UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES

• Recently, steep stairways and wooden ramps among other changes have been brought at the World Heritage Site of Qutub Minar that will make the place accessible for disabled and the elderly.
• Humayun’s Tomb (1993) and Red Fort Complex (2007) are other world heritage monuments in Delhi.

Important points:

• It is a five-storeyed red sandstone tower (72.5 m high) built by Muslim conquerors in the thirteenth century to commemorate their final triumph over the Rajput rulers of Delhi (Qutub means victory), while also serving as a tower from where muezzins (criers) call for prayer at the Quwwatu’l-Islam mosque nearby.
• A 7 m-high iron pillar stands in the courtyard of the mosque.
• Its surrounding contains Alai-Darwaza Gate, the masterpiece of Indo-Muslim art (built in 1311).
• The building process of Qutub Minar took about 75 years. Its construction was started by Qutub-ud-din Aibak (1206-1210) in 1193 and finished by Iltutmish (1211-1236).
• In 1368, it was repaired by the rulers of the day, Muhammad-bin-Tughluq (1325-51) and Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351-88).
• The minar (tower) is engraved with fine arabesque decorations on its surface, mainly verses from the Quran.
• Qutub Minar and its monuments were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT