The area of Mehrauli is probably the oldest continuously inhabited area of the city. As such it contains the architectural legacy of many centuries. Lal Kot, the first fortification of the city of Delhi, was established by the Tomar Rajputs in the Mehrauli area in AD 1060. The Chauhans extended this by adding the fortifications of Qila Rai Pithora, and after them the Il-Bari Turks continued to rule from this location. Though later capital cities were built at other sites, this area was not abandoned and many important buildings continued to be located here during successive dynasties - the Khaljis, Tughlaqs, Lodis, Mughals, and the British. Over 300 listed buildings of archaeological, architectural and historical significance dot the Mehrauli area with over 100 of these standing in the green belt south of the Qutub World Heritage Site and many more are still to be uncovered. It has buildings from practically each period of Delhi’s history. Some of them are well known such as the historic mosque of Jamali Kamali and the step-well known as Rajon Ki Baoli.
Tags: Medival Mehrauli Mehrauli Archaeological Park Archeology History Historical Historical India India Indian Heritage New Delhi Ancient Architecture INTACH Conservation Restoration Khiljis Alauddin Khilji Tughlaqs Firoz Shah Tughlaq Lodhis Lodhi Mughals Mughal Heritage Site Mosque Stepped Well Baoli Jamali Kamali AD 1060 Balban islamic Islamic Architecture Quli Qutab Shah Qutub Minar Lal Kot Chauhans Dilkusha © Mukul Banerjee Photography
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The area of Mehrauli is probably the oldest continuously inhabited area of the city. As such it contains the architectural legacy of many centuries. Lal Kot, the first fortification of the city of Delhi, was established by the Tomar Rajputs in the Mehrauli area in AD 1060. The Chauhans extended this by adding the fortifications of Qila Rai Pithora, and after them the Il-Bari Turks continued to rule from this location. Though later capital cities were built at other sites, this area was not abandoned and many important buildings continued to be located here during successive dynasties - the Khaljis, Tughlaqs, Lodis, Mughals, and the British. Over 300 listed buildings of archaeological, architectural and historical significance dot the Mehrauli area with over 100 of these standing in the green belt south of the Qutub World Heritage Site and many more are still to be uncovered. It has buildings from practically each period of Delhi’s history. Some of them are well known such as the historic mosque of Jamali Kamali and the step-well known as Rajon Ki Baoli.
Tags: Medival Mehrauli Mehrauli Archaeological Park Archeology History Historical Historical India India Indian Heritage New Delhi Ancient Architecture INTACH Conservation Restoration Khiljis Alauddin Khilji Tughlaqs Firoz Shah Tughlaq Lodhis Lodhi Mughals Mughal Heritage Site Mosque Stepped Well Baoli Jamali Kamali AD 1060 Balban islamic Islamic Architecture Quli Qutab Shah Qutub Minar Lal Kot Chauhans Dilkusha © Mukul Banerjee Photography
© All Rights Reserved
On the peak of a grassy mound stands a stone canopy built in 1850s by Charles Metcalfe, an Indophile British, as a ‘folly’. The folly was a very British thing, a new building meant to look like old and to be viewed in a picturesque landscape.
In itself, Metcalfe’s hexagonal structure is unremarkable. The columns are minimally carved; the semi-circular arches are not ornamental, the surface is cobbled. It is the folly’s lighthouse setting — commanding a view of the towering Qutub Minar, the lovely Jamai Kamali mosque and the rolling greenscape — that soak your senses with overwhelming passions.
The area of Mehrauli is probably the oldest continuously inhabited area of the city. As such it contains the architectural legacy of many centuries. Lal Kot, the first fortification of the city of Delhi, was established by the Tomar Rajputs in the Mehrauli area in AD 1060. The Chauhans extended this by adding the fortifications of Qila Rai Pithora, and after them the Il-Bari Turks continued to rule from this location. Though later capital cities were built at other sites, this area was not abandoned and many important buildings continued to be located here during successive dynasties - the Khaljis, Tughlaqs, Lodis, Mughals, and the British. Over 300 listed buildings of archaeological, architectural and historical significance dot the Mehrauli area with over 100 of these standing in the green belt south of the Qutub World Heritage Site and many more are still to be uncovered. It has buildings from practically each period of Delhi’s history. Some of them are well known such as the historic mosque of Jamali Kamali and the step-well known as Rajon Ki Baoli.
