Founded as Shahjahanabad, old Delhi was the walled city of India and was founded by Mughal emperor Shahjahan. Old Delhi was the capital of the Mughal till the end of the Mughal dynasty. Old Delhi used to be the home to several mansions where the nobles stayed;members of the royal court too were housed here along with beautiful mosques and gardens. Today Old Delhi is extremely crowded and run-down but it still remains the heart of the entire New Delhi metro.
Old Delhi Monumnets
The Mughals were known for their monuments and architectural splendor. Old Delhi was an important place for them and they set up several structures and monuments in old Delhi that till date stand as example of their craftsmanship. Places and forts were built in Old Delhi. ShahJahan was responsible for the building of the walled city. The city comprised of Lal Quila and Chandni Chowk. Daryaganj housed the original cantonment of Delhi. On the east of Daryaganj was Rajghat gate which opened to the walled city.
Chawri bazaar was the first wholesale market of Old Delhi that was opened as a hardware market. By 1850, gradually the wholesale market for dry fruits, spices, herbs at Khari Baoli opened too. The flower market is still operational even though it serves only a small section of the surrounding area.
After the 1857 revolt Old Delhi was no more the capital and the British made Calcutta as the capital of India. Calcutta was regarded as a less volatile city and later Lutyen’s Delhi was developed by the British. The walled city of old Delhi was becoming congested and soon the area outside started seeing development.
Old Delhi is shaped like a quarter circles. Red Fort is the focal point of Old Delhi. Old Delhi sits on 1500 acres of land and 14 gates.
- The Nigambodh gate on Yamuna river
- Kashmiri gate and Mori gate on the North
- Kabuli gate and Lahori gate on the west
- On the southeast leading to Ghaziuddin’ madrassa and Connaught place is the Ajmeri gate
- Turkman gate on the South east remains enclosed within the walls
- Delhi gate is in the south
Outside the South Delhi gate is the famous Khooni Darwaza originally constructed by Sher shah suri. The main street istoday popularly known as Chandni chowk was developed during the British rule. Edward Lutyens developed the chowk in 1929.
Besides Chandni Chowk and Red fort Old Delhi has Jama masjid, Fatehpur masjid, Razia Sultanas tomb, Khari Baoli, Ghalib ki haveli, Rajghat, St James Church, Khazanchi haveli, Begum Samru’s palace, and many more historical monuments, houses and structures dominate the busy streets of Old Delhi.
Famous for its street food Old Delhi has Chandni Chowk and Chawri Bazaar with several street food shops. Some of the shops have existed for over 10 decades and are successfully operational even today
