Ruins of Sir Thomas Metcalfe's Dilkusha with Qutub Minar in the background 02

Mehrauli Archaeological Park is an archaeological area spread over 200 acre in

Mehrauli Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in South Delhi, a district of Delhi in India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is close to Gurgaon and next to Vasant Kunj. History Mehrauli is one of the seven medieva ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, adjacent to

Qutub Minar The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and "victory tower" that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO Worl ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

and the

Qutb complex The Qutb Minar complex are monuments and buildings from the Delhi Sultanate at Mehrauli in Delhi, India. Construction of the Qutub Minar "victory tower" in the complex, named after the religious figure Sufi Saint Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, w ...

. It consists of over 100 historically significant monuments. It is the only area in Delhi known for 1,000 years of continuous occupation, and includes the ruins of

Lal Kot Lal ( fa, لعل, hi, लाल, bn, লাল, ur, لال, ps, Lāl) is an Indo-Iranian surname and given name, which means "darling", "precious", or "beloved", from the Sanskrit ''lala'' ("cajoling").''Dictionary of American Family Names''F ...

built by Tomar Rajputs in 1060 CE, making it the oldest extant fort of Delhi, and architectural relics of subsequent period, rule of

Khalji dynasty The Khalji or Khilji (Pashto: ; Persian: ) dynasty was a Turco-Afghan dynasty which ruled the Delhi sultanate, covering large parts of the Indian subcontinent for nearly three decades between 1290 and 1320.Tughlaq dynasty The Tughlaq dynasty ( fa, ), also referred to as Tughluq or Tughluk dynasty, was a Muslim dynasty of Indo- Turkic origin which ruled over the Delhi sultanate in medieval India. Its reign started in 1320 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the ...

Lodhi dynasty The Lodi dynasty ( ps, لودي سلسله; fa, سلسله لودی) was an Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Khan Lodi when h ...

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

, and the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

Overview

The region contains sites like

Tomb of Balban The Tomb of Ghiyas ud din Balban is located in Mehrauli, New Delhi, India. Built in circa 1287 CE in rubble masonry, the tomb is a building of historical importance in the development of Indo-Islamic architecture, as it was here that first Isla ...

, ca 1287 CE, wherein a true arch and the true dome were built for the first time in India, Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb of Maulana Jamali Kamali ( Jamali Kamboh), built 1526 - 1535 CE, Quli Khan's Tomb, Gandhak ki Baoli,

Rajon Ki Baoli The Baolis of Mehrauli are three stepwells approached through single stage or three stage steps, located in Mehrauli in Delhi, India, in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park mainlined by the Archaeological Survey of India. These are the Anangtal Baol ...

, a stepwell, and Madhi Masjid. Other near by monuments

Jahaz Mahal Jahaz Mahal (in Urdu language ‘Jahaz’ means "Ship" and ‘Mahal’ means "Palace", the "Ship Palace"), is located next to Hauz-i-Shamsi in Mehrauli, Delhi on its northeastern corner. It was so named, since its reflection (illusion) in the su ...

, Zafar Mahal of Bahadur Shah II alias ''Lal Mahal'',

Hauz-i-Shamsi Hauz-i-Shamsi (literally "sunny watertank") also called ''Shamshi Talab'' is a water storage reservoir or tank built by Iltutmish of the Slave Dynasty in 1230 CE, at a location revealed to him in a dream by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. A palace ...

and Tomb of Adham Khan. Pillars and remains of several old temples , Jharna which is like a pleasure garden of late Mughals are also lay scattered in the park.

Redevelopment and conservation

Rose Garden, Mehrauli Archaeological Park

The redevelopment of the area as an archaeological park and conservation of important structures started in 1997, in collaboration between

Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) is an undertaking of the Government of Delhi, India, that was established in December 1975 for the purpose of promoting tourism and related services in the city of Delhi. It has an ...

(DTTDC), the State Department of Archaeology, the

Delhi Development Authority The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is a planning authority created in 1957 under the provisions of the Delhi Development Act "to promote and secure the development of Delhi". It is responsible for planning, development and construction of h ...

