Purana Qila

Purana Qila or Old Fort in English was constructed by Mughal Emperor Humayun in 1533 and was completed in five years time. The Qila was a part of Emperor Humayun's dream city Dinpanah and served as its inner fortress. Dinpanah means 'Refuge of the Faithful' and Emperor Humayun wanted this to be a place where learned men of all Islamic sects could discuss religious studies under the benefaction of their emperor.

When in 1540, Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun, he named the fort as Shergarh or Dilli Shershahi. He destroyed several structures of dinapanah and added many more during his reign, which lasted until his death in 1545.

After the death of Sher Shah Suri, Humayun defeated Sher Shah's son to take back his city. But Humayun did not destroy any thing built by Sher Shah. Rather he utilized several of the buildings of Dilli Shershahi for completing the city of his dream.

Purana Qila is located on the eastern side of India Gate and north of Humayun's tomb on Mathura Road and is mostly open all days from sunrise to sunset. But early morning or evening is the best time to visit the Purana Qila.

Tourists can easily reach the Purana Qila via local buses from various points within the city or can hire auto-rickshaws and taxis. Even metro rail station is a good option to visit the monument. The nearest metro station from the Purana Qila is the Connaught Place metro station. It will require not less than 2 to 2½ hours to to see the entire Purana Qila.

The walls of the Purana Qila are massive and magnificent and are 18 meters high. Unlike other Mughal Qilas, Purana Qila does not have many palaces, or separate administrative or recreational buildings. Purana Qila has three main gates, namely the Humayun darwaza, Talaqi darwaza and Bara darwaza. All the three gates are quite huge and are built with red sandstone. The Purana Qila premises has a mosque named Qila-i-kuhna masjid that still survives. The Mosque was built in 1541 by Sher Shah Suri.

In the evenings, light and sound shows are organized in the Purana Qila premises, which attracts a lot of tourists. Generally, two shows are organized in two different languages, English and Hindi for the convenience of international and local tourists.The lake adjoining the Purana Qila offers boating facility for visitors.

There are several nearby attractions close to the Purana Qila. and can be reached within walking distance. Some such attactions include Nila Gumbad on southeastern side of Purana Qila, Delhi Zoo, Nili Chhatri in 3 km radius,India Gate, Nizam-ud-din's Shrine, Khairul Manzil Masjid etc.

Besides, there are many shopping venues close to the Purana Qila including Sunder Nagar Market, Connaught Place, Central Cottage Industries' Emporium, Janpath and Palika Bazaar. It can be said that Purana Qila is one of the must visit places in Delhi.

Keyword Might Be Search:- Purana Qila, Heritage Places Of Delhi, Delhi Tourist Places

Artical Source:- delhicapital.com