Majestic Historical Monuments of India-Part 1

India is one of the most elegant countries in the world which is best known for its colorful culture, traditions, rich heritage, temples, churches, forts, and palaces. India with a rich history of about thousands of years has the most famous historical monuments spread across the country. During the Mughal ruling period, many forts, museums, palaces, and minarets were built in the north. In the south, we are having more historical temples which are not lower than forts. In the west, there are huge palaces that show the royalty of Rajasthan and Jaipur. Some of the majestic monuments of India include the Taj Mahal, Charminar, Red Fort, Qutab Minar, and Jantar and Mantar. In this article, we will discuss the first three important monuments of India and some interesting facts about it.

1. Taj Mahal Situated in Agra

The Taj Mahal becomes the Queen of all Indian historical Places. This most beautiful monument is constructed in the 17^th Century with white marble and is situated at the bank of the holy river Yamuna, in the Uttar Pradesh state, Agra District. In 1983, it was named as UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan was built the Taj Mahal in memory of his third wife Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz died while she was giving birth to their 14^th Child.  This monument is a testimony to love and it is stunning to see even after many years. It is one of the wonders of the world and also one of the prides of India which is to be visited. In Persia language, the Taj Mahal Stands for “Crown of Palaces”. The water channels and fountains are found at the entrance, which makes the monument more outstanding. This majestic monument is reflected in the river Yamuna and it seems to be almost poetic by its nature.

Interesting Facts about the Taj Mahal

• Even though it is built by a Mughal empire, the architecture combines the Islamic, Persian and Indian styles.
• The construction of the Taj Mahal was commissioned in the year 1632 and it was completed 1653 which took 22 Years.
• The Taj Mahal was built by around 22000 Labourers, artisans, and craftsmen under the supervision of Ustad Ahmed Shah Lahauri, a chief architect.
• To transport heavy materials and other items for construction over 1000 elephants were used.
• As time changes in a day, the monument also has changing hues. In the morning it will have a pinkish hue, evening it will be in milky white and when illuminated by moonlight it will have a golden hue.
• The cost of the Building is around 32 Million  Indian rupees and every year it is visited by almost 8 Million Visitors.
• 28 types of Jewels fixed in the marbles.

2. Red Fort Situated at Delhi

The Red Fort is one of the most prevalent forts in India, and it was constructed during the period of Shah Jahan. Later, it became the residence of Mughal Emperors for over 200 years. The Red Fort was constructed from 1638 to 1648, over 10 years of duration. When Shah Jahan shifted his capital from Agra to Delhi, he built this fort and it is also called Qila-e-Mubarak. It has been one of the national heritages of India. There are two entrances in the Red fort. They are Lahori Gate and Delhi Gate. The main entrance is the Lahori Gate and it is named as it is towards Lahore City. The Delhi gate is used as a public entrance to the Red Fort.

Interesting Facts about Red Fort

• The Indian Flag was hoisted by Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in 1947. Till today on every Independence day, Red Fort is used for Prime Minister’s Address to the nation.
• The Creativity and the architectural intelligence of Mughal emperors can be seen from the entire fort complex.
• Actually, the Red Fort is made up of limestones and it is White in color. But, later the British painted it red as the limestone started chipping off.
• The two pioneer architects involved in the construction are Ustad Hamid and Ustad Ahmed.
• Rang Mahal is another important architecture within the complex. It was mainly built for Emperor’s Wives and Mistresses. The name originally means “Palace of Colours”.
• The Kohinoor diamond constitutes as a part of Shah Jahan’s Throne.
• The shape of the fort is Octagonal and it was spread over 256 acres.

3. Qutub Minar Located at Delhi

Qutub Minar in Arabic means pole or axis. In Delhi’s Crown jewel, a Qutub Minar is a 72.5 meters monument which makes it as the tallest brick minaret in the world. Inside the tower, it has 329 stairs which lead to the top. Despite our belief, the Qutub Minar is not a single minaret. It was surrounded by a number of historical monuments such as, an iron pillar, Mosques, Tombs, Sundial, etc, which are together called ‘Qutub Complex’. The magnificent and tall tower was built by Qutb-ud-din Aibak. The construction is based on the Indo-Islamic Architectural Style and it is made up of redstones along with marbles. Let us see some interesting facts about Qutub Minar, which you might not be realized still.

Interesting Facts about Qutub Minar

• The Qutub Minar is one of the world’s tallest towers and constitutes the second-largest Minar in  India.
• The historical monuments such as the Tomb of Iltutmish, the Iron pillar of Delhi, and Alai Minar are housed by Qutub Minar.
• The diameter at the base is 14.32 meters and at the top, the diameter is 2.75 meters.
• The public is allowed to reach the top of the Minar in the year 1974.
• In the year 1981, on 4th December, around 45 people were killed in the stampede due to electricity failure.
• The iron pillar present in the Qutub Complex is stood rust free for the last 2000 years.
• In the 14th Century, the second victory tower was aimed to build by Alauddin Khilji, but unfortunately, the construction is stopped at 27 meters soon after his death.

Thus, in this article, the three most important historical monuments of India and some of the unknown facts about it have been exemplified in detail. Further, the details about other majestic monuments of India will be explained in the next part.