Hauz Khas is one of the urban village in the city of Delhi & Delhi Heritage Walks organizes walks to this area regularly. Our walking tour here covers the monument complex which lies behind the Hauz Khas village market. This is a 14^th century madrasa built by Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq. It overlooks a water tank which was originally created by the most well known of Khalji Sultans, Alauddin Khalji. He called is Hauz I Alai. Later Firuz Shah Tughluq renamed it Hauz I Khas. The madrasa complex has remains of classrooms, tombs of teachers associated with the school, colonnaded halls probably classrooms and the tomb of Firuz Shah himself. This heritage walk also covers monuments in Deer Park which include the Bagh I Alam ka Gumbad, Kali Gumti & Tuhfewala Gumbad. This blog entry has photographs of our heritage walk to Hauz Khas & Deer Park on 23 Dec 2012, led by Moby Zachariah. Photographs are by Kavita Singh, team member, Delhi Heritage Walks.

Hauz Khas Heritage Walk

Hauz Khas village today is one of Delhi’s urban villages. It is today known for its cafés & designer shops. There are art galleries, curio shops as well as some selling antiques. The famous Deer Park is also in the same village. It is a large patch of greenery almost surprising the first time visitor with its variety of trees & the large area. Hidden among all this a medieval tank & a madrasa, going back to the 14^th century. (more…)

Heritage walk at Hauz Khas complex also aims at telling people that there’s more to Hauz Khas than the village. The place known as hippest shopping centre in Delhi, the group walked along the lane to a monumental complex amongst all that greenery along the banks of the Hauz, an artificial tank constructed by Alauddin Khalji in the 13th century named as Hauz-e- Alai. We all climbed on a slightly raised, platform which overlooks a stunning view. I am sure people must have thanked Alauddin for constructing a tank of 28 hectares which catered to the water needs of the villagers around the place. Sadly, after Alauddin’s reign ended, the hauz was abandoned and water channels got silted. The Tughlaqs took over in the 14th Century; & Firuz Shah Tughluq decided to make use of the water body once again. (more…)

If a Delhi-ite wants to experience a place which tells you stories about Delhi’s Islamic rule and present life, one must visit, Hauz Khas complex. Amidst of contradictions, once forming the outskirts of the city of Siri, known for its reservoir and monuments of 14^th century is now a fashion street & has come a long way. One of the most fascinating things about this place is we walk down through a busy road with shops and boutiques, this chaos and noise leads to a quite and different place, the Hauz Khas monument complex. The participants in our heritage walk are awestruck at the view when we stand on the parapet which over looks the tank; the first reaction I get to hear is “wow, what a view!” The credit of building this tank goes to Alauddin Khalji. (more…)

The ruins in Hauz Khas village are among the most fascinating in Delhi. The neighbourhood gets its name from the reservoir, ‘Hauz i Alai’ built by Sultan Alauddin Khalji in early 14^th century, for his capital city of Siri. About 50 year after Khalji, Sultan Firuz Shah Tughluq restored the silted up tank, built a madrasa along its edge and called it the ‘Hauz Khas’. The massive madrasa complex along the lake was among the most important in the Islamic world in the 14^th century. A contemporary poet wrote in its praise: (more…)