This drawing shows the penetration of different kinds of electromagnetic radiation into the atmosphere.

Note also the different layers of the ionosphere (D, E, F) and the level at which auroras occur.

Starting at the left: Lightning can generate whistlers, radio waves that can travel long distances. Very high frequency radio waves (VHF) can travel through the atmosphere to and from satellites and are used for communication. The airglow is due to a chemical reaction in the upper atmosphere that emits light. Many radio waves are reflected at night by the ionosphere making it possible to hear AM radio and shortwave radio stations that are far away. Gamma rays and x-rays are absorbed by the upper atmosphere; visible light can penetrate to sea level. Many infrared wavelengths can also pass through the atmosphere.

Layers of the Atmosphere

The earth is surrounded by the atmosphere, which is the body of air or gasses that protects the planet and enables life. Most of our atmosphere is located close to the earth's surface where it is most dense. The air of our planet is 79% nitrogen and just under 21% oxygen; the small amount remaining is composed of carbon dioxide and other gasses. There are five distinct layers of the earth. Let's look at each, from closest to farthest from the earth...

Troposphere:
The layer of the atmosphere closest to the earth is the troposphere. This layer is where weather occurs. It begins at the surface of the earth and extends out to about 4-12 miles. The temperature of the troposphere decreases with height. This layer is known as the lower atmosphere.

Stratosphere:
Above the troposphere is the stratosphere, which extends to about 30-35 miles above the earth's surface. Temperature rises within the stratosphere but still remains well below freezing.

Mesosphere:
From about 35 to 50 miles above the surface of the earth lies the mesosphere, where the air is especially thin and molecules are great distances apart. Temperatures in the mesosphere reach a low of -184F (-120C). The stratosphere and the mesosphere are the middle atmosphere.

Thermosphere:
The thermosphere rises several hundred miles above the earth's surface, from 50 miles up to about 400 miles. Temperature increases with height and can rise to as high as 3,600F (2000C). Nonetheless, the air would feel cold because the hot molecules are so far apart. This layer is known as the upper atmosphere.

Exosphere:
Extending from the top of the thermosphere to 6200 miles (10,000 km) above the earth is the exosphere. This layer has very few atmospheric molecules, which can escape into space.

Pauses...:
Between each layer of the atmosphere is a boundary. Above the troposphere is the tropopause; above the stratosphere is the stratopause; above the mesosphere is the mesopause; and above the thermosphere is the thermopause. At these "pauses," maximum change between the "spheres" occur.

Cloud Types
Most clouds are associated with weather. These clouds can be divided into groups mainly based on the height of the cloud's base above the Earth's surface. The following table provides information about cloud groups and any cloud classes associated with them. In addition, some clouds don't fall into the categories by height. These additional cloud groups are listed below the high, middle, and low cloud groups.
Cloud Group and Height *
High Clouds 5,00013,000m (Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds in the sky, however they are not associated with weather like the rest of the clouds in this table.)

Cloud Types

Middle Clouds 2,0007,000m

Low Clouds Surface2,000m

Clouds with Vertical Growth Surface13,000m

Unusual Clouds (View cloud heights on each cloud's individual page)

Contrails 5,00013,000m

* The cloud heights provided in this table are for the mid-latitudes. Cloud heights are different at the tropics and in the polar regions. In addition, a few other cloud types are found in higher layers of the atmosphere. Polar stratospheric clouds are located in a layer of the atmosphere called the stratosphere. Polar mesoshperic, or noctilucent, clouds are located in the atmospheric layer called the mesosphere.

Clouds
Clouds can come in all sizes and shapes, and can form near the ground or high in the atmosphere. Clouds are groups of tiny water droplets or ice crystals in the sky and are formed by different processes. They can make different kinds of precipitation depending on the atmosphere's temperature. Cloud types are classified by height and appearance. The shape depends on the way the air moves around the cloud. If air moves horizontally, clouds form spread-out layers. Clouds grow upward if air is moving vertically near the cloud. At any given time, clouds cover about 50% of the Earth. We would not have rain, thunderstorms, rainbows, or snow without clouds. Clouds make up some of the atmospheric optics we can see in the sky. The atmosphere would be boring if the sky was always clear!
Did you know that Earth is not the only planet with clouds? Other planets, like Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn, have clouds too!

