Tughlaqabad Fort, the third city of Delhi

Tughlaqabad Fort

The third city of Delhi

Tughlakabad is the most uncompromisingly militaristic ruin in Delhi, perhaps in all India. Ring after ring of rough – hewn stone walls thunder their way across the open plain on the deserted south – eastern edge of the city.

City of Djinns, William Dalrymple

Panoramic views of the bastions of Tughlaqabad Fort, delhi

The citadel of Tughlaqabad stretches over 6.5 km in circumference, the enormous structure complete with battlements and bastions dominate a stretch of the Mehrauli – Badarpur Road.

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Mausoleum of Ghiyas ud – Din Tughluq, A Fortified Tomb, Delhi

Mausoleum of Ghiyas ud – Din Tughluq

A Fortified Tomb, Delhi

Like a miniature expression of the whole, the tomb is defended on all sides by its own set of machicolated walls, built to keep the Angles of Death at bay; they represent perhaps the most elaborate set of defenses ever raised to protect a corpse.

William Dalrymple, City of Djinns

Ghiyas ud – Din Tughluq Tomb, Delhi

The massive fortified Tomb of Ghiyas ud – Din Tughluq lies in the shadows of the massive Tughlaqabad Fort, also a creation of Ghiyas ud – Din Tughluq. Like an umbilical cord, a causeway once linked the mother fort with the miniature fort like tomb of the emperor.

Adilabad Fort & Nai ka Kot, unknown forts next to Tughlaqabad Fort

Adilabad Fort and Nai ka Kot

Lesser known forts in the shadows Tughlaqabad Fort, Delhi

Although archaeological evidences show that the region around Delhi has been inhabited for over 3000 years but it has been only in the last thousand years Delhi has been the stronghold of north India.

A panoramic view of the exterior of Adilabad Fort, Delhi

It was only in middle of the 11th century, during the Tomar rule, Delhi got its first fortified city the Lal Kot. Later Prithiviraj Chauhan (Reign 1170 – 92) expended the citadel and renamed it Qila Rai Pithora.

Baolis (Step Wells) of Delhi

A compilation of Baolis (Step Wells) of Delhi

Monsoon in India has a very short duration and moreover it has always been very unpredictable, this gave rise to the necessity of water conservation. Over the centuries Indians have constructed artificial lakes and dug wells to hold the water supplied by the monsoon rains.

Baolis of Delhi. Top Left: Rajon ki Baoli, Top Centre: Gandhak ki Baoli, Top Right: Loharheri Baoli, Bottom Left: Hindu rao hospital Baoli, Bottom Centre: Purana Kella Baoli, Bottom Right: Tuglagabad Baoli

It is often said that “Necessity is the Mother of Invention” and the necessity of conservation of water, for the dry season, led to the construction of step wells. Stepwells are wells or ponds in which the water is reached by descending a set of steps. They are often multi storied in structure and are found in Western India and in the other more arid regions of South Asia, extending into Pakistan.