Tughlaqabad Fort

Tughlaqabad Fort is the ruined capital that Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, founder of the Tughlaq dynasty, began in 1321 as the third historic city of Delhi after Lal Kot and Siri. Stone walls up to 25 metres high follow the uneven ground; of 52 gates, 13 survive, and seven tanks held rainwater. The site splits into a city of grid-plan quarters, a half-hexagonal citadel crowned by the Burj-Mandal tower, and a palace zone. A red sandstone tomb nearby holds Ghiyasuddin, his wife and Muhammad bin Tughlaq.

The city was never finished. Legend says the sultan clashed with the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya over labourers for the saint's stepwell, and the saint cursed the city to lie empty or be taken over by herders. Some accounts say Ghiyasuddin died when a pavilion collapsed on him as he returned to Delhi.