Information on Old Fort of Delhi (Purana Qila) (New Delhi) - History & Architecture

The old fort of Delhi is also known as the Purana Quila and is one of the oldest forts in Delhi. It is supposed to be the oldest form of known structure of its kind in Delhi. It was reconstructed on the similar spot by the popular Afghan king, Sher Shah Suri. The location of the old fort or the Purana Quila is supposed to be shared by the much respected and holy Indraprastha, which was supposed to be the capital city of the famous Pandavas. Sher Shah Suri erected the fortress along with quite a wide city-area around it. It appeared that the old fort remained unfinished even at the death of the king in the year 1545 and therefore was possibly finished by his successor and son Islam Shah.

Old Fort of Delhi (Purana Qila) Architecture

The old Delhi fort is almost rectangular in terms of shape and is known to encompass a path of about two kilometres. It was built based on Mughal form of architecture and remains as substantiation of the Mughal art glory. The fort walls soar to an altitude of 18 metres and are spread wide over an area of 1.5 kilometres. The fort includes three major entrances namely, the Bada Darwaza which is towards the west. This entrance is still being used and regarded as the main way in to the old fort till date. The gate towards the South is referred to as the Humayun Gate. The third and the final gate is known as the Talaqi Gate which also means the prohibited gate. All the mentioned three gates are double storeyed and were constructed with sandstone. The gates are encircled with two huge towers that are hemispherical in shape and are further ornamented with decorations made with tinted marble and blue tile art. The North as well as the South Gates of the old fort houses attractive chattris, porches and balconies which greatly contributes toward the sumptuousness of the old fort.

Old Fort of Delhi (Purana Qila) History

The old fort of Delhi is supposed to be in place of the antique mound, probably believed to be the wreck of the Indraprastha city mentioned in the Mahabharata. It is basically asymmetrically rectangle on sketch, with citadels situated along the western part of the wall and around the corners. The old fort or the Purana Quila formerly rested on the river banks of Yamuna. The Humayun's tomb is quite noticeable from the Humayun's gate in the fort which remains to be an interesting fact.

There are a few significant monuments situated inside the area of the fort and they are the Qila-i-Kuhna Mosque and Sher Mandal. The Sher Mandal was constructed by Sher Shah which was believed to be one of the earliest observatory towers in Delhi. After Humayun regained his authority and rule on the fort, he got the Sher Mandal altered into his library along with still being an observatory tower. The Sher Mandal is of immense historical importance as this where Humayun met with his disastrous death. Humayun was learnt to have fallen from the second storey of Sher Mandal while rushing for his evening prayers. The Qila-i-Kuhna Mosque is believed to be included amongst the most excellent instances pertaining to pre Mughal form of architecture. According to the legend the fort was considered to be ill-fated for the rulers functioning from there.

Old Fort of Delhi (Purana Qila) Tourism Significance

The enormity and the feeling of lavish majesty of the fort draws mammoth crowd from across the globe. A light and sound show is conducted at the fort in order to unfold the story of Delhi, of the place which witnessed the rise as well as fall of a grand empire and lastly of a city with unexplained eternity with a regal and grandiose past. The show of light and sound is a major tourist attraction which pulls quite significant amount of crowd to the fort.