This is a continuation of my Delhi exploration in April 2019. Like my previous essays, the photos here are both in colored and black-and-white.
Surprisingly, despite bloody history, Hindu and Islam-associated relics now stand peacefully together in this complex. Take that, Modi!
South of Old Delhi is the Qutb Minar. ALthough construction started in 1199 BCE, additional stories were added by subsequent rulers in the next several hundred years.
This is the tomb of Imam Zamin, otherwise known as Muhammad Ali, a Muslim saint. He was the chief priest of the Quwwat-ul-Islam (Might of Islam) Mosque, which you will see in other photos later on.
This is the southern gateway to the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque.
The gateway itself has survived, although the masjid itself is now in ruins.
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The inside of the gateway’s dome.
Looking up from below the Qutb Minar
The Qutb Minar’s base. Previously, people were allowed to ascend the minar to the top, but structural weakness has led the governemnt to ban further ascents.Enter a caption
The ruins of the Quwwat-ul-Islam masjid.
This is the Iron Pillar of Delhi. This is, interestingly, a pillar erected in around 400 BCE. Inscriptions on the pillar say that this pillar was erected by the Hindu god Vishnu in memory of a might king, Chandra. This king is the historical Chandragupta II.It’s not surprising, though, that a pillar with Hindu affiliations stands in the middle of the courtyard fronting a masjid, as the Qutb Minar complex was built (forcibly, if I remmber correctly) on the ruins of Hindu and Jain temples. But to see both religious relics sharing the same space gives me hope.
The inside of the ruins of the masjid.
The tomb of Ala-ud-din Khaliji, one of the rulers of the Delhi sultanate.
28.52447577.185521
Mehrauli, Seth Sarai, Mehrauli, New Delhi, Delhi 110030, India
a life on fire 