Red Fort, Delhi
Explore an impressive testimony to Mughal grandeur at Red Fort DelhiRed Fort Delhi, colossal built in red sandstone offers an exciting tour reverberating the grandeur of the Mughals era. Red Fort Tour takes you to the largest of the Old Delhi’s monuments, also known as Lal Quila, which leaves many a visitor bewildered and breathless.
Red fort of Delhi was added in 2007 to UNESCO’s world cultural heritage list. The red fort is the largest building of Delhi and one of the city’s major tourist attractions. Completed after 9 years of construction during 1648, not only does it resemble the fort in Agra, but it was constructed after the Mughal capital shifted from Agra to Delhi. The fort is imposing with its mile-long wall and octagonal form. Up to 1857, it served as the residence for the Mughal Emperors. You will enter the fort through the powerful Lahore Gate and you’ll pass the many souvenir shops that line the route to the old Meena Bazaar, which was operated by the socially higher state women of the Mughal court.
Inside the huge fort you’ll discover various buildings for elephants, numerous palaces, a bath, and a private mosque of the Mughals. In the Diwan-i-Khas, the audience hall of the Great Mughals, you will see the famous peacock throne. Over the entrance, it is written: “If there is a paradise on earth, it is here, here, here” which were the words of the builder, Shah Jahan.
Simple marble domes replaced the copper sheet and precious stones and jewels that once decorated the walls. Lootings during 1739 by the Persian ruler Nadir Shah and in 1857 by the British soldiers contributed to the fort’s current rundown appearance. Every evening a large Sound and Light show takes place at the fort. In honor of the Indian independence, the Prime Minister of India hoists the national flag each year on August 15th.