Humayun's Tomb

Humayun tomb is major tourist spot in Delhi and is yet another Mughal masterpiece in field of architecture. The Humayun tomb is situated on the near the crossing of the Lodi road and the Mathura road. The Humayun tomb represents a significant Mughal building in India. The tomb was constructed by Hamida Banu Begum, wife of Humayun in year 1565. A Persian architect, Mirza Giyath designed the Humayun tomb. The tomb is situated near Old Fort and is the first garden tomb of India. The tomb is one of the many World Heritage sites in Delhi as declared by UNESCO in the year 1993.

The Humayun tomb houses the graves of Humayun and his wife Hamida Begum. The Humayun tomb lies in close proximity with the dargah of Nizamuddin. The tomb is situated near the banks of river Yamuna. The Humayun tomb consists of two large gateways, one on west and the other on south. The tomb consists of high ceiling rooms on either side of the courtyard. The eastern wall consists of a pavilion and the northern wall consists of a bath chamber. The most remarkable feature of the Humayun tomb is the square gardens. There are four square gardens which are separated by the channels for water. The four gardens consist of pathways known as Chaharbagh. The cenotaph of Humayun was kept in the chamber of the octagonal shape, surrounded by lobbies in arched manner.

The tomb of Humayun was built mainly with red sandstone but the use of white and black marble had been done to decorate the borders. The tomb is a two storyed structure. During the Revolt of 1857, the tomb served as a place of refuge for the Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. The tomb is a house for large number of graves and hence it is also known as The Dormitory of the House of Timur.

It around eight years to build the Humayun tomb and then it was placed in the Char Bagh Garden, which sprawls over an area of 30 acres. The gardens were designed in Persian style. The water channel between the gardens disappears beneath the tomb and reappears on the other side. This signifies an Islamic belief of Garden of Paradise. The tombs consists of beautiful and delicate latticework which was the trademark of thee Mughal architecture. The Humayun tomb attracts thousands of tourists and historians every year.