Derawar Fort, Pakistan

Derawar Fort is a large square fortress in Pakistan near Bahawalpur. The forty bastions of Derawar are visible for many miles in Cholistan Desert. The walls have a circumference of 1500 metres and stand up to thirty metres high.The first fort on the site was built by Hindu Rajput, Rai Jajja Bhati of Jaisalmer. It remained in the hands of the royal family of Jaisalmer until captured and completely rebuilt by the nawabs of Bahawalpur in 1733. In 1747, the fort slipped from the hands of the Abbasis owing to Bahawal Khan's preoccupations at Shikarpur. Nawab Mubarak Khan took the stronghold back in 1804.

The nearby mosque was modelled after that in the Red Fort of Delhi. There is also a royal necropolis of the Abbasi family, which still owns the stronghold. The area is rich in archaeological artifacts associated with Ganweriwala, a vast but as-yet-unexcavated city of the Indus Valley Civilization.

 Images:

Qutub Minar, Delhi

Qutub Minar also Qutb Minar, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Delhi, India.The Qutub Minar was constructed with red sandstone and marble, and is the tallest minaret in India,with a height of 72.5 meters (237.8 ft), 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. Qutub Minar is the pride of Delhi. The tall minaret was constructed in 1192 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak, and later completed by his successor Iltutmish. The soaring conical tower is an exquisite example of Indo-Islamic Afghan architecture.

Images:

Ajantha & Ellora caves

Ajantha & Ellora are 28 – 30 rock-cut cave monuments created during the first century BC and 5th century AD, containing paintings and sculptures considered to be masterpieces of both Buddhist religious art and universal pictorial art. The caves are located just outside the village of Ajantha / Ellora in Aurangabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.The caves were built in two phases starting around 2nd century BCE, with the second group of caves built around 600 CE. Caves are only about 59 kilometers from Jalgaon Railway station (on Delhi - Mumbai, Rail line of the Central railways, India); and 104 kilometers from Aurangabad (from Ellora Caves 100 Kilometers).

Images:

More Topics:

Kerala

Rajasthan

Se Cathedral, Goa

Golden Temple

Gol Gumbaz, Karnataka

Ellora temples in Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Buland Darwaza, Gujarat