After six years of restoration work, the 2nd Mughal Emperor Humayun’s tomb in New Delhi was restored to its original splendour and officially reopened to the public on September 18 2013. Built in 1565, nine years after the death of the Mughal Emperor Humayun, the mausoleum was designed by Persian architect Mirak Mirza Ghiyas. It was the first garden-tomb complex on the Indian subcontinent and inspired major architectural innovations, culminating in the construction of the Taj Mahal.
Since the first Mughal Emperor of India, Zaheeruddin Babar, originally came from Uzbekistan, the ceramic tiles used in the tomb were designed in Uzbek style. For the restoration work, master craftsmen from Uzbekistan were flown to India to help train local craftsmen and replicate the intricate Uzbek designs.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in partnership with the Archaeological Survey of India, the Tata Trust and a number of other private sector organizations worked together in a unique public-private joint venture to restore the monument that attracts millions of visitors every year.
According to a press release of the Aga Khan Development Network, together with the conservation works on Humayun’s Tomb, a number of adjoining monuments have also been restored, including: Nila Gumbad, Isa Khan’s garden tomb, Bu Halima’s garden tomb, Arab Serai gateways, Sundarawala Mahal and Burj, Batashewala group of Monuments, Chausath Khambha, and Hazrat Nizamuddin Baoli.
