Guided Tour of Mehrauli Archaeological Park

The area where the Mehrauli Archeological Park is located has been occupied continuously for a thousand years by different empires. More than a hundred structural remains of this lustrous history can still be seen today. This includes tombs, palaces with stables, stepwells, mosques and even the remains of a wonderful rose garden with sprawling lawns. Many of the structures are being restored and there is plenty of useful information for visitors. The park offers a magnificent view of the Qutub Minar and the many shady areas make it perfect for a lengthy daytime exploration of three to four hours. Take a leisurely walk under the trees through the park and discover treasures every photographer will covet.

To get a feel for what India was like centuries ago, you can take a stroll through the 200-acre Archaeological Park and surrounding village around the Qutub Minar Complex. The magnificent monuments date back from the 13th century and one can visit the following well-preserved monuments:

1. Balban’s tomb
2. Jamali-Kamali tomb and mosque
3. Quli Khan’s tomb
4. Rajon ki Baoli Stepwell
5. Metcalfe’s folly
6. Metcalfe bridge
7. Horse stables
8. Madhi Mosque
9. Alim Khan;s Tomb
10. Dargarh Qutb Sahib
11. Various Mughal era tombs and boat house

Mehrauli

The area once known as Lal Kot is located to the north, south, and west of the Qutb complex. The Tomar Rajputs built this settlement. The city of Qila Rai Pithora was built by the Chauhan Rajputs to the east; it is now known as the village of Lado Sarai. Not much of these two cities: Lal Kot or Rai Pithora presently exists.The Mehrauli Archaeological Park of the Delhi Development Authority presently occupies the south section of the Qutb complex. This is a vast expanse of over 250 acres. There, you will find the remnants of several monuments: tombs, mosques, water tanks, and gateways, all the way back from the 13th century to the 19th century.

Mehrauli is located on the west side of the Archaeological Park. At one point, Mehrauli was a small city. Its name was formed from the name “Mihirapuri.” Mihir means sun; hence, it is assumed that some time in history a sun temple was built on that spot. This once tiny city has developed into a busy urban metropolis. Ever since the Delhi Sultanate period starting near the 12th century until now, people have settled there.

PRECIOUS WATER

In this arid, rugged terrain, water had to be collected and stored from the Hauz-i-Shamsi, a reservoir that Iltutmish constructed in 1230. Other sources of water were the Jharna – a waterfall that flowed over the ridge of the reservoir into a garden, and the stepwells (baolis). This supplied water continuously.

OTHER PLACES TO SEE

Along with the main monuments, you will find the Zafar Mahal located in Mehrauli village. This is a palace, which carries the name of the last Mughal emperor, Bahadur Zafar Shah. There is also the Yogamaya Temple – a Hindu shrine built in the 19th-century, as well as the marble Dada Bari Jain temple situated in the Park.

Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb

The pleasingly stylish Jamali Kamali mosque and tomb are inside the Mehrauli Archaeological Park area. It is named after Sheikh Fazlullah who was familiarly known as Jamali. He was a famed poet-saint when Sikander Lodi and the Mughal emperor, Babur reigned. In1528, the building of this mosque and tomb started, and it was finished during the Humayun’s reign. In the mosque’s prayer hall are five arches and two staircases lead you to the top of the mosque. An enclosure with a tomb housing two graves sits adjacent to the mosque. The grave right next to the mosque is where Jamali was buried, and the other one is named Kamali, who was possibly Jamali’s brother.

Balban’s Tomb

The Archaeological Park also houses Balban’s tomb, located next to the MehrauIi-Gurgaon road. Balban was the ninth sultan of the Malmuk empire of Delhi and ruled almost to the end of the Mamluk domination. His tomb was constructed in 1280. It is a square enclosed area, and all four sides have arched entrances. Initially, these arches had domes on top, but they subsequently collapsed.

It is believed that Balban was grief-stricken and died after his son Muhammad, also known as Khan Shahid died on the battlefield near Multan in 1285. Muhammad’s tomb is said to be the rectangular chamber to the east of Balban’s tomb.

