Qutb Minar
The Qutub Minar is a minaret that forms a part of
the Qutab complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of Delhi, India.
Qutub Minar is a 73-metre (239.5 feet) tall tapering tower of five storeys,
with a 14.3 metres (47 feet) base diameter, reducing to 2.7 metres (9 feet) at
the peak. It contains a spiral staircase of 379 steps. Its design is thought to have been based on
the Minaret of Jam, in western Afghanistan.
Qutab Ud-Din-Aibak, founder of the Delhi Sultanate,
started construction of the Qutub Minar's first storey around 1192. In 1220,
Aibak's successor and son-in-law Iltutmish completed a further three storeys.
In 1369, a lightning strike destroyed the top storey. Firoz Shah Tughlaq
replaced the damaged storey, and added one more.
It derived its name from the Sufi saint Qutbuddin
Bakhtiar Kaki whom Qutab Ud-Din-Aibak revered. The Minar is surrounded by
several historically significant monuments of the Qutab complex, including Quwwat-ul-Islam
Mosque, which was built at the same time as the Minar, and the much older Iron
Pillar of Delhi. The nearby pillared Cupola known as "Smith's Folly"
is a remnant of the tower's 19th century restoration, which included an
ill-advised attempt to add a sixth storey.
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