QUTUB
MINAR - ART AND CULTURE
News:
Qutub Minar turns into
Burj Khalifa every night. It becomes a screen for Indian culture
What's
in the news?
●
Delhi's Qutub Minar, one of the historic
landmarks in Delhi has been adorned with vibrant lights, highlighting the pride
and unity of the nation.
Qutb
Minar:
●
Qutb Minar was built in the early 13th century a few kilometres south of
Delhi.
Features:
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It is a five-storeyed red sandstone tower built by Muslim conquerors for
commemorate their final triumph over the Rajput rulers of Delhi (Qutub means
victory), while also serving as a tower from where muezzins (criers) call for
prayer at the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque nearby.
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The red sandstone tower of Qutb Minar is
72.5 m high, tapering from 2.75 m in diameter at its peak to 14.32 m at its
base to give calls for prayer.
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Its surrounding contains Alai-Darwaza Gate, the masterpiece of
Indo-Muslim art (built in 1311).
Constructed
by:
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The building process of Qutub Minar took a
long time (about 75 years).
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Its construction was started by Qutub-ud-din Aibak in 1193 and finished by Iltutmish.
Uniqueness:
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The minar (tower) is engraved with fine
arabesque decorations on its surface, mainly verses from the Quran.
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Ibn Battuta, the famous fourteenth-century
Moroccan traveller, a judge during the time of Mohammed Bin Tughlaq and a
caretaker of the complex for a while, was awed by ‘…the minaret, which has no
parallel in the lands of Islam’.
●
Qutub Minar and its monuments were
declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site
in 1993.