important example of Indo-Islamic Architecture ,One of the most visited tourist spot of Delhi, Qutub Minar was built in 1199 by Qutub-ud-Din.The Qutab Minar and its monuments are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The sultan's successor and son-in-law, Iltutmish, completed it. The purpose of building this beautiful monument is not very clear as some believe that it was built as a tower of victory to signify the beginning of the Muslim rule in India, while others say it served as a minaret to the adjoining mosque and was used by the muezzins to call the faithful to prayer. It is 72.5 metres high and one has to climb 379 steps to get to the top.The diameter of the base is 14.3 metres while the top floor measures 2.7 metres in diameter. 

Qutub Minar is still the highest stone tower as well as one of the finest Islamic structures ever raised in India. The main mosque comprises an inner and outer courtyard, of which the inner one is surrounded by an exquisite collonade, the pillars of which the inner one is surrounded by an exquisite collonade, the pillars of which are made of richly decorated shafts. The main mosque comprises an inner and outer courtyard, of which the inner one is surrounded by an exquisite collonade, the pillars of which the inner one is surrounded by an exquisite collonade, the pillars of which are made of richly decorated shafts. 

History of Qutab Minar:

Qutabuddin Aibak laid the foundation of Qutab Minar in AD 1199 for the use of Muazzin (crier) to give calls for prayer and raised the first storey, to which were added three more storeys by his successor and son-in-law, Shamsud-Din IItutmish (AD 1211-36). All the storeys are surrounded by a projected balcony encircling the Minar and supported by stone brackets, which are decorated with honeycomb design, more conspicuously in the first storey. 

Numerous inscriptions in Arabic and Nagari characters in different places of the Minar reveal the history of Qutab. According to the inscriptions on its surface it was repaired by Firoz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351-88) and Sikandar Lodi (AD 1489-1517). Major R. Smith also repaired and restored the Qutab Minar in 1829. The minaret is made of fluted red Sandstone covered with intricate carvings and verses from the Quran. The Qutab Minar is itself built on the ruins of Lal Kot, the Red Citadel in the city of Dhillika, the capital of the Jat Tomars and the Chauhans, the last Hindu rulers of Delhi.