Red Fort                                                                          

The magnificent Red Fort or Lal Qila was built by the emperor Shah Jahan ad is a part of the walled city of Shahjahanabad. Within its fortifications are exquisite palaces, a finely proportioned mosque the Moti Masjid or Pearl Mosque, the Diwan-i -Am or hall of public audiece and the finely ornamented Diwan-Khas or hall opof privae audience, where the Mughal emperors held court seated o the bejewelled golden Peacock Throe.

Jama Masjid

The great mosque of Old Delhi is both 1 largest in India and the final architecture extravagance of Shah Jahan. Commences 1644, the mosque was not completed 1658. It has three great gateways, four an towers and two minarets standing 40 met high and constructed of alternating verity strips of red sandstone and white marble. 

Broad flights of steps lead up to the imposing gateways. The eastern gateway was originally only opened for the emperor, and now only open on Fridays and Musleem festival days. The general public can enter either the north or south gate  Shoes should be removed and those people considered unsuitably dressed (bare legs for either men or women) can hire robes at the Northgate. The courtyard of the mosque has a capacity of 25,000 people. For it's possible climb the southern minaret, and the views all directions arc superb-Old Delhi, the Red Fort and the polluting factories beyond it across the river, and New Delhi to the south. You can also see one of the features that the architect Lutyens incorporated into his design of New Delhi - the Jama Masjid, Connaught Place and Sansad Bhavan (Par-liament House) are in a direct line. There's also a fine view of the Red port from the east side of the mosque.  

Lahore Gate

The main gate to the fort takes its name from the fact that it faces towards Lahore, now in Pakistan. If one spot could be said to be the emotional and symbolic heart of the modern Indian nation, the Lahore Gate of the Red Fort is probably it. During the struggle for independence, one of the nationalists' declarations was that they  would seethe Indian flag flying over the Red Fort in Delhi. After independence, many important political speeches were given by Nehru and Indira Gandhi to the crowds amassed on the muidun (open place or square) outside, and on Independence Day (15 August) each year, the prime minister addresses a huge crowd. You enter the fort here and immediately find yourself in a vaulted arcade, the Chatta Chowk (Covered Bazaar). The shops in this arcade used to sell the upmarket items that  the royal household might fancy - silks, jewellery, gold. These days they cater to the tourist trade and the quality of the goods certainly a little less, although some still carry a royal price tag! This arcade of shops was also known as the Meena Bazaar, the shopping centre for ladies of the court. On Thursdays the gates of the fort were closed to men; only women were allowed inside the citadel.  

Divan-i-am

The Hall of Public Audiences was where the emperor would sit to hear complaints or disputes from his subjects. His alcove in the wall was marble-paneled and set with precious stones, many of which were looted following the Mutiny. This elegant hall was restored as a result of a directive by Lord Curzon, the viceroy of India between 1898 and 1905.  Diwan-i-Khas The Hall of Private Audiences, built of white marble, was the luxurious chamber where the emperor would hold private meetings. Centerpiece of the hall (until Nadir Shah carted it off to Iran in1739) was the magnificent Peacock Throne. The solid gold throne had figures of peacocks standing behind it, their beautiful colours resulting from countless inlaid precious stones. Between them was the figure of a parrot carved out of a single emerald.  This masterpiece in precious metals, sap phires, rubies, emeralds and pearls was broken up, and the so-called Peacock Throne displayed in Tehran simply utilizes various bits of the original. The marble pedestal on which the throne used to sit remains in place.  In 1760, the Marathas also removed the silver ceiling from the hall, so today it is a pale shadow of its former glory. Inscribed on the walls of the Diwan-i-Khas is that famous Persian couplet

Feroz shah Kotla

Erected by Feroz Shah Tughlaq in 1354, the ruins of Ferozabad, the fifth city of Delhi can be found at Feroz Shah Kotla, Just off Bahadur Shah Zafur Marg between the old and new Delhi's. In the frortress-places is a 13-metre-high sadstone Ashoka pillar inscribed with Ashoa's edicts The remains of an old mosque and a fine well can also be seen in the area, but most of the ruins of Ferozabad were used for the construction of later cities.

Rajghat

North-east of Feroz Shah Kotla, on the banks of the Yamuna, a simple square platform of black marble marks of the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated following his assassination in 1948. A commemorative ceremony takes place each Friday, the day he was killed. The Raj Ghat area is now a beautiful park complete with labeled trees planted by a mixed bag of notables including Queen Eliabeth II, Gough Whitlam Dwight Eisenhower and Ho Chi Minn !