~~~~ Qutub Minar ~~~~

13 km to the south of Connaught Circus at Lalkote of 8th century Tomor Rajputs, the 72.5 m high Victory Pillar stands as a victory stand of a Muslim King Kutub-ud-din-Aibak in India. At Kila Roy Pithora, on the dilapidated fort of the last Hindu king Prithwiraj, this victory stand was made like throne in Gajni. In 1199 Kutub-ud-Din started its construction and it was completed in 1236 by Iltutmish, the son-in-law of Kutub. However, there is a 2nd opinion. Some say, the construction came to an end around 1357-68 during the reign of Feroz Sah Tughlak.
However, the Kutub which was built in Afghan style underwent repairing and remaking for more than occasions. Revolving steps of flights are 367 in number in slightly leaned Kutub. It has some spl features- at its root the radius is being 14.40 m which gradually reduced at its top to 2.44 m. In Kupee language it has been inscribed on Kutub that- The Tower was erected to cast the shadow of God over both East and West. Aayaat from Quran is also inscribed. At the foot of the Minar a Mosque was built in 1197.
The 5 storeyed Qutub Minar is a remarkable instance of sculpture in India. The 1st floor made of sand stone by Kutub, the 2nd & 3rd floors made of sand stone by Iltutmis and the 4th and 5th in both sand stone and marble by Feroz Shah Tughlok in 1368.
However, the earthquake of 1803 destroyed it , in 1829 British Major Robert Smith re-built the tomb. Later the tomb was brought down from the Minar and reset it in the garden beside. In 1981, some students died of stampade while on their way up the steps of flights. Since then, ascending 5th floor is forbidden and not more than a group of 4 at a time is permitted to ascent only upto 1st floor of Kutub. Recently, Kutub is enshrined with huge lighting.
 

~~~~ Red Fort ~~~~

Another marvel of architecture is the Red Fort and it could perhaps be singled out as yet another monument, which should not escape the tourist's eyes. Known as lal qila (lal means red and qila means fort). It is laid out along the river Yamuna as an irregular octagon.
It is surrounded by a wall of about 2.4 Kilometers in circumference and is built of Red Sandstone. The Mughal King Shah Jahan transferred his capital from Agra to Delhi and the fort was completed in 1648, nine years after the king shifted to this city. The fort has two main entrances, the Delhi Gate and the Lahori Gate, which faces the famed Chandni Chowk market.
Shah Jahan, incidentally was also the king who built the Taj Mahal of Agra. The fort has the Diwan-e-am, where the king would grant audience to the public to listen to their problems. The other feature is the Diwan-e-Khas (khas means special) where the king would grant audience to important people.
Besides this, is the Rang Mahal, the water-cooled apartment for the royal ladies. In the basement of the fort is a market where several traditional Indian goods can be purchased at nominal rates. Another attraction is the Light and Sound Show held in the evenings.  

~~~~ Sis Ganj Gurudwara ~~~~

It is believed that the night Guru Tegh Bahadur was murdered along with three of his disciples it was raining very heavily. Because of the fear of the Mughals nobody came to pick the bodies up that night. The next day the head of the Guru was taken to Anandpur Sahib and the body to where Gurdwara Rakab Ganj is now situated. A century later a devotee named Baba Baghel Singh searched and found this place and had this place of worship constructed here.

Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib embraced martyrdom in Delhi on November 11th, 1675. Bhai Jaita and his associates brought his head to Chakk Nanaki. The cremation of the head of Guru Sahib was held here on November 17th, 1675. The trunk of that tree under which the Guru was martyred and the well where he took his daily bath while in prison are preserved here to this day.

~~~~ Safdarjung Tomb ~~~~

Representing the last phase of the Mughal style of architecture, Safdarjang's Tomb stands in the centre of an extensive garden.

Built in 1753 by Nawab Shauja-ud-Daula to house the remains of his father, who was a minister in the Mughal court, the tomb is referred to as the "last flicker in the lamp of Mughal architecture." It shows how the grace and simplicity of he Mughals had been overtaken by decadence. The tomb also has a mosque.
 

~~~~ Kalkaji Temple ~~~~

3 km to the south of Humayun tomb and west of Mathura Rd, the Rock Edict of King Ashoka was discovered in 1963. At a little distance, there is 18th century Kalkaji Kali Temple.