Qutub Minar, Delhi

The Qutb Minar, also called as Qutub Minar or Qutab Minar is a tall tower and victory monument. It is part of the Qutb complex, located where Delhi's oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, once stood. Lal Kot was built by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of South Delhi. 

It was mostly built between 1199 and 1220 and contains 399 steps, and is one of the most frequented heritage places in the city.  After the victory over Prithviraj Chauhan, the last Hindu ruler of Delhi, Qutab-ud-din Aibak initiated the construction of this tower but only managed to finish the first level.

Successive dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate continued the construction, and in 1368, Firuz Shah Tughlaq rebuilt the top parts and added a cupola( a small dome like structure on the top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome).

History

The Qutb Minar was built over the ruins of the Lal Kot. Qutub Minar was begun after the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque. Drawing references from their Ghurid homeland, Qutub-ud-Din Aibak and Shamsu'd-Din IIutmish constructed a minar at the south eastern corner between 1199 and 1503.

It is usually thought that the tower is named for Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who began it. It is possible that it is named after Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki a 13th century sufi saint. Shamsuddin IIutmish was a devotee of that saint.

It is surrounded by several historically significant monuments of the Qutb complex. It contains a rectangulat courtyard enclosed by cloisters, with the carved columns and architectural members of 27 Jain and Hindu temples, which were demolished by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak. 

How To Reach:

Mehrauli Terminal is the nearest bus stop at a distance of around 1.3 KM from the mInar and can be reached by taking a local bus or auto from the bus stop.