How Clouds Form

A cloud is composed of tiny water droplets or ice crystals that are suspended in the air. A series of processes have to happen in order for these water droplets or ice crystals to form into clouds in the atmosphere, and different types of clouds form from different processes. The four main ways that clouds can form are:

Surface Heating Mountains and Terrain Air Masses Being Forced to Rise Weather Fronts (cold or warm)

All of these processes involve the cooling of air. Warm air is able to hold larger amounts of water vapor than cool air, so when air cools it is no longer able to hold all of the water vapor it was able to hold when it was warm. This extra water vapor begins to condense out of the air into liquid water droplets. Typically, water vapor needs some sort of particle, such as dust or pollen, to condense upon. These particles are called condensation nuclei. Eventually, enough water vapor will condense upon condensation nuclei to form a cloud. The water droplets in the cloud may eventually

Recipe of Adai Ingredient Name Unit Quantity Butter to taste channa daal cup 1 Coconut - Gratedto taste Curry Leaves to taste Oil to fry Onions number 3 Red Chillies number 10 Rice cup 1 Salt to taste toor daal & urad daal cup 1/4 Turmeric Powder to taste

Directions | How to make Adai 1. Soak rice for 4 to 5 hours only. 2. Soak all the dals together for 2 hours only . 3. Grind Rice, Dals, red chillies, together. The dough should be coarse(dals should be half grinded). Note : The dough should not be watery. It should be thicker than a normal 'DOSAI' dough. 4. Mix grated Coconut, Onion, Curry Leaves, Salt and Turmeric Powder to the dough. 5. Heat Tawa. Grease Tawa with little oil. 6. Pour the dough in the Tawa. 7. Make a round shape. 8. Make a hole in the center and another 5 holes a little distance from the center. 9. Pour Oil in each hole and on the adai to make it crispy. 10. Wait till it is golden reddish brown in colour and turn it. 11. Again pour oil in each hole and little on top of adai also. 12. Serve with little butter on top while Adai is hot. 13. The adai's crispness depends on the length of the time on the tawa and can be made according to taste.

Koh-i-Noor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article is about a diamond. For the writing instrument manufacturer, see Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth. Koh-i-Noor

Glass replica of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond in its original form. From the Reich der Kristalle museum in Munich. Weight Color Country of origin Mine of origin Current owner 105.6 carats (21.6 g) finest white India Kollur Mine, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh The British Crown (part of the British Crown Jewels)

The Kh-i Nr (Telugu: , Hindi: , Persian/Urdu: ,) meaning "Mountain of Light" in Persian language, also spelled Koh-i-noor, Koh-e Noor or Koh-i-Nur, is a 105.6 metric carats diamond, weighing 21.6 grammes in the most recent cut state, and once the largest known diamond. The Kh-i Nr is believed to have originated in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India together with its double, the Darya-ye Noor (the "Sea of Light"). The diamond has belonged to various Hindu, Rajput, Mughal, Persian, Afghan, Sikh and British rulers who fought bitterly over it and seized it as a spoil of war time and time again. It was confiscated from Kharak Singh in 1850 by the British East India Company and became part of the British Crown Jewels when Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India in 1877. The diamond was traditionally known as Syamantaka-mani and later Madnayak or the "King of Jewels", before being renamed Kohinoor in 18th century by Ahmad Shah Abdali of Afghanistan.

The diamond is currently set into the Crown of Queen Elizabeth and on display at the Tower of London.

