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If you start thinking about the tallest minaret in the world, which is built of bricks, then the name of Qutub Minar comes first, which is in the Mehrauli area of New Delhi.
Introduction
Qutub Minar, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a minaret with the height of 72.5 meters or 238 feet and it is with the spiral staircase of 379 steps. It was Qutb-ud-din Aibak who started the construction of the Qutub Minar in 1199, and then it was his son-in-law Iltutmish who completed its construction in 1220. Another UNESCO World Heritage Site named Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, with the height of 65 meters or 213 feet and built in 1190, is the closest comparator of the Qutub Minar of Delhi.
A brief history of Qutub Minar
After Qutb-ud-din Aibak started the construction of the first storey of the Qutub Minar, it was his son-in-law named Shamsuddin Iltutmish who completed three more storeys. Due to a lightning strike, the top storey of the Qutub Minar got damaged in 1369, and the damaged storey was replaced by the ruler of that time named Firuz Shah Tughlaq, and he also added one more storey to the Qutub Minar. Qutub Minar was repaired by Sikander Lodi in 1505 after an earthquake damaged it.
People usually think that Qutub Minar is named after Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who started its construction, but according to some sources, it is also possible that the name of Qutub Minar was kept after a 13th-century Sufi saint by the name of Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki because Shamsuddin Iltutmish who constructed three more storeys after the completion of the first storey, was the devotee of Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki. It was in 1993 when Qutub Minar got added to the list of World Heritage Site.
Architecture of Qutub Minar
There are five superposed storeys of Qutub Minar, and the lowest three consist of pale red sandstone, and they have been separated by storeyed balconies and flanges. The fourth storey is of marble, and the fifth one is of sandstone and marble. There are quotations and verses from the Holy Quran inscribed on the walls of the Qutub Minar. There have been many other minarets and towers that came later on, which were built after taking inspiration from the Qutub Minar, and some of the minarets which resemble Qutub Minar include Mini Qutub Minar and Chand Minar.
Why is tower closed for the public?
The general public had access to the first floor of the Qutub Minar before 1976. After 2000, due to suicides, access to the top was forbidden for the public. It is a matter of 4th December 1981 when the staircase lighting failed, and stampede took place for the exit, and in that stampede, there were 400 to 500 visitors out of which some were injured, and 47 visitors were killed. Most of these visitors were school students. Since this incident, the public has no access to the tower, and also the rules regarding entry have been very strict.
Final Point
This Qutub Minar of Delhi, which has a base diameter of 14.3 meters or 47 feet which gets reduced to 2.7 meters or 9 feet at the top because it tapers, has also been one of the favorite places for tourists to visit. Though access to the tower is not allowed but still tourists come here and praise the construction of this beautiful minaret of Delhi.
Also Read – English Words With Hindi Meaning
I’m Mohammad Zahid Hussain, a Content Writer, Spoken English, IELTS and PTE Trainer. I’m also a Professional English-Hindi and Hindi-English Translator, Editor and Proofreader. I’m a graduate from Jamia Millia Islamia University, and I’m here to share my articles on a wide range of topics to help you enhance your insights into various things to provide you with factual information and creative analysis.