Adham Khan’s Tomb

On top of a hill on the outskirts of the Mehrauli village is this octagonal tomb. It is located on a bank surrounded by a wall with towers at the corners. The verandah consists of three openings with arches on each side.

Adham Khan was the son of Emperor Akbar’s chief nurse Mahim Anga. He was also a general in the Mughal army. As punishment for murdering Ataga Khan, the prime minister, Akbar ordered that Adham Khan be thrown off the embankment of the Agra Fort. In 1562, Akbar built the tomb as an act of penitence for what he did and in memory of his chief nurse who was grief-stricken by her son’s death and died also. The other names for this tomb are the Bhul Bhulaiyan or labyrinth because a network of pathways are within the walls of the tombs. These are now closed.

Quli Khan’s Tomb

Muhammad Quli Khan’s octagonal tomb is elevated on a terrace in a garden southeast of the Minar. He was the brother of Adham Khan. In the 1840s, Thomas Metcalfe a British negotiator at the court of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah “Zafar” II, purchased the tomb and built annexes around it. He used this as his summer retreat home and named it the “Dilkusha.” Interestingly, his dining room was the area where the tombs are.

The Baolis

Near the Qutb complex are two step-wells also known as baolis. The Rajon ki Bains baolis is located in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park. It was given that name because long ago, the rajs (masons) used it. On one side of these stepwells is a mosque. In that mosque, a chhatri, that is a kiosk or pavilion with an umbrella-shaped dome has engravements from 1506 stating the dates the building was constructed during the rulership of Sikander Lodi’s. The five-tier stepwell called the Gandhak ki Baoli is also situated in Mehrauli village. It was erected back in the 13th century while lltutmish reigned. Legend has it that its Sulphur (gandhak) waters had healing powers.

Dargah Qutb Sahib

Qutbuddin Bakhtyar Kaki also known as the dargah is set on a path leading from the Mehrauli bazaar. Kaki was a Sufi saint and scholar of the Chishti order from Delhi. His name “Kaki” derives from kaks, which are tiny cakes he enjoyed eating during his fasts. His birthplace was Ush in Persia, but after he journeyed through Khurasan and Baghdad, he settled in India with the Muslims who conquered in the earliest invasions. He consequently succeeded the Sufi saint, Khwaja Moinuddin Chisthi of Ajmer as the spiritual leader and was the preacher during the rule of lltutmish. Kaki died in 1236. His tomb is on the interior of the shrine underneath the domed gallery with a rectangular shape decorated with mirrors.

Jahaz Mahal

The Jahaz Mahal is located at the northeastern corner of the Hauz-i-Shamsi. It was built with grey and red sandstone and is thought to have been constructed sometime in the Lodi period. Arched rooms surround the rectangular courtyard. It bears the name Jahaz (ship) Mahal because of its location on the edge of the Hauz-i-Shamsi water tank in Mehrauli, and it appears to be floating on water. Some think the Mahal was a place where pilgrims rested. However, its western wall has a mihrab, which indicates a section of it was a mosque.

Hauz-i-Shamsi

The Hauz-i-Shamsi is an enormous rainwater-fed tank called a hauz. It is situated, on the southern fringes of Mehrauli. The Hauz-i-Shamsi was built sometime around 1230 by Sultan lltutmish. Legend has it that the Prophet Moammed visited him in a dream and specifically instructed him where to build the tank. The sultan visited the location the following morning and there, he saw the hoofprint of the Prophet Muhammad’s horse. Obedient to the prophet’s instructions, he commissioned the building of the tank. The area was excavated and a domed pavilion made of red sandstone and twelve supporting pillars was erected. A stone was also placed there to memorialize the hoofprint of the prophet’s horse. The pavilion sits on the southwest corner of the tank.

Madhi Masjid

The Madhi Masjid Mosque is in the Archaeological Park on a pathway just off the main Mehrauli-Gurgaon road. Its design is simple in nature, but that does not take away from the magnificence of this double-storeyed mosque constructed during the time of the Lodi or early Mughal reign. On the eastern side is a square gateway, which is made of grey stone. The windows extend outwards and are made of red sandstone; they lead to a courtyard. The three prayer halls are skillfully arched and elaborately decorated fusing the hallmarks of a covered and an open wall-mosque.