Here is where the Mughals ruled Delhi for three centuries, home to fabled treasures and a pearl mosque – all enclosed in its long red walls.
Today's New Delhi is the 'eighth city' in Delhi's millennia-long story. One of the most glorious of its past incarnations was Shahjahanabad, the seventh city, of the Mughals. At its heart was the luminous, turreted-and-spired magnificence of Qila-i-Mubarak, the 'Blessed Fort' – better known today as the Red Fort.The name comes from the vividly-coloured sandstone used for its walls. And this huge pile of fortifications, plus the palace compound it contains, is the largest monument in all of Delhi. It may also be its most popular – especially in the evenings when a sound-and-light extravaganza turns it into a multi-media presentation on Mughal history.The Mughals were one of India's most powerful dynasties Muslim rulers from Central Asia who held sway from the 16th to 19th centuries. The Red Fort, built during the reign of Shah Jahan, saw them at the pinnacle of their power. It was the home to the Rang Mahal palace – whose ceiling was lined with silver – and the legendary Peacock Throne – made from a tonne of gold, hundreds of rubies and emeralds, and four huge diamonds (the fabled Kohinoor, Akbar Shah, Shah and Jehangir gems). Those riches have long gone, but what remains for the visitor is splendid enough.The Lahore Gate is the grand entrance into the Fort, a pair of mammoth, scalloped octagonal-towers, flanking an enormous gateway. These are topped off by a series of minarets and turrets, which quietly whisper of Mughal power and opulence. It leads into the Chhatta Chowk, a vaulted-bazaar which now sells souvenirs, crafts and refreshments. Back in Mughal-times, it was the market serving the Emperor's harem, its stores laden with delicate jewellery, rich silks, gold and silver. Ahead lies the Diwan-i-Aam, where the Emperor would listen to complaints from commoners, and the Diwan-i-Khasm, where he would receive private audiences. It was here that the Peacock Throne was placed. Other architectural treats include the shimmering white Pearl Mosque (Moti Masjid), the women's palace of Rang Mahal, with its mirrored interior and marbled pool, and the fabulous gardens of Hayat Bakhsh Bagh. Stepping into the Red Fort is like stepping into a page from an Indian Mughal epic– all the more amazing when you realise that this is only a fraction of the treasures that once awed an empire.