Contents

1 History o 1.1 Stone of the emperors o 1.2 Passage from India o 1.3 The curse of the Koh-i-Noor o 1.4 The Great Exhibition o 1.5 The Crown Jewels 2 Present claims to ownership of the Koh-i-noor 3 Legends 4 See also 5 References 6 Sources 7 Secondary source 8 External links

History
The origin of the Koh-i-Noor diamond is unknown. Legend has it that the diamond first appeared in the Kollur region of Guntur district in present day Andhra Pradesh, one of the world's earliest diamond producing regions, some time in the 13th century during the Kakatiya rule. This region was the only known source of diamonds until 1730 when diamonds were discovered in Brazil.[1] The term "Golconda" diamond has come to define diamonds of the finest white colour, clarity and transparency. They are very rare and highly sought after. The diamond came from the Kollur mines, near the village Kollur in the present-day Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.[2][3] The diamond became the property of Kakatiya kings who installed it as one of the eyes of the presiding Goddess in a temple in their capital city of Warangal. The Khilji dynasty at Delhi ended in 1320 AD. and Ghiyas ud din Tughluq Shah I, a Turkic ruler ascended the throne. Tughlaq sent his commander Ulugh Khan in 1323 to defeat the Kakatiya king Prataparudra. Ulugh Khan's raid was repulsed but he returned in a month with a larger and determined army. The unprepared army of Kakatiya was defeated. The loot, plunder and destruction of Orugallu (present day Warangal), the capital of the Kakatiya kingdom, continued for months. Loads of gold, diamonds, pearls and ivory were carried away to Delhi on elephants, horses and camels. The Koh-i-noor diamond was part of the bounty.[4][5]

Tavernier's illustration of the Koh-I-Noor under different angles The first confirmed historical mention of the Koh-i-noor by an identifiable name dates from 1526. Babur mentions in his memoirs, the Baburnama, that the stone had belonged to an unnamed Rajah of Malwa in 1294. Babur held the stone's value to be such as to feed the whole world for two and a half days. The Baburnama recounts how the Rajah of Malwa was compelled to yield his prized possession to Ala ud din Khilji; it was then owned by a succession of dynasties that ruled the Delhi sultanate, finally coming into the possession of Babur himself in 1526, following his victory over the last ruler of that kingdom. However, the Baburnama was written c.1526-30; Babur's source for this information is unknown, and he may have been recounting the hearsay of his day and mixed up the Emperor of Warangal with the Rajah of Malwa. He did not at that time call the stone by its present name, but despite some debate[6] about the identity of 'Babur's Diamond,' it seems likely that it was the stone which later became known as Koh-i-noor. Both Babur and Humayun mention very clearly in their memoirs the origins of 'Babur's Diamond'. This diamond was with the Kachhwaha rulers of Gwalior and then inherited by the Tomara line. The last of Tomaras, Man Singh Tomar, negotiated peace with Sikandar Lodi, Sultan of Delhi and became vassal of the Delhi sultanate. On the defeat of lodis and replacement by Mughals, his house was looted by the Mughals. However, Prince Humayun interceded and restored his property, even allowing him to leave Delhi and take refuge in Mewar at Chittaur. In return for Humayun's kindness, one of the diamonds in possession of Prince Vikaramaditya, most likely the Koh-i-Noor, was given to Humayun in gratitude. Humayun had much bad luck throughout his life. Sher Shah Suri, who defeated Humayun, died in the flames of a burst cannon. Humayun's son, Akbar, never kept the diamond with himself and later only Shah Jahan took it out of his treasury. Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan was overthrown by his own son, Aurangazeb.

Stone of the emperors

File:Shah Jahan on The famous Peacock Throne.jpg Shah Jahan seated on The Peacock Throne, which was encrusted with the Koh-i-noor. Shah Jahan, famous for building the Taj Mahal in Agra, had the stone placed into his ornate Peacock Throne. His son, Aurangazeb, imprisoned his ailing father at nearby Agra Fort. Legend has it that he had the Koh-i-Noor positioned near a window so that Shah Jahan could see the Taj only by looking at its reflection in the stone. Aurangazeb later brought it to his capital Lahore and placed it in his own personal Badshahi Mosque. There it stayed until the invasion of Nader Shah of Persia in 1739 and the sacking of Agra and Delhi. Along with the Peacock Throne, he also carried off the Koh-i-Noor to Persia in 1739. It was allegedly Nader Shah who exclaimed Koh-i-Noor! when he finally managed to obtain the famous stone, and this is how the stone gained its present name. There is no reference to this name before 1739. The valuation of the Koh-i-Noor is given in the legend that one of Nader Shah's consorts supposedly said, "If a strong man should take five stones, and throw one north, one south, one east, and one west, and the last straight up into the air, and the space between filled with gold and gems, that would equal the value of the Koh-i-noor." After the assassination of Nader Shah in 1747, the stone came into the hands of Ahmad Shah Durrani of Afghanistan. In 1830, Shah Shuja, the deposed ruler of Afghanistan, managed to flee with the Kohinoor diamond. He then came to Lahore where it was given to Ranjit Singh; in return for this, Maharaja Ranjit Singh won back the Afghan throne for Shah Shuja-ul-Mulk.

