magstravs: Qutb Minar and around

There were five muslim dynasties ruling Dehli before the Moghuls. These were
                      Mamluk       1206-1290
                      Khalji           1290-1321
                      Tughluq       1321-1414
                      Sayyid         1414-1444
                      Lodi             1451-1526.
Qutbu'd Din conquered Dehli in 1193 altough he only declared himself Sultan in 1206. However immediatly on conquering he laid waste Hindu Temples and re-ued their columns to make the Quwwatu'l-Islam ("the might of Islam") mosque which was completed in 1198. The next year he ordered the building of the Qutb Minar,seemingly as a victory tower.
The Qutb Minar is the tallest stone tower in India at 72.5m just 5' less than the Taj Mahal. The first three floors are in the original design in sandstone with bands of aligned fluting although differing as to whether rounded or angular. The original Minar was 4 stories but it was damaged by lightning strikes in1326 and 1368 and Firuz #tughluq the then Sultan had it rplaced with two stories of marble standing on the 4th storey base.
So these monuments are the oldest islamic buildings in India. There are later additions various tombs, a madrassa, the ruined walls of the raised Hindu city of Lal--kot and , strangely a 4C iron pillar brought to the site from some unidentified and distant city.
The whole site although obviously very historically important is also very beautiful and home to many eagles ~which always flew out of the picture before the camera clicked It was raining steady drizzle although it dried up halfway through the visit so Beloved and I were wearing twin red kagoules. These must be a novelty in India because we were constantly approached by children from the school party visiting seeking,if they had a camera,to have their picture taken with us, or if not, to have me take their picture. They ignored the other foreigners so it must have been the kagoules..