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Feroz Shah Kotla
Location:Near the famous
Feroz Shah Kotla Cricket Stadium, off Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, between
old Delhi and New Delhi
Time to visit:
Open on all days
Timings: Sunrise to sunset
Admission Fee: Foreigners:
INR 100/ citizens: INR 5, open to all, avoid prayer timings.
How to Reach: Tourists can
either take local buses from various points within the city to reach this
monument, which is located between old Delhi and New Delhi, or they can
hire auto-rickshaws and taxis or take the metro rail. Nearest Railway Station:
Old Delhi Railway Station
Nearest Metro Station: New
Delhi Station
Functional Metro Station:New
Delhi Station
Nearest International Airport:
Indira Gandhi International Airport
Located near the famous
Feroz Shah Kotla Cricket Stadium, off Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Feroz Shah
Kotla was the imposing citadel of Ferozabad, the Fifth city of Delhi. The
great builder and Emperor Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351-88), nephew of Ghiyasuddin
Tughlaq and successor of Muhammad Tughlaq built the city of Ferozabad with
its citadel in 1354. It is said that this city was spread over a very large
area, extending from Hauz-Khas in the southwest to Pir Ghaib in the north,
where there is a hunting lodge built by Feroz Shah |
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Designed by Malik Ghazi and
Abdul Hakk, Feroz Shah Kotla was then popularly known as Kushk-I-Feroz,
which meant Feroz's palace. Consisting of three rubble-built walled rectangular
enclosures, it forms an irregular polygonal plan with its eastern wall
in one alignment. The eastern wall of the citadel was built on a bank of
the River Yamuna. It is said that Feroz Shah erected this citadel here
in spite of having three palaces in Delhi because of the shortage of water
in those areas.
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Among the three enclosures
of the citadel, the central one is the largest and is presently called
as 'Kotla Feroz Shah' as one can only find the ruins of the northern and
southern enclosures amidst the modern constructions. The central enclosure
had an imposing main gateway from the western direction and bastions on
either side flanked it, the ruins of which can be seen even today. Often
compared to the 'Windsor Palace of London', Timur was spell bound with
the beauty of the palace. The palace was finally abandoned in the year
1490 AD. |
Structures within Feroz Shah
Kotla
Presently nothing much survives
in and around this once beautiful palace, which has now been developed
as a beautiful garden, as the successive rulers used most of its ruins
for the construction of later cities in Delhi. However, the remaining structures
are still so interesting that it is among the favorite tourist destinations
of the capital.
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Ashokan Pillar
of 3rd Century BC
Located north of Jami Masjid
in the citadel stands the 13 meters high sandstone Ashokan Pillar on a
rubble-built three-tired pyramidal structure. Feroz Shah Tughlaq brought
this 27 tonne pillar to Delhi from Topar in Ambala, where the great Emperor
Ashoka erected it. The pillar is similar to the one fixed on the ridge,
which was also brought by Feroz Shah. The transportation of both the pillars
were done with much care and precautions to avoid any damage. The pillar
has seven main inscriptions or edicts of Emperor Ashoka, apart from some
figures and many minor inscriptions. Written in Brahmi script in the Pali
language, James Prinsep first deciphered the edicts in 1837. |
Like all Ashokan Pillars, this
pillar also served the purpose of spreading Buddhism and its doctrines
among the people. Though made of sandstone, the pillar was so polished
that till date it looks as if it is made up of some metal. The pillar was
later called as Minar-i-Zarin as Feroz Shah ornamented the pillar during
his reign. The best time to see the pillar is in the afternoon on a bright
day as the pillar glitters like gold when the suns rays fall on it.
Jami Masjid
The southern and western
walls with the gateway today are the surviing remnants of one of the largest
mosques of the Tughlaq period, the Jami Masjid. Located just next to the
Ashokan Pillar, the mosque rests on a series of cells on the ground and
is still in use. Built of local quartzite stone, the prayer hall and cloisters
on the sides of the courtyard, which were used by the royal ladies have
all disappeared. The mosque has its entrance from the northern direction
and was once connected to the pyramidal structure by a bridge. It is said
that there is also an entrance to the mosque from the underground cells.
Originally covered with lime plaster, Timur visited the mosque to say his
prayers in 1398 AD. He was so impressed by its beauty that he erected a
similar mosque at Samarkand in Iran. Later in 1759 AD, Emadul Mulk, the
prime minister of the Mughal Emperor Alamgir Sani murdered his emperor
here.
DDCD
Cricket Club Delhi....
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Baoli and other structures
Located northwest of the
Ashokan pillar, just in the center of the garden is a fine large circular
baoli or step well. The baoli has subterranean apartments. It has a large
underground drain for the water towards its eastern side. Like all other
baolis, this baoli also served as a cool retreat in summer and was used
by persons of royal lineage.
Apart from these monuments
there are ruins of many other structures, which have not been identified
as yet, because of their present dilapidated shape. For example the foundation
structure of a square hall to the north of Jami Mosque and behind Ashokan
Pillar, the southern most building of central the enclosure where one can
find mosaic work and many more.
Nearby Tourist Attractions
Khuni Darwaza, Red Fort,
Chandni Chowk, Salimgarh Fort, St James Church and Rajghat. |
Nearby Places to Eat
Karim Hotel, Ghantewala
sweet shop, food stalls near Jama Masjid, Paranthewali Gali, Natraj hotel,
Chor Bizarre at Broadway Hotel, Daryaganj's Flora, Peshwari, Moti Mahal
Restaurant, Worker's canteen of Inter-State Bus terminal and many roadside
food stalls in Meena Bazaar
.........Back |
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