Passage from India

Ranjit Singh was crowned ruler of the Punjab region and willed the Koh-i-noor to the Jagannath Temple in Orissa from his deathbed in 1839. But after his death the British administrators did not execute his will.[7] On 29 March 1849, the British raised their flag on the citadel of Lahore and the Punjab was formally proclaimed to be part of the British Empire in India. One of the terms of the Treaty of Lahore, the legal agreement formalising this occupation, was as follows:

Lithograph by Emily Eden showing one of the favourite horses of Maharaja Ranjit Singh with the head officer of his stables and his collection of jewels, including the Koh-i-noor. The gem called the Koh-i-Noor which was taken from Shah Shuja-ul-Mulk by Maharajah Ranjit Singh shall be surrendered by the Maharajah of Lahore to the Queen of England. The Governor-General in charge of the ratification for this treaty was Lord Dalhousie. More than anyone, Lord Dalhousie was responsible for the British acquiring the Koh-i-Noor, in which he continued to show great interest for the rest of his life. Dalhousie's work in India was primarily aimed at appropriation of Indian assets for the use of the British East India Company. His acquisition of the diamond, amongst many other things, was criticized even by some of his contemporaries in Britain. Although some suggested that the diamond should have been presented as a gift to the Queen, it is clear that Dalhousie felt strongly that the stone was a spoil of war, and treated it accordingly. Writing to his friend Sir George Cooper[disambiguation needed] in August 1849, he stated: The Court [of the East India Company] you say, are ruffled by my having caused the Maharajah to cede to the Queen the Koh-i-noor; while the 'Daily News' and my Lord Ellenborough [Governor-General of India, 1841-44] are indignant because I did not confiscate everything to her Majesty... [My] motive was simply this: that it was more for the honour of the Queen that the Koh-i-noor should be surrendered directly from the hand of the conquered prince into the hands of the sovereign who was his conqueror, than it should be presented to her as a giftwhich is always a favourby any joint-stock company among her subjects. So the Court ought to feel.[8] Dalhousie arranged that the diamond should be presented by Maharaja Ranjit Singh's young successor, Duleep Singh, to Queen Victoria in 1850. Duleep Singh was the youngest son of Ranjit Singh and his fifth wife Maharani Jind Kaur. Duleep, aged 13, travelled to the United Kingdom to present the jewel. The presentation of the Koh-i-Noor to Queen Victoria was the latest in the long history of transfers of the stone as a spoil of war. Duleep Singh had been placed