Tags: Medival Mehrauli Mehrauli Archaeological Park Archeology History Historical Historical India India Indian Heritage New Delhi Ancient Architecture INTACH Conservation Restoration Khiljis Alauddin Khilji Tughlaqs Firoz Shah Tughlaq Lodhis Lodhi Mughals Mughal Heritage Site Mosque Stepped Well Baoli Jamali Kamali AD 1060 Balban islamic Islamic Architecture Quli Qutab Shah Qutub Minar Lal Kot Chauhans Dilkusha © Mukul Banerjee Photography
© All Rights Reserved
On the peak of a grassy mound stands a stone canopy built in 1850s by Charles Metcalfe, an Indophile British, as a ‘folly’. The folly was a very British thing, a new building meant to look like old and to be viewed in a picturesque landscape.
In itself, Metcalfe’s hexagonal structure is unremarkable. The columns are minimally carved; the semi-circular arches are not ornamental, the surface is cobbled. It is the folly’s lighthouse setting — commanding a view of the towering Qutub Minar, the lovely Jamai Kamali mosque and the rolling greenscape — that soak your senses with overwhelming passions.
The area of Mehrauli is probably the oldest continuously inhabited area of the city. As such it contains the architectural legacy of many centuries. Lal Kot, the first fortification of the city of Delhi, was established by the Tomar Rajputs in the Mehrauli area in AD 1060. The Chauhans extended this by adding the fortifications of Qila Rai Pithora, and after them the Il-Bari Turks continued to rule from this location. Though later capital cities were built at other sites, this area was not abandoned and many important buildings continued to be located here during successive dynasties - the Khaljis, Tughlaqs, Lodis, Mughals, and the British. Over 300 listed buildings of archaeological, architectural and historical significance dot the Mehrauli area with over 100 of these standing in the green belt south of the Qutub World Heritage Site and many more are still to be uncovered. It has buildings from practically each period of Delhi’s history. Some of them are well known such as the historic mosque of Jamali Kamali and the step-well known as Rajon Ki Baoli.
Tags: Medival Mehrauli Mehrauli Archaeological Park Archeology History Historical Historical India India Indian Heritage New Delhi Ancient Architecture INTACH Conservation Restoration Khiljis Alauddin Khilji Tughlaqs Firoz Shah Tughlaq Lodhis Lodhi Mughals Mughal Heritage Site Mosque Stepped Well Baoli Jamali Kamali AD 1060 Balban islamic Islamic Architecture Quli Qutab Shah Qutub Minar Lal Kot Chauhans Dilkusha © Mukul Banerjee Photography
© All Rights Reserved
Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb located in the Archeological Village complex in Mehrauli, Delhi, comprise two monuments adjacent to each other, one is the mosque and the other is the tomb of two persons with the names Jamali and Kamali. Jamali (‘Jamali’ in Urdu language originates from 'Jamal' which means “beauty”) was the pseudo name given to Shaikh Fazlu’llah, also known as Shaikh Jamali Kamboh or Jalal Khan, a renowned Sufi Saint who lived during the pre-Mughal dynasty rule of the Lodi’s (Sikander Lodi to the Mughal Dynasty rule of Babur and Humayun), and he was greatly regarded. Kamali was an unknown person but associated with Jamali and his antecedents have not been established. Their names are tagged together as "Jamali Kamali" for the mosque as well as the tomb since they are buried adjacent to each other. The mosque and the tomb building were constructed in 1528-1529 but Jamali was buried in the tomb after his death in 1535
The area of Mehrauli is probably the oldest continuously inhabited area of the city. As such it contains the architectural legacy of many centuries. Lal Kot, the first fortification of the city of Delhi, was established by the Tomar Rajputs in the Mehrauli area in AD 1060. The Chauhans extended this by adding the fortifications of Qila Rai Pithora, and after them the Il-Bari Turks continued to rule from this location. Though later capital cities were built at other sites, this area was not abandoned and many important buildings continued to be located here during successive dynasties - the Khaljis, Tughlaqs, Lodis, Mughals, and the British. Over 300 listed buildings of archaeological, architectural and historical significance dot the Mehrauli area with over 100 of these standing in the green belt south of the Qutub World Heritage Site and many more are still to be uncovered. It has buildings from practically each period of Delhi’s history. Some of them are well known such as the historic mosque of Jamali Kamali and the step-well known as Rajon Ki Baoli.
Tags: Medival Mehrauli Mehrauli Archaeological Park Archeology History Historical Historical India India Indian Heritage New Delhi Ancient Architecture INTACH Conservation Restoration Khiljis Alauddin Khilji Tughlaqs Firoz Shah Tughlaq Lodhis Lodhi Mughals Mughal Heritage Site Mosque Stepped Well Baoli Jamali Kamali AD 1060 Balban islamic Islamic Architecture Quli Qutab Shah Qutub Minar Lal Kot Chauhans Dilkusha © Mukul Banerjee Photography
© All Rights Reserved