Delhi is one of the oldest of the old and the newest of the new cities of the world. It is at once the most oriental, a modern and green progressive city. It was from the ramparts of the Red Fort that India's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru unfurled the national flag on August 15, 1947, signifying the end of 300 years of the British Raj.

Today, it is India's capital and the seat of the Parliament, the Supreme Court and the President of India. Nobody can tell you the correct age of Delhi. Some stone inscriptions date it to the third century B.C. pieces of earthenware and pottery have been discovered that could be traced back to 3,000 B.C. Historians differ in their perceptions of the number of cities built by different rulers over hundreds of years-some say there were seven cities while others think there were fifteen. But, there are visible ruins of at least seven cities.

The eighth one, New Delhi, was built during the 20th century by the British. The Buddhist and the Jain scriptures have mentioned Delhi but these sources cannot be dated precisely. In the great epic Mahabharata, the city has been called Indraparastha which was founded by the Pandavas on the banks of river Yamuna. Historically, this was the first city of Delhi and we can see its ruins, Anangpal's successors ruled from it for almost a century until Vishaldeva, a Chauha Rajput from Ajmer, conquered it.

Towards the end of the 12th century, Mohammed Ghori, an Afghan king, came down to Delhi and defeated Prithviraj Chauhan and occupied Delhi. He however, did not make Delhi his home and left his new kingdom in the hands of his trusted slave, Allauddin Khilji. Lalkot continued to be Khilji's capital till he built a new one after defeating the invading Rajputs at Siri where he built his own capital. Next on the list of many Delhi's are the cities of Tughlaqabad, which took four years to build. The first built by Ghyas-un-din Tughlaq had to be abandoned due to scarcity of water, and Mohammad, his son built another capita, Jahanpanah quite close to the Qutab Minar. Founded by Feroz Shah Tughlaq, Delhi's fifth city was named after him as Ferozabad. It was located in the vicinity of Ferozshah Kotla area.

Delhi's sixth city was founded by Emperor Humayun between A.D. 1533 in the old Indraprastha site where Purana Quila stands. Humayun could not enjoy his new capital for a long time as the invading Afghan warrior, Sher Shah, also a builder, who gave India its Grand Trunk Road, and added a beautiful hall and a mosque in the old Fort defeated him. He ruled from there till 1555 when Humayun recaptured it and returned to power. Shahjahanabad - what is now called Old Delhi was built by Emperor Shahjahan as Delhi's seventh city between 1638 and 1649. This city comprised the well known Red Fort, Jama Masjid and several Mughal monuments.

Delhi's eighth city now known as New Delhi was the contribution by the British who had Calcutta as their capital. They decided to move the capital to a more central place and Delhi was the obvious choice as the city had the privilege of having been the nation's capital for several centuries. Decision was taken in 1911 and the capital was formally inaugurated in 1931. Two famous British architects, Sir Edward Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker, were commissioned to design the new capital.

How To Get There

By Air: Delhi is both a major international and a domestic airport and is connected with cities all over the world. Indian Airlines and several private airlines connect Delhi with all important centers in India.

By Rail: Delhi is connected with most of India by rail.

By Road: Delhi is connected by a extensive network of roads with all the main cities in India. It is

203 km. from Agra
603 km. from Allahabad
373 km. from Almora
190 km. from Bharatpur
238 km. from Chandigarh
297 km. from Corbett National park
250 km. from Jaipur
596 km. from Khajuraho
269 km. from Mussorie
318 km. from Nainital
348 km. from Shimla
876 km. from Srinagar,
663 km. from Udaipur and
147 km. from Mathura

There are bus services to Agra, Ajmer, Amritsar, Bharatpur, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Gwalior Haridwar, Jaipur, Jammu, Kulu, Mathura, Mussoorie, Nainital, Rishikesh, Shimla and several other places of interest.
What to see

1. Jantar Mantar, an observatory with astronomical instruments built of stone by the great royal astronomer, Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur in 1724.

2. The modern Lakshmi Narayan Temple, also known as the Birla Temple after the business family, who built it.

3. Safdarjung's Tomb built in the 18th century by Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula, the last monument of the mughal style.

4. The Qutab Minar, the tallest stone tower in India. Its construction was started by Qutab-ud-din Aibak in 1199. The Iron Pillar, originally a standard of Lord Vishnu, is now in the courtyard of the mosque.

5. Purana Quila is believed to be the ancient city of Indraprastha. The fortresses was built in the 16th century.

6. Humayun's Tomb, built by the widow of the second Mughal Emperor, is an outstanding monument in the Indo-Persian style, a precursor of the Taj Mahal.

7. Ferozshah Kotla, the ruins of the city founded by Ferozshah Tuglaq in 1354.

8. Raj Ghat has a black platform made of marble that marks the site where Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, was cremated.

9. Red Fort was built by the great Mughal Emperor, Shahjahan, when he shifted his capital from Agra to Delhi. This fabulous fort houses the Diwan-i-Aam, the Hall of Public Audiences and the Diwan-i-Khas, the Hall of Private Audience, the Moti Masjid or Pearl Mosque, Rang Mahal, Khas Mahal and Hammam (royal baths) .

10. Jama Masjid which has been built by Shahjahan can accommodate as many as 20,000 worshippers. The courtyard is enclosed by pillared corridors and domed pavilions.

11. India Gate, Rastrapati Bhavan (President's residence) and the avenues and gardens of New Delhi can be seen when one drives around the city.