in the guardianship of Dr Login. Login was a surgeon in the British Army who served in West Bengal, East India for some years and was a native of Southend, Stromness, Orkney Islands, Scotland. His family had run Login's Inn in Stromness since the early 19th century. Dr Login, his wife Lena and the young Duleep Singh travelled to England for the purpose of presenting the Koh-i-Noor diamond to Queen Victoria. In due course the Governor-General received the Koh-i-Noor from Login, who had been appointed Governor of the Citadel, the Royal Fort at Lahore, with the Royal Treasury, which Login valued at almost 1,000,000 (81.6 million as of 2012),[9] excluding the Koh-i-Noor, on 6 April 1848, under a receipt dated 7 December 1849, in the presence of the members of the Board of Administrationthe local resident H.M. Lawrence, C.C. Mansel, John Lawrence, younger brother of H.M. Lawrence, and of Sir Henry Elliot, Secretary to the Government of India. The jewel was then sent to England in the care of John Lawrence, and C.C. Mansel for presentation to Queen Victoria, sailing from Bombay in HMS Medea under strict security arrangements. The ship had a difficult voyagean outbreak of cholera on board when the ship was in Mauritius had the locals demanding its departure and they asked their governor to open fire and destroy the vessel if it did not respond. Shortly thereafter the vessel was hit by a severe gale that blew for some twelve hours. Legend in the Lawrence family has it that during the voyage, John Lawrence left the jewel in his waistcoat pocket when it was sent to be laundered, and it was returned promptly by the steward who found it. On arrival in Britain the passengers and mail were unloaded in Plymouth, but the Koh-i-noor stayed on board until the ship reached Portsmouth, from where Lawrence and Mansel took the diamond to the East India House in the City of London and passed it into the care of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the EIC. The handing over of the Koh-i-Noor diamond to the Queen on 3 July 1850 as part of the terms of the conclusion of the Sikh War also coincided with the 250th anniversary of the EIC. Dr Login received a knighthood in 1854 from Queen Victoria and was known as Sir John Spencer Login (he had added the 'r' to his middle name to change it from Spence to Spencer). The diamond is now set into the crown worn by the female consort to Monarch of the United Kingdom, and is currently in the Crown of Queen Elizabeth

Daulatabad, Maharashtra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2009) Daulatabad (Marathi ; Urdu: meaning City of Prosperity), is a 14th century fort city in Maharashtra, India, about 16 kilometers northwest of Aurangabad. The place, was once as known as Deogiri,[1] (circa the sixth century AD, when it was an important uplands city along caravan routes and is now but a village, based around the former city of the same name. Starting 1327, it famously remained the capital of Tughlaq dynasty, under Muhammad bin Tughluq (r. 1325-1351), who also changed its name, and forcibily moved the entire population of Delhi here, for two years, before it was abandoned due to lack of water.

Contents

1 Fort of Devagiri 2 The City o 2.1 History 3 Structure of Daultabad Fort 4 Monuments 5 Transport o 5.1 Road Transport o 5.2 Rail Transport o 5.3 Gallery 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Fort of Devagiri
The area of the city includes the hill-fortress of Devagiri (Marathi ) (sometimes Latinised to Deogiri). It stands on a conical hill, about 200 meters high. Much of the lower slopes of the hill has been cut away by Yadava dynasty rulers to leave 50 meter vertical sides to improve defenses. The fort is a place of extraordinary strength. The only means of access to the summit is

by a narrow bridge, with passage for not more than two people abreast, and a long gallery, excavated in the rock, which has for the most part a very gradual upward slope. About midway along this gallery, the access gallery has steep stairs, the top of which is covered by a grating destined in time of war to form the hearth of a huge fire kept burning by the garrison above. At the summit, and at intervals on the slope, are specimens of massive old cannon facing out over the surrounding countryside. Also at the mid way, there is a cave entrance meant to confuse the enemies.

The City
Daulatabad (190 57 N; 750 15 E) is located at a distance of 15 km northwest of Aurangabad, the district headquarters and midway to Ellora group of caves. The original widespread capital city is now mostly unoccupied and has been reduced to a village. Much of its survival depends on the tourists to the old city and the adjacent fort.

History
The site had been occupied since at least 100 BCE, and now has remains of Buddhist caves similar to those at Ajanta and Ellora.

Daulatabad Fort -- Devagiri (Deogiri). The city is said to have been founded c. 1187 by Bhillama V, a prince who renounced his allegiance to the Chalukyas and established the power of the Yadava dynasty in the west. There is a tradition that Deoghur or Doulatabad was built in 1203 AD by a Dhangar or herdsman who acquiring by some unusual good fortune vast wealth was named by his brother shepherds Rajah Ram and soon after assumed the rank of a Rajah.[2] Daulatabad or the abode of wealth was the name given by Muhammad-bin-Tughluq when he made his capital here in A.D. 1327. The ancient name being Devagiri or Deogiri meaning Hill of Gods under the Yadavas of Deogiri. The Yadavas were initially ruling under the Chalukyas of Kalyani over region of modern Dhulia and Nasik districts with their capital at

