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Alai Minar

Alai Minar
Courtesy - Flickr
Historical & Heritage
4.5 / 5
  • Timings : 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM
  • Entry Fee : Rs. 50/- for Indian Visitors and Rs. 600/- for Foreign Visitors
  • My Holiday HappinessDistance from near by city 30.2 KMs From Delhi
  • My Holiday HappinessTrip duration (including travel in hours)3 - 4 Hours
  • My Holiday HappinessTransportation OptionsSedan - AC (4+1), SUV - AC (7+1), Tempo Traveller - AC (12+1)
  • My Holiday HappinessTravel Tips None

The famous Qutub complex in South Delhi has the Alai Minar as part of it. This may be the only unfinished monument in Delhi. Despite its incomplete state, people have been visiting it for hundreds of years. They believe that Alai Minar has existed since the 1800s. Alai Minar is a beautiful monument among the Places to visit in Delhi.

What is the history of Alai Minar?

Sultan Ala-Ud-Din Khilji was a leader with too many goals. After winning a fight on one of his trips through the Deccan, he was so angry that he built this monument. He wanted to make this monument to show that he had won.

The Sultan was too eager to succeed, so he built a building that might be twice as tall as Qutub Minar. His building had to be very tall so that everyone in the world could see how beautiful and brave the Sultan was. He wanted to make a great work of art, and he wanted everyone to know that this huge work of art was the Sultan's work. The beautiful design makes it one of the must-visit places during the DELHI TOUR PACKAGE.

Architecture

In line with the Sultan's plan, he started building the monument. The king or queen wanted to expand the walled Masjid Quwwat-Ul-Islam to four times its original size. They built entrance gates on both sides of the mosque to fulfill the Sultan's wish. He told them that their building had to be taller than this mosque and have his name on it, so Alai Minar was created. The construction began according to the Sultan's plan.

The first floor of the Alai Minar was 24.5 meters high. Sultan died just as the first floor was finished, which meant that work on the Minar had to stop. The Minar reflects the bold spirit of the Sultan. No matter how hard the Sultan tried, his building could never compare to Qutub Minar.

Why was Alai Minar not completed?

Sultan Alauddin Khilji's death in 1316 left the Alai Minar in Delhi incomplete. He envisioned it to be twice the height of the Qutub Minar, but after his death, construction halted, and his successors did not continue the project, leaving only its base.

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