Glorious history of Delhi

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Delhi is a living city. It accommodates the remains of over a thousand years of building in different states of preservation.  Urdu Language, Sufi traditions and other forms of Intangible heritage have. survived in the heritage precincts of Mehraull and Nizamuddin and continue till today.Similar to the city planning concept of Islamic cities like Lahore, Cairo and Tunis; Delhi also had a unique street layout with the primary axis leading to a central place of worship flanked by shops on either side.The Islamic city of Shahjahanabad was designed based on ideas and ideals of Persian city planning and the Indian text of Vastu Shastra. Delhi has been compared to the cities of Samarkand, Lahore, Agra, Lucknow, Cairo, Istanbul and Tunis in the broader region of Asia, Arab and European states. The architectural style and the planning principles which are the features of the above mentioned cities exhibits very rich heritage and are comparable to Delhi. 
  Delhi being a capital city became a centre where the performing arts, craft, language, traditional beliefs and practices continuously evolved. Urdu language, ciawwail and Sufism are a few of the intangible forms which developed. Urdu was later used extensively by other parts of India. Sufism was practiced in several countries across Central Asia like Samarkand but it developed in its own independent lines in Delhi by incorporating Hindu traditions like annihilation, music and dance which further influenced other parts within the regional context. 

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