Attractions of New Delhi
India Gate
The India Gate is a war memorial located astride the Rajpath, on the eastern edge of the “ceremonial axis” of New Delhi, formerly called Kingsway. It stands as a memorial to 90,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died between 1914 and 1921 in the First World War, in France, Flanders, Mesopotamia, Persia, East Africa, Gallipoli and elsewhere in the Near and the Far East, and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. 13,300 servicemen’s names, including some soldiers and officers from the United Kingdom, are inscribed on the gate. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the gate evokes the architectural style of the memorial arch such as the Arch of Constantine, in Rome, and is often compared to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and the Gateway of India in Mumbai.
Qutub Minar
The Qutub Minar, also spelled as Qutb Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and “victory tower” that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of South Delhi, India. It is one of most visited tourist spots in the city due to it being one of the earliest that survives in the Indian subcontinent.
It can be compared to the 62-metre all-brick Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, of c. 1190, which was constructed a decade or so before the probable start of the Delhi tower. The surfaces of both are elaborately decorated with inscriptions and geometric patterns. The Qutb Minar has a shaft that is fluted with “superb stalactite bracketing under the balconies” at the top of each stage. In general, minarets were slow to be used in India and are often detached from the main mosque where they exist.
Hauz Khaz Village
Hauz Khas is a neighborhood in South Delhi, its heart being the historic Hauz Khas Complex. Well known in medieval times, the Hauz Khas village has amazing buildings built around the reservoir. There are remnants of Islamic architecture roughly colored by splotches of urban culture. It is centrally located and offers both rural Hauz Khas Village and urban Hauz Khas Enclave, Market environments. Hauz Khas is surrounded by Green Park, SDA (Sri Aurobindo Marg) to the west, Gulmohar Park (Balbir Saxena Marg) towards the north, Sarvapriya Vihar (Outer Ring Road) towards the south and Asiad Village (August Kranti Marg) and Siri Fort to the east.
Hauz Khas is also home to various diplomatic missions such as the ones of Albania, Iraq, Guinea Bissau, Burundi, and North Macedonia. Historically Hauz Khas was known as Hauz-e-Alai and is the place where Khusro Khan of Delhi Sultanate was defeated by Ghazi Malik (Governor of Dipalpur) in 1320.