The Delhi Fort, also known as the Red Fort, is one of the popular tourist destinations in Delhi. Photo Credit: Michael PetersenNew Delhi, June 28 (ANI): The Red Fort has been inscribed as a new cultural site in UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The 17th century Mughal marvel and three other cultural sites - - Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape (Japan), Parthian Fortresses of Nisa (Turkmenistan) and Sydney Opera House (Australia) - - have been given World Heritage status.
The planning of the palace is based on Islamic prototypes, but each pavilion reveals architectural elements typical of Mughal building, reflecting a fusion of Persian, Timurid and Hindu traditions, UNESCO said in a statement.
The palace was designed as an imitation of paradise as described in the Koran; a couplet inscribed in the palace reads "If there be a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here."
Through, its fabric, the complex reflects all phases of Indian history from the Mughal period to Independence, it said.
The Red Fort will be the third Delhi monument to get this status after the Qutab Minar and Humayun's Tomb
The World Heritage Committee is meeting in New Zealand to choose the next heritage sites.
The Red Fort was the palace for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's new capital, Shahjahanabad, the seventh Muslim city in Delhi.
The Red Fort stands at the eastern edge of Shahjahanabad, and gets its name from the massive wall of red sandstone that defines its four sides.
The wall is 1.5 miles (2.5 km) long, and varies in height from 60ft (16m) on the river side to 110 ft (33 m) towards the city.
The fort lies along the Yamuna River, which fed the moats that surround most of the wall. Construction on the Red Fort began in 1638 and was completed by 1648. (ANI)