Chandradityapura (modern Chandor, Nasik district). Bhillama V who was one of the powerful Yadava rulers led victorious campaigns against the Hoysalas, Paramaras and Chalukyas founded the city of Deogiri and shifted his capital here. Since then the succeeding Yadava rulers held their capital here. During the rule of Ramachandradeva, son of Krishna, Ala-ud-din Khilji invaded and captured Deogiri in A.D. 1296. However, Ramachandradeva was allowed to rule from here as a vassal. Later, Malik Kafur led two campaigns against Ramachandradeva and his son Shankardeva in A.D. 1306-07 and 1312 respectively; Shankardeva was killed during the latter campaign. Harapaladeva was placed on the throne by Malik Kafur who later ascertained his independence. This led to another successful campaign against Deogiri by Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah Khilji and the fort was annexed to the Delhi Sultanate. Muhammad-bin-Tughluq succeeded the Khiljis at Delhi and he renamed Deogiri as Daulatabad and seeing its impregnable fort, shifted the capital from Delhi in A.D. 1328. This led to serious repercussions and he had to again transfer the capital back to Delhi. The region and the fort passed on into the hands of Bahamani rulers under Hasan Gangu in A.D. 1347 and Nizam Shahis of Ahmednagar in A.D. 1499. Daulatabad became the capital of Nizam Shah dynasty in 1607 A.D. Deccan witnessed turbulent periods due to the frequent invasions and infights between the local ruling families during this period. The Mughals led several campaigns during the rule of Akbar and Shah Jahan and only during the latters period the area was fully captured in 1633 A.D. after a long siege of four months. Thus the Mughals seized power and Aurangazeb was placed as the Viceroy of Deccan who led his campaigns to Bijapur and Golconda from Daulatabad. The rising power of Marathas troubled the Mughals and for a brief period the region passed under the control of Marathas. Thus the Daulatabad fort passed several hands, captured and re-captured, by the Mughals, the Marathas, the Peshwas, and finally placed under the control of the Nizams of Hyderabad in 1724 A.D. which was under their control till independence.

Structure of Daultabad Fort

The Daulatabad fort was one of the most powerful forts during the medieval period. Built on a 200 meter high conical hill, the fort was defended by moat and glacis running around the hill at its foot besides the most complex and intricate defense system. The fortifications comprise three encircling walls with bastions. The entrance through the outer wall is by a strong hornwork consisting of a succession of gateways and courts. It has very thick and lofty walls convoluted on the outer faces and is defended by large bastions both without and within the courts. A barbican of later date, the entrance to which has been broken away, stands in front of this hornwork. One the right of the entrance gateway is an enormous bastion. The face of the gateway above the door has been pierced with three large openings for artillery. The entrance from the barbican to the first court is through a lofty vaulted passage with a turn midway and two-leaved door at the entrance, a large recess for the guard on right and stairway to the parapet wall over the gate on the left. The outer door, studded and spiked against elephant attack, is still in position. It is a formidable barrier, strengthened behind by heavy battens spaced at short intervals, and secured when closed by a square timber bar, drawn out from a long socket in one jamb, passed behind the door and fitted into a socket in the other jamb. The iron spikers are arranged in horizontal rows up the face of the door. The next gateway is defended by strong towers and an embattled parapet. There is only one two-leaved door here but it is of the usual heavy constructions and armed with iron spikers. Within the doorway are two guard rooms, each of two vaulted bays. In the next court, facing the second gateway, is a large conical tower which has lost its upper part and from