(DDA) and the

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is a non-profit charitable organisation registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. In 2007, the United Nations awarded INTACH a special consultative status with Unite ...

(INTACH), which first started systematic documentation of structures in the area and also started conducting heritage walks since 2000. Over the years,

INTACH The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is a non-profit charitable organisation registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. In 2007, the United Nations awarded INTACH a special consultative status with Unite ...

has restored some 40 monuments in the Park and added signages, heritage trails, and sandstone trail-markers..

Notable monuments and structures

File:The bastion of Lal Kot fort, Mehrauli, Delhi.jpg, The bastion of Lal Kot fort, Mehrauli. File:Balban's tomb, Mehrauli.jpg,

Balban's tomb The Tomb of Ghiyas ud din Balban is located in Mehrauli, New Delhi, India. Built in circa 1287 CE in rubble masonry, the tomb is a building of historical importance in the development of Indo-Islamic architecture, as it was here that first Isl ...

, Mehrauli, ca 1287 CE File:Tomb of Khan Shahid, Balban's son, Mehrauli.jpg, Tomb of Khan Shahid, Balban's son, Mehrauli. File:Entrance to Tomb of Khan Shahid, Mehrauli.jpg, Entrance to Tomb of Khan Shahid, son of Balban File:Rajon ki Bain.jpg, Steps of Rajon Ki Baoli File:Wall Mosque 007.jpg, Walled mosque adjacent to the

Baoli Stepwells (also known as vavs or baori) are wells or ponds with a long corridor of steps that descend to the water level. Stepwells played a significant role in defining subterranean architecture in western India from 7th to 19th century. So ...

File:Gandhak ki Baoli, Mehrauli.jpg, Gandhak ki Baoli, another stepwell beyond Rajon Ki Baoli. File:Tomb of Sufi saint, Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki in Mehrauli, Delhi.jpg,

Dargah A dargah ( fa, درگاه ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargah'' दरगाह درگاہ, bn, দরগাহ ''dorgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often ...

of Sufi saint,

Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki ''Quṭb al-Aqṭāb'' Khwājā Sayyid Muḥammad Bakhtiyār al-Ḥusaynī, Quṭb al-Dīn Bakhtiyār Kākī ( ur, ) (born 1173 – died 1235) was a Muslim Sufi mystic, saint and scholar of the Chishti Order from Delhi, India. He was the d ...

, beyond Rajon Ki Baoli. File:Tomb and wall mosque in Mehrauli Archaeological Park.jpg, Tomb and wall mosque in Mehrauli Archaeological Park. File:Bagichi Ki Masjid, Mehrauli.jpg, Bagichi Ki Masjid, Mehrauli. File:Ruins of Sir Thomas Metcalfe's Guest House at Dilkusha.jpg, British Agent, Sir Thomas Metcalfe's Guest House at ''Dilkusha'' close to Quli Khan's tomb. File:Pavilion tomb and grave platform, Mehrauli Archaeological Park.jpg, Pavilion tomb and grave platform, Mehrauli Archaeological Park. File:Tomb in Mehrauli Archaeological Park.jpg, Tomb in Mehrauli Archaeological Park. File:Ruins Balban Khan Tomb 004.jpg, Ruined homes near Balban's tomb File:Ahinsa Sthal.jpg, Ahinsa sthal is a place for Mahavir File:Tomb of Muhammad Quli Khan.jpg, alt=https://gowithharry.com/mehrauli-archaeological-park-heritage-walk/, Quli Khan's Tomb is located near Boat House

References

Mehrauli Archaeological Park Conservation

External links

Heritage Walks: Mehrauli Archaeological Park
at

* {{cite news , title=In Mehrauli park, where history lies waiting , url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-mehrauli-park-where-history-lies-waiting/1046189/0 , publisher=Indian EXpress , date=17 Dec 2012
Monuments of Delhi
* Mehrauli Archaeological Park. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1736/mehrauli-archaeological-park/ Archaeological sites in Delhi Parks in Delhi Mehrauli History of Delhi Archaeological parks Protected areas with year of establishment missing

Overview

Redevelopment and conservation

Notable monuments and structures

See also

References

External links