Old Delhi - Walls and Gates

Walls and Gates

It is approximately shaped like a quarter cìrcle, with the Red Fort as the focal point. The old city was surrounded by a wall enclosing about 1,500 acres (6.1 km2), with 14 gates:

1. Nigambodh Gate: northeast, leading to historic Nigambodh Ghat on the Yamuna River
2. Kashmiri Gate: north
3. Mori Gate: north
4. Kabuli gate: west
5. Lahori gate: west
6. Ajmeri Gate: southeast, leading to Ghaziuddin Khan's Madrassa and Connaught Place, a focal point in New Delhi.
7. Turkman Gate: southeast, close to some pre-Shahjahan remains which got enclosed within the walls, including the tomb of Hazrat Shah Turkman Bayabani.
8. Delhi Gate: south leading to Feroz Shah Kotla and what was then older habitation of Delhi.

The surrounding walls, 12 feet (3.7 m) wide and 26 feet (7.9 m) tall, originally of mud, were replaced by red stone in 1657. In the Mughal period, the gates were kept locked at night. The walls have now largely disappeared, but most of the gates are still present. The township of old Delhi is still identifiable in a satellite image because of density of houses.

The famous Khooni Darwaza south of Delhi Gate, was just outside the walled city, it was originally constructed by Sher Shah Suri.