Humayun’s tomb Overview
It is a tomb showing the architectural style of Mughals in Delhi, India.
The tomb has cultural significance ever since it was built in 1570 for being the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent.
Why is it so popular and when was it built?
The tomb can be considered as the first of the grand dynastic mausoleums because its work was added 80 years later at the Taj Mahal becoming the synonyms of Mughal architecture with the architectural style.
It was built in the 1560s with the patronage of Humayun’s son, the great emperor Akbar.
All credit goes to his widow Hamida Banu Begum who commenced the construction of a mausoleum for her deceased husband in 1565, nine years after his death. The construction got finished in 1572.
Humayun’s tomb stands with a complex of 27.04 ha. showing the art of both Persian and Indian craftsman those who worked together to built the garden-tomb, far grander than any tomb built in the Islamic world.
The architect of the building Mirak Mirza Ghiyas constructed the tomb in the center of a
Persian-style Chaharbagh garden with quadrilateral form.
The garden is divided into four main walkways and water channels to resemble paradise as mentioned in Quran.
The mausoleum stands on a massive platform as constructed with red sandstone whereas the tomb is made from yellow and black marble.
The height of the tomb is 47 meters and the width is 91 meters.
There are also graves of many other renowned Mughal emperors or rulers in the tomb. However, it was restored to the original style in a major restoration project between 1903 and 1909.
The complex was heavily defiled when it was used to house the refugees during the 1947 partition of India. The tomb got declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993 and is under the restoration work.
Is there any entry fee for the visit?
Yes, the Indians and the visitors of SAARC and BIMSTEC countries have to pay around rupees 10 per head to see the monument.
For foreign nationals, the cost is rupees 250 whereas the children up to 15 years do not require any entry fee.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humayun%27s_Tomb
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/232/