India - New Delhi

Pushkar Sabharwal - India - 25.04.2012

Qutub Minar, Delhi - India

Qutub Minar was constructed with red sandstone and marble, and is the tallest minaret in India, with a height of 72.5 meters, contains 379 stairs to reach the top, and the diameter of base is 14.3 meters whereas the last store is of 2.7 meters. The Construction was commenced by Qutb-ud-din Aibak in 1192 and completed by Iltutmish. Qutb-ud-din Aibak destroyed 27 Hindu and Jain temples and reused the building materials for construction of Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque and the Qutub Minar according to a Persian inscription still on the inner eastern gateway. It is surrounded by several other ancient and medieval structures and ruins, collectively known as Qutub complex. Tradition assigns the erection of the Pillar to Anang Pal, whose name it bears, with the date 1052 A.D.

UNESCO World Heritage Site