The Old Fort

It was supposed to be a literary trip, full of known and lesser known facts and musings about a famous monument, or so we thought, but with every nook and corner of the magnificent Old Fort (Purana Quila) playing host to lovelorn or rather lustlorn couples, the trip turned out to be quite an eclectic mix of history, adventure, and mixed architecture, with a rather generous dash of present day romance thrown in.
The Delhi Diary had been long overdue in our unplanned travel itinerary, so when the plan finally hit the road, we thought that why not start off with the Old Fort, one of the most magnificent and oldest monuments in Delhi.
So armed with a sense of achievement at finally setting out on our wanderlust mission, we arrived at the Old Fort, on a positively cloudy day. I say "positively cloudy" because there are days when an overcast sky paints a very gloomy picture and gives us a sense of foreboding...But here was a day, which was cloudy in a very romantic way, with light drizzle welcoming you to explore the world...and the serenity of the fort quite overwhelming us and adding to the mystic charm of the landscape.
On approaching the Old Fort from the western side, the huge Bara Darwaza welcomes you with its stoic presence, giving nothing away of the huge architectural treasure inside, and revealing nothing of the imposing personality of the fort it guards. The Old Fort has three gates – Humayun Darwaza, Talaqi Darwaza and the Bada Darwaza – but now only the Bara Darwaza is used as the functional entrance to this massive monument. All these gates are double storeyed and in their heydays sported intricately designed domes. The fourth side of the fort was well guarded by a moat linked to the river Yamuna. The moat still exists, and runs along the huge expanse of the fort.