this tower, about midway in its height, projects a covered balcony supported on sculptured corbels. To reach the following gate in the hornwork one must pass diagonally through the court exposed to attach from all sides. This gateway, closed only by a single two leaved-door, is much narrower than those already passed. The second curtain has a simpler entrance with still narrower gateway and the entrance is defended from within by a guardroom on either side of the passage at is issue. This fortress enclosed an area occupied by the ruins of the palaces of Tughluq and of later days. The outer part has also numerous ruined buildings palaces, temples and mosques. Besides there exists a fine and conspicuous minaret, 30 metres high and 21 metres in circumference known as Chand Minar which was built by Sultan Ala-ud-din Bahmani (Sultan Ahmed Shah II) in 1447 A.D. The third wall is much further up the hill and the rise begins to grow steeper, the entrance here is complicated and difficult to negotiate, and is defended by a tower on either side. A flight of steps leads up to the first door, this door being carried, an assailant is faced by guards in a recess directly in front of him, and his further progress is obstructed by a door on the right, opening to a passage through the wall with a flight of steps up, under attack from guards posted in a large recess in the rear, another recess on the right-hand side of the passage and a third directly facing him. A third door opening to a flight of steps on the left and under attack from the rear must finally be carried before he has arrived inside the wall. Ascending form this level and passing by the ruins of the Chini Mahal, a palace decorated with encaustic tiles, one reaches a platform at the foot of the citadel. By the side of Chini Mahal, is placed a massive cannon manufactured during the period of Aurangazeb popularly known as Menda Top. The entrance to the citadel is defended by a wide and deep wet moat leaving dams across it and a submerged causeway for the bridge of unusual design. It descends rapidly by a flight of steps down from the counter scarp and rises again to the level of the gallery on the other side. The gallery passes round three sides of a tall bastion and an assailant rushing through it would be under attack from the battlements of the bastion and from those of a high wall and strong tower on the counter scarp of the moat, which are so built as to face in that direction. From the end of the gallery a few steps lead down to a small open court, on one side of which is the entrance doorway to the tunnel. The long ascending tunnel rises rapidly and tortuously by flights of steep steps. Opening of it at intervals are chambers for guards commanding the approach. At the head of the tunnel is an iron shutter which runs horizontally on small wheels, covering or uncovering the opening like a trapdoor. A most ingenious and effective defense of this tunnel was the provision of a barrier of smoke. At a point about half-way through, where the tunnel passed near the vertical face of the rock a hold was cut through to secure draught for the fire in an iron brazier which installed in a small chamber opening into the tunnel when the fire was kindled the current of air from the hole would waft the smoke up the tunnel and render its passage impossible. On issuing from the trap-door at the head of the tunnel one arrives at the foot of a very wide and long series of flight of steps, ascending to the baradari, a summer house, built for Shah Jahan on his visit to Daulatabad in 1636 A.D.

From this level a further flight of steps leads up to the level summit of the citadel where lies a heavy canon of 18th century in its original mountings. The citadel possesses a plentiful supply of water from its own perennial springs.

Monuments
The outer wall, 2.75 miles (4.43 km) in circumference, once enclosed the ancient city of Deogiri (Devagiri), and between this and the base of the upper fort are three lines of defences. Besides the fortifications Daulatabad contains several notable monuments, of which the chief are the Chand Minar and the Chini Mahal. The Chand Minar is a tower 210 ft (64 m). high and 70 ft (21 m). in circumference at the base, and was originally covered with beautiful Persian glazed tiles. It was erected in 1445 by Ala-ud-din Bahmani to commemorate his capture of the fort. The Chini Mahal, or China Palace, is the ruin of a building once of great beauty. In it Abul Hasan Tana Shah, the last of the Qutb Shahi kings of Golconda, was imprisoned by Aurangzeb in 1687.[3]

Transport
Road Transport
Daulatabad is in the outskirts of Aurangabad, and is on the Aurangabad - Ellora road (National Highway 211). Aurangabad is well connected by road, rail and air.

Rail Transport
Daulatabad rail station is located on the Kachiguda-Manmad section of the Nanded Division of South Central Railway. Until reorganisation in 2003, it was a part of the Hyderabad Division Aurangabad is a major station near to Daulatabad.

Gallery

View from Mughal Pavilion

Canon pointing into distance from Mughal Pavilion

Mughal Pavilion, high up the fort

Track within Daulatabad Fort

A view from the top of the Devagiri fort. Note the tunnel entrance, cannon post, and narrow access bridge