ALAI DARWAZA (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 - Art & Culture)

Context: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will start the first phase of conservation work on the 13th-century Alai Darwaza, the southern gateway of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque in the Qutub complex, next month after the G20 Summit in the city.

Alai Darwaza

• Ala'i Darwaza is the southern gateway of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque in Qutb complex, Mehrauli, Delhi, India. 
• Built by Sultan Alauddin Khalji in 1311 and made of red sandstone, it is a square domed gatehouse with arched entrances and houses a single chamber.
• Although he planned to construct four gates, only the Alai Darwaza could be completed as he died in 1316.
• It has a special significance in Indo-Islamic architecture as the first Indian monument to be built using Islamic methods of construction and ornamentation.
• In 1993, the Darwaza and the other monuments of the complex were designated a World Heritage Site.