Today we took an expedited trip of New and Old Delhi. Unfortunately many of the monuments or sights are closed on Mondays, but by hiring a car for the day we were able to cover a lot of ground. We started at the Baha'i House of Worship, better known by its nickname the Lotus Temple. Unfortunately even the grounds were closed so we could not get very close to take better pictures.
We saw a number of buildings which like the Taj Mahal were commissioned by Shahjahan, including Jama Masjid, largest mosque in the world, and the Red Fort, which was the seat of Mughal power until the British defeated their empire in 1857. We walked through the bazaars of Old Delhi bearing the continuous assault of touts and beggars.
Though we have seen many Hindu temples, we visited our first Sikh temple, where we both had to cover our head. On the way out of the temple we were given a sweet, warm mash handed out by a large man with his bare hands. We both felt too polite to turn it down, and it tasted pretty good.
Next up was the India Gate, a massive red sandstone arch built to commemorate the Indian and British soldiers who died in WWI, later expanded to include those who died in other conflicts as well.
Just before heading to the airport we stopped at Rajpath, a two mile long avenue used for parades, and an area bearing many similarities to our national mall. At the end sits Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India.
We ended our whirlwind tour of Delhi with an extra hour in the airport to sip actual American black coffee before boarding our flight to Kochin.
Though we have seen many Hindu temples, we visited our first Sikh temple, where we both had to cover our head. On the way out of the temple we were given a sweet, warm mash handed out by a large man with his bare hands. We both felt too polite to turn it down, and it tasted pretty good.
Next up was the India Gate, a massive red sandstone arch built to commemorate the Indian and British soldiers who died in WWI, later expanded to include those who died in other conflicts as well.
We ended our whirlwind tour of Delhi with an extra hour in the airport to sip actual American black coffee before boarding our flight to Kochin.
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