Alai Darwaza
Ala'i Darwaza (English: Gate of Alauddin) is the southern gateway of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque in Qutb complex, Mehrauli, Delhi, India. Built by Sultan Alauddin Khalji in 1311 and made of red sandstone, it is a square domed gatehouse with arched entrances and houses a single chamber.
| Alai Darwaza | |
|---|---|
| Native name Urdu: علاء دروازه | |
 Alai Darwaza | |
| Location | Qutb Minar complex, Delhi, India |
| Coordinates | 28.5242°N 77.1857°E |
| Built | 1311 |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iv |
| Designated | 1993 (17th session) |
| Part of | Qutb Minar and its monuments |
| State Party |  |
| Region | India |
  Location of Alai Darwaza in India | |
It has a special significance in Indo-Islamic architecture as the first Indian monument to be built using Islamic methods of construction and ornamentation and is a World Heritage Site.[1]
Background
The Alai Darwaza was built by Sultan Alauddin Khalji of the Khalji dynasty in 1311. It was a part of his plan to extend the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque on four sides. Although he planned to construct four gates, only the Alai Darwaza could be completed as he died in 1316.[2] It serves as the southern gateway of the mosque.[1] It is located at the southern part of the Qutb complex.[2]
In 1993, the Darwaza and the other monuments of the complex were designated a World Heritage Site.[3]
Architecture
The Alai Darwaza is made up of a single hall whose interior part measures 34.5 feet (10.5 m) and exterior part measures 56.5 feet (17.2 m).[2] It is 60 feet (18 m) tall and the walls are 11 feet (3.4 m) thick.[4]
The gatehouse, from 1311, still shows a cautious approach to the new technology, with very thick walls and a shallow dome, only visible from a certain distance or height. Bold contrasting colours of masonry, with red sandstone and white marble, introduce what was to become a common feature of Indo-Islamic architecture, substituting for the polychrome tiles used in Persia and Central Asia. The pointed arches come together slightly at their base, giving a mild horseshoe arch effect, and their internal edges are not cusped but lined with conventionalized "spearhead" projections, possibly representing lotus buds. Net, stone openwork screens, are introduced here; they already had been long used in temples.[5]
The height of the dome is 47 feet (14 m).[2] It is the first true dome built in India, as previous attempts to construct a true dome were not successful.[2]
The entire Darwaza is made up of red sandstone with white coloured marbles inlaid on the exterior walls.[6] There is extensive Arabic calligraphy on the walls of the Darwaza. The arches are horseshoe shaped,[4] the first time such arches were used in India. The façade has pre-Turkish carvings and patterns.[2] The windows have marble lattices. Surface decoration consists of interweaved floral tendrils and is repeated with a symmetry on three doorways.[2][7]
Gallery
Alai Darwaza in 1870s
Alai Darwaza with the Tomb of Imam Zamin at the foreground
Doorway of the darwaza
Window of the darwaza
References
- "Qutb Minar". Archaeological Survey of India. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- Renu Saran (2014). Monuments of India. Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd. ISBN 9789351652984.
- "Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi". UNESCO. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
- Ronald Vivian Smith (2005). The Delhi that No-one Knows. Orient Blackswan. p. 4. ISBN 9788180280207.
- Blair, Sheila, and Bloom, Jonathan M., The Art and Architecture of Islam, 1250–1800, p. 151, 1995, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, ISBN 0300064659
- Ghulam Sarwar Khan Niazi (1992). The Life and Works of Sultan Alauddin Khalji. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 144. ISBN 9788171563623.
- Margaret Prosser Allen (1991). Ornament in Indian Architecture. University of Delaware Press. p. 144. ISBN 9780874133998.
