BY:RIZWAN ANSARI M.A.TOURISM ADMINISTRATION

CONTENTDELHI- AN INTRODUCTIONHISTORY OF DELHIINDIA GATERED FORTRAJ GHATHUMAYUN`S TOMBQUTAB MINARGURUDWARA BANGLA SAHIBLOTUS TEMPLEAKSHARDHAM TEMPLEJAMA MASJIDBIRLA MANDIRCONNAUGHT PALACENEHRU PLANETARIUMNATIONAL MESEUM

INTRODUCTION

New Delhi, the capital and the third largest city of India is a fusion of the ancient and the modern.

Represents a picture rich with culture, architecture and human diversity, profound in history, monuments, museums, galleries, gardens and exotic shows.

Place like Connaught place, Janpath, Sarojini Nagar, Karol bagh, Red fort,Dilli haat, Pragati Maiden and Qutub Minar are known to throw a long lasting spell on its tourists.

The historical Chandni Chowk attracts a large number of businessmen & Tourist.

HISTORY OF DELHI 'Dilli' was founded by the Tomara ruler,

Anangpal according to Vibudh Shridhar and other later authors.Lal Kot built by the Tomar was renamed Qila Rai Pithora after Prithvi Raj Chauhan (also known as Rai Pithora). It was a thirteen-gated fort in Delhi. Prithviraj, a Chauhan king, was the second-to-last Hindu king of Delhi.

The history of the city is as old as the epic Mahabharata. The town was known as Indraprastha, where Pandavas used to live.

In due course eight more cities came alive adjacent to Indraprastha: Lal Kot, Siri, Dinpanah, Quila Rai Pithora, Ferozabad, Jahanpanah, Tughlakabad and Shahjahanabad

State established in 736 AD.

INDIA GATE India Gate is a stone monument

dedicated to the memory of the Indian soldiers who fought and died in the First World War It ranks as one of the primary places of interest in Delhi.

India Gate was designed by Edward Lutyens and took 10 years to complete.

Memorial in honor of 90,000 soldiers who sacrificed their lives during World War I .

'Amar Jawan Jyoti' or the flame of the immortal warrior is burning under it since 1971.

RED FORT

Built by fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1648The imperial apartments connected by a water channel known as the

Stream of Paradise (Nahr-i-Behisht). The Red Fort’s innovative architectural style, including its garden design,

influenced later buildings and gardens in Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kashmir, Braj, Rohilkhand and elsewhere

The Red Fort is an iconic symbol of India

Red fort cont…..DIWAN-I-KHAS DIWAN-I-AAM

Diwan-i-Aam the Public Audience Hall.

The hall's columns and engrailed arches exhibit fine craftsmanship.

The Diwan-i-Aam was also used for state functions

Diwan-i-Khas the Private Audience Hall.

It is constructed of white marble, inlaid with precious stones.

RAJ GHATRaj Ghat is a memorial to

Mahatma Gandhi.

It is a black marble platform that marks the spot of Mahatma Gandhi's cremation, Antyesti (Antim Sanskar) on 31 January 1948, a day after his assassination.

It is left open to the sky while an eternal flame burns perpetually at one end.

It is located on the banks of the river Yamuna in Delhi

HUMAYUN`S TOMBThe famous Humayun's Tomb of Delhi

is the first garden tomb in India.A complex commissioned in 1562 CE by

Hamida Banu Begum Humayun's wife and designed by Mirak Mirza a Persian architect.

This monument is one of the first specimens of Mughal architecture in the Indian subcontinent

Humayun's Tomb of Delhi is considered to be the precursor of the 'Taj Mahal' as far as the architectural structure is concerned.

This structure was declared a UNESCO Heritage site in 1993.

QUTUB MINARQutub Minar was constructed in 1192

by Qutab-ud-din Aibak, by the founder of Slave Dynasty and later completed by his son-in-law and successor Iltutmish.

The Qutub Minar is the tallest brick minaret in the world.

The minar is made of red sandstone covered with intricate carvings and verses from the Qur'an.

The tower has 379 steps, is 72.5 metres (237.8 ft) high, and has a base diameter of 14.3 metres, which narrows to 2.7 metres at the top.

Iron Pillar is a metallurgical curiosity, standing in the Qutb complex.

Qutub Minar is an eminent member of the World Heritage Site community.

GURUDWARA BANGLA SAHIB

A bungalow in Delhi owned by Raja Jai Singh of Amber (Jaipur) is now the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib. 1664 as a bunglow, again rebuilt in 1783.

known for its association with the eighth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Krishan, and the pool inside its complex, known as the "Sarovar", whose water is considered holy by Sikhs and is known as "Amrit".

It was first built as a small temple by Sikh General, Sardar Bhagel Singh in 1783, who supervised the construction of nine Sikh shrines in Delhi in the same year, during the reign of Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II.

LOTUS TEMPLE

The Lotus Temple at New Delhi is visited by people from all religious faiths.

Completed in 1986 the Lotus Temple has 27 giant white marble petals and nine pools.

There are six other Bahai temples in the world. Though some concepts are same, but each of them differs in their cultural identity.

The Bahá'í House of Worship in Delhi has, as of late 2002, attracted more than 50 million visitors, making it one of the most visited buildings in the world.

Akshardham is a Hindu temple complex in Delhi, Also referred to as Delhi Akshardham or Swaminarayan Akshardham.

It has got 20,000 statues,floral motifs,arches as well as exquisitely carved pillars.

The chief monument of the Akshardham temple is about 141 feet high and possesses a grand statue of Lord Swaminarayan.

The temple, which attracts approximately 70 percent of all tourists who visit Delhi,was officially opened on 6 November 2005.

It is constructed entirely from Rajasthani pink sandstone and Italian Carrara marble, and has no support from steel or concrete.

AKSHARDHAM TEMPLE

This great mosque is the largest in India,with a courtyard capable of holding 25,000 devotees

It was begun in 1644 and ended up being the final architectural extravagance of Shah Jahan.

JAMA MASJID

The highly decorative mosque has three great gates, four towers and two 40 m-high minarets constructed of strips of red sandstone and white marble.

There is no entrance fee here but it is one of the most expensive places for photography. The authorities charge you 200 Rs for Photography inside the Masjid.

Laxmi Narayan Temple, also known as Birla Mandir, is one of Delhi's major temples and a major tourist attraction.

Built by the industrialst Sh. J.K. Birla in 1939.

The temple is dedicated to Laxmi (the goddess of prosperity) and Narayana (The preserver).

The temple was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi on the condition that people of all castes will be allowed to enter the temple.

BIRLA TEMPLE

Connaught place is a creation of British in the last century.

Connaught place is one of the largest financial, commercial and business centers in New Delhi.

Construction work began in 1929 and was completed in 1933.

The former location of the headquarters of the British.

CONNAUGHT PALACE

It is designed in a circular form where the white-colonnade shopping district surrounds a green Park

The Inner Circle of Connaught Place was renamed Rajiv Chowk (after Rajiv Gandhi).

Outer Circle became Indira Chowk is the fourth most expensive office destination in the world.

The Nehru Planetarium is Officially known as 'Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

Earlier the official residence of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru now a museum in his memory.

In 1964, the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund was set up to promotion of astronomy education.

The Sky Theater shown at Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium are very popular.

Nehru Planetarium is the name given to five planetariums in India, named after India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

These are located in Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune ,Bangalore and Allahabad.

NEHRU PLANETARIUM

The National Museum in New Delhi is one of the largest museums in India.Established in 1949, functions under the Ministry of Culture, Govt of India.Skeletons found from Rakhigarhi in Haryana which was a site of the

Harappan Civilizations. It is Displayed in the National Museum, New Delhi.The Museum presently holds approximately 2,00,000 objects of a diverse

nature, both Indian as well as foreign, and its holdings cover a time span of more than 5000 years of Indian cultural heritage.

The blueprint for establishing the National Museum in Delhi was prepared by the Maurice Gwyer Committee in May 1946.

NATIONAL MUSEUM