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Red Fort |
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The Delhi Fort, also popular as the Lal Qila or the Red Fort, is one of the most important tourist attractions in Delhi. This is the popular site in Delhi from where the entire nation is addressed every year by the Prime Minister of India on the 15th of August, the Independence Day of India. Declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the Red Fort in Delhi was the place from where Shahjahan looked after the administration of Shahjahanabad, his new capital. Deriving its name from the colossal sandstone wall that encloses it, the Red Fort can be seen standing at the eastern rim of Shahjahanabad. This wall at the Red Fort, which is 2.5 km in length, has different heights at different points varying from 60 feet along the bank of the river to 110 feet where the fort faces the city.
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Sited along the bank of the Yamuna River, the Red Fort shares its wall at its north-eastern bend with the site of the Salimgarh Fort which was constructed in 1546 by Islam Shah Suri. The moats at the Red Fort, surrounding the wall, are fed by the Yamuna River. The construction of the Red Fort started in 1638 being completed in the year 1648. on the 11th of March in 1783 the Sikhs managed to enter the Red Fort at Delhi and took over the Diwan-i-Am. Delhi was given away by the Mughal wazir, this duty being performed under the supervision of Karor Singhia misl’s Sardar Baghel Singh Dhaliwal. Many of the sections of this fort were destroyed by the plunderers and lodgers in the 18th century and the gardens and pavilions at the Red Fort were damaged to a great extent and occupied by the British army after the famous Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. In 1903 a restoration program was started for renovating the undamaged parts of the Red Fort.
The walls of the Red Fort open at the Delhi Gate and Lahore Gate, the Lahore Gate being the main gate leading to the Chatta Chowk, a long street bordered with innumerable stalls. This street directing to an open space contains the Naqqar Khana on its eastern side. Ahead of this gate is the Diwan-i-Am with a beautifully designed throne-balcony along its eastern side. The apartments in the rear of the throne include private apartments with a chain of pavilions, these being comprised of the women’s quarters, the Khas Mahal, Diwan-i-Khas and the hammam which overlooks the Moti Masjid in its west, the Hayat Bakhsh Bagh being placed at the east of the Moti Masjid.
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