Places to Visit : Indian Monuments

The Lotus Temple, located in Delhi, India, is a House of Worship that was dedicated in December 1986. Notable for its flowerlike shape, it has become a prominent attraction in the city.

Like all Houses of Worship, the Lotus Temple is open to all, regardless of religion or any other qualification. According to Shoghi Effendi, a Bahá'í temple is a “silent teacher” of the Bahá'í faith.

The building is composed of 27 free-standing marble-clad "petals" arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides, with nine doors opening onto a central hall with a height of slightly over 34 meters and a capacity of 2,500 people.

The Lotus Temple has won numerous architectural awards and has been featured in many newspaper and magazine articles. A 2001 CNN report referred to it as the most visited building in the world.

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Akshardham (New Delhi) is a Hindu temple, and spiritual-cultural campus in New Delhi, India. The temple is close to the border with Noida.

Also referred to as Akshardham Temple or Akshardham Delhi, the complex displays millennia of traditional and modern Hindu culture, spirituality, and architecture.

Inspired by Yogiji Maharaj and created by Pramukh Swami Maharaj, it was constructed by BAPS. The temple was officially opened on 6 November 2005 by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in the presence of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Manmohan Singh, L.K Advani and B.L Joshi.

The temple, at the centre of the complex, was built according to the Vastu shastra and Pancharatra shastra.

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Jantar Mantar is located in the modern city of New Delhi. “Jantar Mantar” literally means “instruments for measuring the harmony of the heavens”.

It consists of 13 architectural astronomy instruments. The site is one of five built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur, from 1723 onwards, revising the calendar and astronomical tables.

Jai Singh, born in 1688 into a royal Rajput family that ruled the regional kingdom, was born into an era of education that maintained a keen interest in astronomy.

There is a plaque fixed on one of the structures in the Jantar Mantar observatory in New Delhi that was placed there in 1910 mistakenly dating the construction of the complex to the year 1710.

Later research, though, suggests 1724 as the actual year of construction. Its height is 723 feet (220 m).

The primary purpose of the observatory was to compile astronomical tables, and to predict the times and movements of the sun, moon and planets. Some of these purposes nowadays would be classified as astronomy.

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The India Gate (formerly known as the All India War Memorial) is a war memorial located astride the Rajpath, on the eastern edge of the "ceremonial axis" of New Delhi, formerly called Kingsway.

It stands as a memorial to 90,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died in between 1914 and 1921 in the First World War, in France, Flanders, Mesopotamia, Persia, East Africa, Gallipoli and elsewhere in the Near and the Far East, and the Third Anglo-Afghan War.

13,300 servicemen's names, including some soldiers and officers from the United Kingdom, are inscribed on the gate.

Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the gate evokes the architectural style of the triumphal arch such as the Arch of Constantine, in Rome, and is often compared to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and the Gateway of India in Mumbai.

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The City Palace, Jaipur was established at the same time as the city of Jaipur, by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who moved his court to Jaipur from Amber, in 1727.

Jaipur is the present-day capital of the state of Rajasthan, and until 1949 the City Palace was the ceremonial and administrative seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur.

The Palace was also the location of religious and cultural events, as well as a patron of arts, commerce, and industry. It now houses the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, and continues to be the home of the Jaipur royal family.

The palace complex has several buildings, various courtyards, galleries, restaurants, and offices of the Museum Trust. The MSMS II Museum Trust is headed by chairperson Rajamata Padmini Devi of Jaipur (from Sirmour in Himachal Pradesh).

Princess Diya Kumari runs the Museum Trust, as its secretary and trustee. She also manages The Palace School and Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh School in Jaipur.

She founded and runs the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation to empower underprivileged and underemployed women of Rajasthan. She is also an entrepreneur. In 2013, she was elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan from the constituency of Sawai Madhopur.

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Jaigarh Fort is situated on the promontory called the Cheel ka Teela (Hill of Eagles) of the Aravalli range; it overlooks the Amer Fort and the Maota Lake, near Amer in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.

The fort was built by Jai Singh II in 1726 to protect the Amer Fort and its palace complex and was named after him. The fort, rugged and similar in structural design to the Amer Fort, is also known as Victory Fort.

It has a length of 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) along the north–south direction and a width of 1 kilometre (0.62 mi). The fort features a cannon named "Jaivana"(Jaivana Cannon), which was manufactured in the fort precincts and was then the world's largest cannon on wheels.

Jaigarh Fort and Amer Fort are connected by subterranean passages and considered as one complex. The fort was plundered of its artwork and jewels during Nadir Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire in 1739.

Most of the fort's marble structures were subsequently demolished by the British following the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The fort's defensive walls were largely undamaged, and the fortress was subsequently used as a garrison.

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Amber Fort or Amer Fort is a fort located in Amber, Rajasthan, India. Amber is a town with an area of 4 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi) located 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan.

The town of Amber and the Amber Fort was built by Raja Alan Singh Chanda belonging to a sub clan of Meenas in 967 AD. As meenas were devotees of Amba Mata, they named their fort after her as Amber Fort.

Located high on a hill, it is the principal tourist attraction in Jaipur. Amber Fort is known for its artistic style elements.

With its large ramparts and series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks Maota Lake, which is the main source of water for the Amber Palace. Mughal architecture greatly influenced the architectural style of several buildings of the fort.

Constructed of red sandstone and marble, the attractive, opulent palace is laid out on four levels, each with a courtyard. It consists of the Diwan-e-Aam, or "Hall of Public Audience", the Diwan-e-Khas, or "Hall of Private Audience", the Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace), or Jai Mandir, and the Sukh Niwas where a cool climate is artificially created by winds that blow over a water cascade within the palace.

