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The Old Fort or Purana Quila standing uninterrupted amidst wild greenary and disintegrating fortifications.
Purana Qila was built over the land, which was the city of Indraprastha of the Mahabharata era.
Many of the present standing monuments were built during the period of Sher Shah Suri.
The remains disclose the delicate taste of the emperors Shershah and Humayun. The deep tone of the red sandstone and exquisitely carved marble on the windows give serious grandeur to the double storied gates. Among its three main gates on the north, the south and the west, the last one serves as the entrance to the zoo.
The double-storied octagonal towered mosque is cited in history as the tower from where, Emperor Humayun accidentally fell to his death.
 The northern gate is known as Talazi Darwaza or the forbidden gate. When and why was it forbidden is still a mystery. The soaring south gate is an example of the strong construction of Delhi prior to 11640 A.D The forbidden gateway combines the typically Islamic pointed arch with Hindu chhattris and brackets.
The Purana Quila is approximately rectangular in shape having a circuit of nearly two kilometres.
The walls are thick and the three gateways are provided with constructions on either side. Whereas the southern gateway, called the Humayun Darwaza, had a similar parel with elephants.
There is a small octagonal red sandstone tower, the Sher Mandal, inside the fort near the South gate. Humayun as a library later used it. While descending the stairs of this tower one day in 1556, he slipped, and received injuries from which he later died. The Qila-i-Kuhran Mosque, or Mosque of Sher Shah, lies just beyond it. There's a small archaeological museum just inside the main gate. There are good views of New Delhi from atop the gate.
Humayun who laid the first brick of his new capital Dinapanah in 1534 built the massive gateways and walls of Purana Quila. Sher Shah, who defeated Humayun in 1540, built a few buildings in the complex. Busy traffic runs along this ancient defensive wall built by Sher Shah Suri. The fort, has massive walls and three large gateways.
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