|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Darwaza-i Rauza)
“Gate of the Mausoleum” – Darwaza-i Rauza stands oblong on a platform on the southern wall as the passage between the Jilaukhana and the funerary garden. The façade from Jilaukhana proves its being the entrance and the beginning of the great mausoleum. The red sandstone structure is surrounded by octagonal towers namely minarets topped by white marble domes on the corners. The white marble is densely used in the arches of the centre while the thin margins around the rectangular panels of the corner towers are only lined. The top of the arches is ornamented with floral patterns.
The main entrance is framed in rectangular with sura 89 of the Qur’an, namely al-Fajr (daybreak) inviting the believers into the Paradise. The Gate does not have an outer dome. The miniature eleven domes (cupolas) between the two high columns namely guldastas, framing the entrance from the base are the topping features above the entrance. The northern entrance from the funerary garden is ornamented with another sura of the Qur’an as the only difference. The calligrapher, Amanat Khan’s signature is at the bottom left end of the frame dated Hijri 1057 (AD 1647/48). The central vault inside the gate is ornamented with stars and partial stars. The big bronze lamp was mad in the Mayo School of Arts in Lahore and was given as present by Lord Curzon in 1909. The side rooms are used for the administration by the Archaeological Survey of India. Both lower and the upper levels are not open to the visitors.
|
|
| Iwan dar Iwan – the two arcaded galleries with massive multi-cusped arches and shahjahani columns with floral bases in the outer row are located on the south of the funerary garden where the poor people were welcomed by Shah Jahan in order to receive their alms in rainy season. |
|
|
|
|
