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Siri Fort |
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| Siri is the second city of Delhi and was built
by Sultan Alaud-Din Khilji in about 1303, to the north of Mehrauli.
The few remains of the city can be seen in the Siri Fort complex
near the Asian Games Village area, east of Hauz Khas. Visitors
can reach the fort complex by either taking the Khel Gaon Marg
on the west or Josip Broz Tito Marg on the east. High Rubble-built
walls in stretches in the southern direction and western direction,
some bastions and flame-shaped battlements are all that are
left of the strong fortress city today which compelled ferocious
fighters like the Mongols to accept defeat. The city derives
its name from the Hindi word sir meaning head because about
8000 heads of Mongol soldiers were buried in the walls of the
city. |
| The city was built on a large scale with palaces
and other structures and had seven gates for the people to enter
or exit the city. Though no remains of the structures have been
found except the southeastern gate but it is said that the main
palace of the fort was very beautiful and profusely decorated
with precious gems and expensive stones. There are also some
dilapidated structures belonging to the Khilji period in the
Shahpur Jat village on the west. Among them the most popular
is the ruins of Tohfewala Gumbad Masjid. The domed central apartment
and the sloping wall of the mosque are the structures left for
the visitor to admire the architectural style of the Khiljis. |
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Tughlaqabad |
| Ghazi Malik, famous as Ghiyas-ud-din, founded
the Tughlaq Dynasty in 1321 AD. He built the strongest fort
in Delhi at Tughlaqabad, which was completed a great speed of
four years of his rule. Tughlaqabad is the third city of Delhi.
The fort has slanting walls, double-storeyed bastions, gigantic
towers, palaces, mosques and audience halls. It was deserted
soon after the death of Ghiyas-ud-Din probably because of scarcity
of water or because of the new capital built by Mohammad Bin
Tughlaq. |
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