Hence, the Amber Fort is also popularly known as the Amber Palace. After invading Meena kings , the fort was captured by Kachwaha (a clan of Rajput) kings. The palace was the residence of the Rajput Maharajas and their families.

At the entrance to the palace near the fort's Ganesh Gate, there is a temple dedicated to Shila Devi, a goddess of the Chaitanya cult, which was given to Raja Man Singh when he defeated the Raja of Jessore, Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) in 1604.

Raja Man Singh had twelve queens so he made twelve rooms, one for each. Each room had a staircase connected to the king’s room but the queens were not to go upstairs. Raja Jai Singh had only one queen so he built one room equal to three old queen’s rooms.

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Junagarh Fort is a fort in the city of Bikaner, Rajasthan, India. The fort was originally called Chintamani and was renamed Junagarh or "Old Fort" in the early 20th century when the ruling family moved to Lalgarh Palace outside the fort limits.

It is one of the few major forts in Rajasthan which is not built on a hilltop. The modern city of Bikaner has developed around the fort. The fort complex was built under the supervision of Karan Chand, the Prime Minister of Raja Rai Singh, the sixth ruler of Bikaner, who ruled from 1571 to 1611 AD.

Construction of the walls and associated moat commenced in 1589 and was completed in 1594. It was built outside the original fort of the city (the first fort built by Rao Bikaji), about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from the city centre.

Some remnants of the old fort are preserved near the Lakshmi Narayan temple. Historical records reveal that despite the repeated attacks by enemies to capture the fort, it was not taken, except for a lone one-day occupation by Kamran Mirza.

Kamran was the second son of the Mughal Emperor Babur who attacked Bikaner in 1534, which was then ruled by Rao Jait Singh.

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The Chittorgarh Fort also known as Chittorgarh or Chittor Fort is one of the largest forts in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The fort was the capital of Mewar and is located in the present-day town of Chittorgarh.

It sprawls over a hill 180 m (590.6 ft) in height spread over an area of 280 ha (691.9 acres) above the plains of the valley drained by the Berach River.

The fort covers 65 historic structures, which include four palaces, 19 large temples, 20 large water bodies, 4 memorials and a few victory towers. In 2013, at the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Chittorgarh Fort, along with five other forts of Rajasthan, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as a group called the Hill Forts of Rajasthan.

The primary purpose of the observatory was to compile astronomical tables, and to predict the times and movements of the sun, moon and planets. Some of these purposes nowadays would be classified as astronomy.

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The Gateway of India is an arch-monument built in the early 20th century in the city of Mumbai, India. It was erected to commemorate the landing of King-Emperor George V, the first British monarch to visit India, in December 1911 at Ramchandani Road near Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Chowk in Mumbai. The foundation stone was laid in March 1913 for a monument built in the Indo-Saracenic style, incorporating elements of 16th-century Gujarati architecture. The final design of the monument by architect George Wittet was sanctioned only in 1914, and construction was completed in 1924. The structure is a triumphal arch made of basalt, which is 26 metres (85 feet) high. After its construction the Gateway was used as a symbolic ceremonial entrance to India for important colonial personnel. The Gateway is also the monument from where the last British troops left India in 1948, following Indian independence. It is located on the waterfront at an angle, opposite the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and overlooks the Arabian Sea. Today, the monument is synonymous with the city of Mumbai, and is amongst its prime tourist attractions. The gateway is also a gathering spot for locals, street vendors, and photographers soliciting services. It holds significance for the local Jewish community as it has been the spot for Hanukkah celebrations, with the lighting of the menorah, since 2003. There are five jetties located at the Gateway, of which two are used for commercial ferry operations.

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Humayun's tomb (Hindustani or Urdu: Maqbara-i Humayun) is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun in Delhi, India. The tomb was commissioned by Humayun's wife consort, Empress and the mother of his successor, the third Mughal emperor Akbar. Hamida Banu Begum (also known as Maryam Makani ), in 1558, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas and his son, Sayyid Muhammad, Persian architects chosen by her. It was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent, and is located in Nizamuddin East, Delhi, India, close to the Dina-panah Citadel, also known as Purana Qila (Old Fort), that Humayun found in 1533. It was also the first structure to use red sandstone at such a scale. The tomb was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, and since then has undergone extensive restoration work, which is complete. Besides the main tomb enclosure of Humayun, several smaller monuments dot the pathway leading up to it, from the main entrance in the West, including one that even pre-dates the main tomb itself, by twenty years; it is the tomb complex of Isa Khan Niyazi, an Afghan noble in Sher Shah Suri's court of the Suri dynasty, who fought against the Mughals, constructed in 1547 CE.

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The Charminar (lit. 'four minarets') constructed in 1591, is a monument located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The landmark has become known globally as a symbol of Hyderabad and is listed among the most recognised structures in India. It has also been officially incorporated as the Emblem of Telangana name=Symbol"Kakatiya arch, Charminar in Telangana state logo". The Deccan Chronicle. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2015. The Charminar's long history includes the existence of a mosque on its top floor for more than 425 years. While both historically and religiously significant, it is also known for its popular and busy local markets surrounding the structure, and has become one of the most frequented tourist attractions in Hyderabad. Charminar is also a site of numerous festival celebrations, such as Eid-ul-adha and Eid al-Fitr,[3] as it is adjacent to main mosque of the city Makkah Masjid across the road. The Charminar is situated on the east bank of Musi river.[4] To the west lies the Laad Bazaar, and to the southwest lies the richly ornamented granite Makkah Masjid.[5] It is listed as an archaeological and architectural treasure on the official "List of Monuments" prepared by the Archaeological Survey of India.[6] The English name is a translation and combination of the Urdu words chār and minar or meenar, translating to "Four Pillars"; the eponymous towers are ornate minarets attached and supported by four grand arches.[5]

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