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Qutub Minar
y known as the Qutub Minar, an ancient minaret and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Delhi, India. This one reaches the height of 73 meters, 240 feet high, which makes it one of the tallest brick minarets in the world and thus it is has become the leading icon of Delhi’s splendid past. Although built in the early 13th Century, it is characterized by Indo-Islamic design and besides, it is a tourist attraction.
Key Features of the Qutub Minar:
Historical Background:
The Qutub Minar was founded by Qutb-ud-din Aibak in 1192 and was finally finished by his successor Iltutmish in 1220. The tower was struck by lightning, and Firoz Shah Tughlaq added another storey, the 5th and the last one in1369.
It was built to commemorate the establishment of Muslim rule in Delhi, which led to the obliteration of the last Hindu empire, and also served as a place for the muezzin to call out for prayers.
Architectural Design:
This tower is designed using red sandstone, and marble, and some pieces of sandstone with beautiful designs and inscriptions of the verses of the Holy Quran.
It has a total of five levels of tapering architecture which protruding balconies of various sizes decorate the tower. The base of the tower has a diameter of 14.3 meters (47 feet) and narrows to 2.7meters (9 feet) at its apex.
The first three storeys are entirely made of red sandstone. The fourth and fifth storeys are in marble and sand stone, thus, providing an odd shape to the tower.
Inscriptions and Carvings:
The Minaret is indeed very decorated and contains a lot of carvings and scriptures both in arabic and nagari which contain verses from the Quran and history.
The architectural patterns decoration calligraphy of the minaret surface and the fluting effect of the minaret attests to Afghan and Persian architecture.
The Iron Pillar:
Not far from the Qutub Minar, there stands the Iron Pillar which is very