Suraj Pal's descendent, Anangpal, often described as the founder of Delhi, built the citadel of Lal Kot, some 10 kilometres from Suraj Kund. The kingdom of Delhi was captured by the Chauhan Rajputs in the 12th century. Prithviraj III built massive ramparts around the area and called it Quila Rai Pithora. They were later demolished by the slave kings and Lal Kot became the site of the first mosque in India - Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid.

Immediately after the defeat of Prithvi Raj Chauhan, Qutbud-din Aibak captured Delhi in 1193 andcommenced the construction of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid. The masjid was built with the material salvaged from the demolition of 27 Hindu and Jain temples. His successor Iltutmish, later doubled the size of the mosque in 1230 by extending the colonnade and prayer hall outside the original enclosure. He errected a beautifully carved stone screen in front of the prayer hall, with arabesque ornamentations and koranic inscriptions. Later Alauddin Khilji in 1300 added a court to the east and the magnificient Alai Darwaza gateway. There also stands the Alai Minar, the unfinished tower started by Alaudin who wanted to build it twice as high as the famous Qutab Minar.

Standing some what incongrously in the centre of the great courtyard of the mosque is the tapering 72m long Iron Pillar. It is believed that Anangpal, the Tomar king, brought it here. Composed of pure malleable iron, the pillar is impervious to rust and testifies to the metallurgical skill of the craftsmen of ancient India.

The second city of Delhi was established during the reign of Alaudin Khilji (present Asian Games Village Complex) in the 12th century. Nearby, the Sultan also excavated a great Hauz, a reservoir for the citizens in 1303, which is today known as the Hauz Khas. This large tank then known as Hauz-i-alai was later cleaned and repaired by Firoz Shah Tughlak, who built a college on the south and west banks.

On the east of Qutab Minar are the massive strong walls of Tughlakabad, the third city of Delhi. Standing on a rocky platform, with scarped sides, sloping bastions and upper line of the battlements, Tughlakabad is one of the most striking ruins of Delhi. And visitors are easily awed by its grandeur. Inside the tomb there are three graves of Ghiasuddin Tughlak, his son and his wife.

Replete with history is the abandoned capital of Ferozabad, the fifth city of Delhi of which only broken remains pay a silent homage to a bygone era. Errected by Feroz Shah Tughlak in 1354 the ruins of Ferozabad was the fifth city of Delhi. Now it is just a pile of crumbling `brick and stone'. The most remarkable feature of the complex isthe tapering 14m high monolithic Ashoka Pillar made of polished sandstone. It consistsof four inscriptions in Brahmi and carries Ashoka's message of goodwill to his subjects.

The glories of Ferozabad did not last long and within ten years of Feroz Shah's death the town was totally destroyed.

A few miles to the north is the tomb is the tomb of the second Mughal Emperor Humayun - the Humayun's Tomb.A rose petal sandstone mausoleum built in proper Mughal style is a beautiful memorial to the poet king. Laid in the centre of a large walled enclosure, the monument is approached from four sides by paved stone paths which divide the garden into four squares.

One does not have to go far to see the Old Fort or Purana Quila standing stoically amidst wild greenary and disintegrating ramparts. Built on the site of the most ancient of the numerous cities of Delhi, Indraprastha, the Purana Quila is roughly rectangular in shape having a circuit of nearly two kilometres. The walls are thick. The three gateways are provided with bastions on either side. The northern gateway called the Talaqui Darwaza or the forbidden gateway, combines the typically Islamic pointed arch with Hindu chhattris and brackets. Whereas the southern gateway, called the Humayun Darwaza, had a similar parel with elephants. The massive gateways and walls of Purana Quila were built by Humayun who laid the first brick of his new capital Dinapanah in 1534. A few buildings in the complex were built by Sher Shah, who defeated Humayun in 1540. Busy traffic runs along this ancient defensive wall built by Sher Shah Suri.

The sixth city of Delhi was built by the Sayyid Lodi dynasties. The only evidence of the sixth city are the tombs, mosques and monuments now enclosed within Lodi Gardens.

Of far greater significance is Shahjahanabad, Shah Jahan's Old Delhi, the seventh city of Delhi. It attracts many tourists on account of its grand proportions and splendid constructions in red sand stone. The grandiose city walls today give a picturesque setting to motorways that weave in and out through its massive gateways. Out of 14 gates, we have today just five known as - Delhi Gate, Kashmere Gate, Ajmeri Gate, Turkman Gate and Lahori Gate.

A short stroll down Parliament Street from Connaught Place, is a strange collection of salmon-coloured structures called Jantar Mantar. It consists of several strange looking constructions which are infact very accurately and scientifically devised astronomical instruments for carrying out an organised study of celestial bodies in absence of the telescope. It is dominated by a huge sundial known as the Prince of Dials.Other instruments plot the course of heavenly bodies, the paths of stars and predict eclipses.

