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Qutub Minar in Delhi

The Qutub Minar is a towering 73 meter high tower built by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak in 1193. The tower was built to celebrate Muslim dominance in Delhi after the defeat of Delhi’s last Hindu ruler. This tower is the highest tower in India, complete with five storeys and projecting balconies. The first three storeys of the Qutub Minar are made of red sandstone and the last two are made of marble and sandstone. 
The construction of the Qutub Minar was started by Qitub-ud-Din Aibak, but he only constructed the basement. The construction of the tower was later taken over by his successor Iltutmish who constructed three more stories. The last two storeys were completed Firoz Shah Tuglak. The different architectural styles from the time of Aibak to Tuglak are clearly visible in the Qutub Minar.
Apart from the tower, the Qutub Minar complex comprises of the Quwwat-us-Islam Mosque (the first mosque to be built in India), a 7 metre high iron pillar, the tomb of Iltutmish, Ala’i-Darwaza and the Ala’I Minar.

Qutub Minar (Urdu: قطب منار), the tallest brick minaret in the world, constitutes an important example of Indo-Islamic Architecture. The tower stands in the Qutb complex in South Delhi, India. UNESCOdesignated the Qutub Minar and its monuments a World Heritage Site.


The purpose for building this beautiful monument, apart from the usual function of a minaret as a high place to call people for daily prayers in a mosque (the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in this complex), has been the subject of speculation. Some scholars have forwarded that hypotheses that Islamic leaders may have constructed the structure as a tower of victory, a monument signifying the might of Islam, or a watch tower for defense.
Controversy surrounds the origins for the name of the tower. Many historians believe that the Qutub Minar had been named after the first Turkish sultan, Qutb-ud-din Aibak. Others speculate that that tower had been named in honor of Khwaja Qutb-ud-din Bakhtiar Kaki, a saint from Baghdad greatly venerated by Akbar.
The Qutub Minar stands 72.5 meters high (237.8 ft) with 399 steps leading to the top. Although formerly closed, visitors may climb to the top of the tower for a fee of 500 INR, or about US $12. The diameter of the base measures 14.3 meters wide, while the top floor spans 2.75 meters in diameter. Many fine examples of Indian artwork from the late twelfth century C.E. surround the building. A second tower under construction with the plan to surpass the Qutub Minar stopped at about forty feet tall.

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