New Dehli sights - 1st day

 

I guess I should explain what Christine and I are doing in India.  Our niece Emily Tallo and her husband Sarral Sharma are having a 2 day wedding celebration in Jaipur India.  Christine and I figured that since we were flying to the other side of the world, that we should try to see some of the India sights.  I had heard of a tour company called Audley tours that could customize a tour. So that is what we did.  We have started in Delhi.  In a couple of days, we will move to Agra, which is where the Taj Mahal is.  Then we try something totally different and go to a tiger preserve and do 2 wild game drives with a naturalist  at Ranthambore National Park.  After that adventure, we will head to Jaipur, India to do some touring and shopping for a couple of days before we head to the wedding there. 

Our first full day in Delhi was spent doing a 1/2 day tour of New Delhi.  We visited a 13th century victory tower, a magnificent Mughal tomb (the picture at the top of this post is from the tomb) from 1565 and drove past the WWI memorial and several Imperial (British ruling times) buildings.  In the afternoon we took the metro (with the help of our guide) and visited a Hindu temple complex.   I know nothing about this part of the world, so I may not explain things in as much detail as I would like. 

The picture above and several below (until you get to the bright colored vehicle) are of the Qutab Minar.  It features a minaret / victory tower.  It lies at the same site as Delhi’s oldest fortified city (1050-1062AD).  The victory tower and the majority of the complex was added between 1199-1220AD.  It is now a UNESCO site and is one of the most visited tourist spots. The white arch in this picture denotes the direction of Mecca.  

The columns in the complex were all different because building materials were often reused and they were from different temples.  Because Muslims don’t believe in or use idols in/on buildings, if there was any kind of idol on the column, it had been chiseled off. 

The victory tower was imposing.  The sky was smog filled while we were here, and the low flying plane was not very visible.  

There were parrots everywhere at this site.

The face you see here was carved in many places to ward off evil spirits.  And if you follow Christine and me when we are blogging, you know we like to post “silly” stone faces.  

This little vehicle is called a tuk tuk. It is like a 3 wheel moped with a cover.  They use it along with the bicycle rickshaws to get locals and tourists around the city. This mode of transportation is NOT for the faint of heart.

Humayans Tomb complex, is a beautiful garden tomb (tombs mostly in buildings surrounded by extensive gardens) , is the first example of Mughal style of architecture in India.  

Main tomb building built in 1565.  The outside is pictured in the 2 picture above,  and the one below is the inside.  

Isa Khan’s tomb at the Humayan Tomb complex. 

Random tomb

Just like many old places, there were treacherous steps up to the main tomb!  You don’t want to touch the railings, but…..

Christine with our Delhi guide Sanjit

Akshardham Temple.  We have no pictures of this temple inside or out.  It was not allowed and we had to check our cell phones and smart watches, and if we had any other electronics, at the gate.  As an aside, it was scary surrendering our cell phones in a foreign country.   The picture above and the info I have here on the temple, I took off of their website.  

Akshardham' means the divine abode of God. It is hailed as an eternal place of devotion, purity and peace. Swaminarayan Akshardham at New Delhi is a Mandir – an abode of God, a Hindu house of worship, and a spiritual and cultural campus dedicated to devotion, learning and harmony. 

This picture of the temple was taken from the metro station.  The air quality in the area was obviously terrible!  

~ Mary ~