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Safdarjung Tomb
 Location
: Near Safdarjang Airport
Opening Hours
: Sunrise
Closing Hours
: Sunset
Distance (Approx. in km.) From Connaught Place: 6
It is 5 km to the S-West from Connaught Place at Arvind Marg on the way to Kutub. Between 1753-74, Nawab Suja-ud-Dulla erected Safdarjung on the graveyard of Nawab of Ayodhya Mirza Mukim Abul Mansur Khan, like the tomb of Humayun. In the middle of Mughal Garden Charbagh, it is the last tomb or graveyard of 40 ft high. On the 4 sides, there are 4 stone made Azan Minar. In the courtyard, there is rose garden.
Beside it, mini airport, Safdarjung of Delhi Flying Club is located. In 1980, Sanjay Gandhi died in an air crash in this airport. Adjacent to the south, there is the battle field, where Mahammad Shah Tughlak was defeated by Taimur in 12 Dec, 1398.
The memorial was built by Nawab Shuja-ud-Daulah who was the son of
Mirza Muqim Abul Mansur Khan popularly known as Safdarjung (1739-54) who was the governor of the province of Awadh under Muhammad Shah (1719-48) and later became his prime minister. The tomb is roughly on the plans of Humayun's tomb, though much scaled down. It is set in the middle of an extensive garden, which spreads over an area of over 300-sq-metre.
 The garden itself is on the pattern of the Mughal 'Chaharbagh' style. In the center piling up with effortless arrogance is the massive gateway to the enclosure which rises to two levels. Inside there is the tomb, the courtyard and a mosque. On either side are beautiful pavilions known as "Moti
Mahal" or the pearl palace, "Jangli Mahal" or the sylvan palace and "Badshah
Pasand" or the emperor's favorite.
The mausoleum built with red sandstone and buff stone is faced with marble and stands squarely in the center of a garden. There are two graves here, one of Safdarjung and the other presumably his wife's. The square central chamber of the mausoleum is surrounded by eight rooms all around. All the apartments, except the corner ones are rectangular in shape, the corner ones being octagonal. The dome of the tomb rises from a sixteen-sided base. The tomb has been criticized for its weakness in proportions hence a lack of balance in its make-up.
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