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| Arab Ki Sarai Gateway, By Mohsin Javed |
The Arab
Sarai gateway is 48 feet high gateway served as the southern entrance of the
Arab Sarai, built to accommodate the Persian craftsmen involved in the building
of Humayun’s garden-tomb. Major portion of the Arab Sarai is today the
Industrial Training Institute and is inaccessible to visitors.
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| Arab Ki Sarai after renovation, By Mohsin Javed |
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| Upper floor of Arab Ki Sarai Gateway after conservation, By Mohsin Javed |
It was
built to serve as the outstanding entrance to the enclosed garden which was to
house the “Sarai” (inn/guesthouse) where would live the 300 craftsmen which the
Empress had brought with her from Persia to lend physical form to the
conception of the ethereally magnificent mausoleum of her late husband Humayun.
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| Arab Ki Sarai Gateway, By Mohsin Javed |
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| Arab Ki Sarai after renovation, By Mohsin Javed |
The Sarai
itself was originally colossal enough to house the hundreds of craftsmen and
their families, unfortunately however only the considerably massive gateway and
the miserable ruins and outlines of a few of the chambers envisaged alongside
its substantial peripheries have survived the relentless ravages of time and
nature.
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| Glazed tilework on Jharokhas, By Mohsin Javed |
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| Brackets of Arab Ki Sarai, By Mohsin Javed |
The huge
and beautiful gateway, constructed from random rubble masonry layered with
slabs of grey Delhi quartzite and red sandstone inlaid with minute traces of
flawless white marble, has been restored and maintained by the Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI) and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC).
Source: Nizamuddin Urban Renewal Initiative, Pixelated Memories
All Photos © Mohsin Javed
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