Also known as the Yantra Mandir, Jantar Mantar was built by Sawai Jai Singh II, Raja of Amber. It is said that the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah had entrusted Maharaja Jai Singh with the task of revising the calendar. Jai Singh made observations for 7 years and built this observatory in 1725.

Jantar Mantar contains four chief instruments - the Samrat Yantra, the Ram Yantra, the Jai Prakash and the Misra Yantra. The Samrat Yantra is the chief instrument which can measure the time of day correct to half a second. The Ram Yantra determines the position of the sun and also those of moon, planets and stars. The Jai Prakash gives local time, the sun's declination and the zodical sign or group of the stars on the meridian. To the north of the Samrat Yantra is the Misra Yantra which combines four instruments into one.

Down the road from Humayun's Tomb lies the mausoleum of Safdarjang, the second Nawab of Avadh. Situated on a high terrace faced with arched openings leading to series of cells on the inside, the Safdarjang's Tomb is often described as the `Last flicker of Mughal Architecture in India'.

Built by Nawab Shija-ud-Daula, the tomb has spacious pavilions with ceilings ornamented with incised and painted plaster. The polygonal towers are inlaid with marble. The building is topped with a bulbous marble dome on a 16 sided drum. The various chambers, Moti Mahal, Badshah Pasand and Jangli Mahal were used by Shija-ud-Daula and his family as their Delhi residence.

Finally, the eighth Delhi, New Delhi was constructed by the British in the 18th Century. The architects, Sir Edward Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker choose a style that was classical, yet not Indian nor English or Roman but was Imperial.

Lutyen's Delhi, 5kms south west of Shahjahan's Old Delhi, sets the pace for New Delhi's well planned residential districts. Stretching out like giant tentacles, the city's outskirts have spread out many miles and vast industrial townships and urban dwellings have sprung up. Delhi of today has developed far beyond the vision of past builders.

Thoroughly colonial but with a strong eastern accent, Edward Lutyen transferred his dreams into reality. The circular Parliament House, grandiose Rashtrapati Bhawan and Secretariat in red and buff sandstone are reminders of a too distant past. Situated on an elevation, the Rashtrapati Bhawan is today the official residence of the President of India. Built in imperial style, it is august and imposing yet also supremely serene. On the west, the palace overlooks the raised and terraced Mughal Gardens.

The mainson itself stands on four and a half acres of land, with 340 rooms and 12 separate courtyards. It contains a circular Durbar Hall with a throne, a state dining room 30.5 metres long, a huge bathroom, three state drawing rooms and numerous state suites and great bedrooms, besides private quarters for the Viceroy and his family.

On the west, the palace overlooks the raised and terraced Mughal Gardens. The main entrance to the complex is guarded by an intricately fashioned wrought iron grille as well as buff sandstone elephants atop stone pillars and colourful bodyguards set within stone aedicules. Between the gates and the mansion stretches the 350.5 metre long forecourt, lined with fountains, trees and rows of red sandstone. Britanic lion's guarding the lateral entrances.

On the either side of the central vista leading up from Rajpath to Rashtrapati Bhawan, are the two blocks of the Secretarial Buildings. Each block has been designed differently. While the North Block has a high domed octagonal hall faced with marble and decorated with carved stone jaalis and Indian heraldic devices. Whereas, the South Block is an intricate labyrinth of vaulted staircases leading to an imposing domed conference room flanked by libraries and reception rooms.

Further east from the Secretarial Building lies the All India War Memorial Arch, now known as the India Gate. Designed by Lutyen, India Gate was raised in the memory of the 90,000 Indian soldiers killed during World War-I. On the arch itself are inscribed the names of the 13,516 British and Indian Officers who died in the North West Frontier and the Third Afghan war. Nowadays it has also become a memorial to the unknown soldier and is a popular evening spot.

The Parliament House also known as the Sansad Bhawan stands at the end of the Sansad Marg. This circular colonnaded building, 171m in diameter, has housed the Indian Parliament since 1947. The Sansad Bhawan also houses ministerial offices, numerous committee rooms and an excellent library as well. Conceived in the Imperial style, the Parliament House consists of an open verandah with 144 columns. The domed circular central hall with oak panelled walls and the 3 semi circular buildings is used for the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha meetings.

In South Delhi is another marvel, the Bahai Temple. A distinctive lotus shaped wonder in marble, is often called as the Taj Mahal of the 21st century. The lotus, inseparably associated with worship and religion, the symbol of beauty and purity, enshrining the idea of light and growth, was motivating inspiration for the architect's design. The temple consists of a prayer hall, a library, a reception centre and offices. All around the lotus are walkways which surround the nine pools representing the floating leaves of the lotus.

Delhi has lots to offer to its visitors. It is infact a paradise for the archaeologists and the lovers of art.

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