Hathi Gate and Zafar Mahal
Just few meters away from the western entrance of the Dargah of Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki lie the remains of Zafar Mahal with an imposing gateway popularly known as Hathi Gate. The Mughal Emperor Akbar II, built this grand Zafar Mahal as his summer palace. It was later reconstructed by his son and the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Bahadur Shah used this palace as a hunting lodge and also during the festival of Phulwalon ki Sair when the florists of the capital honored him every year. It was he who added the magnificent red sandstone Hathi gate with the curved Bengal roof. The three-storeyed imposing gate has intricately carved windows with arcades inside it, which are flanked by rooms. The interior of the gateway has been built on the lines of Chhatta Chowk of Red Fort. At present, the Hathi Gate is in a good condition but the Zafar Mahal has been converted into shops and houses and it is difficult to imagine that it once was summer palace of the Mughal emperors.
