Description of the attraction
The village of Haus Khas, located in the southern part of the Indian capital Delhi, is a large complex that once consisted of a huge pool, a madrasah (Islamic seminary), a mosque, as well as several pavilions built near a small village nearby, which appeared in the 13th century, during times of the Sultanate of Delhi. At that time, Haus Khas was part of the second largest city in the sultanate - Siri, which was ruled by the Allaudin Khilji dynasty.
The name "House Khas" comes from the Urdu language: "house" means a pond or pool, and "khas" means royal.
Initially, during the time of the ruler Khilji, only a huge reservoir was created, which was supposed to provide water to all residents of the city of Siri. Later, during the reign of the next monarch - Firuz Shah Tughlak (1351-1388) from the Tughlak dynasty, other buildings appeared on the territory of Haus Khas: a madrasah, a small mosque, six pavilions crowned with domes, and Firuz Shah took care of his body in advance after death - he built a tomb for himself. In addition, at the initiative of the ruler, the pool itself was renovated, cleaned and expanded.
The Madrasah in Haus Khas was built in 1352 and immediately became the leading educational institution in the entire Delhi Sultanate. It was also considered the largest and best-equipped Islamic seminary in the world. Therefore, Delhi gained great importance in the Islamic world, becoming, after the fall of Baghdad, the most popular city among those Muslims who sought to learn as much as possible about the Islamic religion. The madrasah is L-shaped and was built along a water reservoir. One part is 76 meters long, while the other is 138 meters long. And right at their junction, at the corner, is the tomb of Firuz Shah himself. The ruler died at the age of 90 after a long illness. His tomb is a quadrangular building, built of local quartzite, so in the light of the sun it shines and shimmers. In its architecture, as it was traditional, Indian and Islamic styles were mixed, but at the same time it is distinguished by the simplicity of details and the absence of various decorative elements. There are three graves in the tomb: Firuz Shah himself, his son and grandson.
There is a mosque on the north side of the madrasah. Her only room with a domed roof is quite small - about 5 meters long and 2.5 meters wide. A double row of columns surrounds an open-air prayer "platform".
On the other side of the madrasah there is a large garden in which six magnificent pavilions-pavilions were built. They all come in various sizes and shapes, but each has a dome-shaped roof supported by carved columns.
The House Khas complex also boasts a wonderful park, which is even nicknamed the deer, where various species of these animals can be found. In addition to them, there are rabbits, guinea pigs, peacocks and other animals and birds.
Today, House Khas attracts special attention from both the Indian authorities and public organizations. On their initiative, several programs for the restoration, conservation and development of this cultural and historical complex were created and are now being implemented.
