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In 1538, the Mughal emperor Humayun
laid the foundations of his city named Dinpanah,
or the Refuge of the Faithful. The inner citadel of
this city is today called Purana Qila or the Old Fort.
An old fort, it is! One can almost smell the ancient
stories oozing from the corners of the fort. The site
of the fort was also Indraprasta, the capital
of the famed warriors of the Mahabharata, the Pandavas.
Excavations near the eastern wall of the fort reveal
that the site had been occupied since 1000 B.C. Archaeologists
found painted grey ware pottery and other remains,
which date back to the Ma habharata.
The Purana Qila has three gates - Humayun Darwaza,
Talaqi Darwaza and Bara Darwaza. The present
entrance is the Bara Darwaza, an imposing red sandstone
gate on the western wall.
Inside the Purana Qila is the Sher Mandal,
a two-storied octagonal pavilion in red sandstone,
built by Sher Shah. Humayun used it as a library after
he captured the fort. However, the Mandal is tragic,
since it was here where the emperor is said to have
tripped on its tortuous stairs and tumbled to his
death in 1556.
Address: Mathura Road
Phone: 460 4260
Timings: 6 am to 6 pm
Tickets: Available at the site and Delhi Tourism
office
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9:33:08 PM 
mbs
in the tradition of Humayun's tomb. It was built in
1753-54, for Safdarjung, the Prime Minister
of Muhammad Shah, the Mughal emperor between 1719-48.
Marble was allegedly stripped from other tombs to
build Safdarjung's tomb. Now that speaks volumes for
the kind of power Safdarjung must have wielded during
his rule! 
