Delhi, Day 2

Well once again there is a bit of an unintended gap between posts, but Christmas and then another quick trip to Bombay sort of got in the way. But, though a bit late, here is the previously promised post on our second day in Delhi!

Some kids wanted my picture in front of  the tower

Basically our second day was dedicated to the main sites which are actually within the city. So first thing in the morning we packed into our Mahyco cars and headed off to the first of many Delhi icons- Qutub Minar. As soon as we arrived I could tell why this had been assigned so much importance within the city. Amidst arching gates and pillars, a massive tower built of red sandstone simply erupts from the ground. From the very base up to as high as I could see, the tower was wrapped in intricate carvings, particularly inscriptions from the Qur'an. Try as I might it was impossible to imagine such complexity being built close to a century ago, without the modern ease provided by cranes or power tools. How the largest tower in India could have been developed from the ground up out of sheer piles of stone I simply don't know. It makes me realize that while the size of construction may have exploded since 1200, that in no way reflects the imaginative scope it takes to build something like this. No one today would suggest a construction that would span multiple generations, and no where will you find thousands of workers willing to start a project they will never see to the end. The ambition and dedication needed to build structures such as this one will never cease to astound me.

The Lotus Temple from the garden in front.

From there we went to a more modern Delhi sight- the lotus temple. The lotus temple is, as you would guess, built in the shape of a giant lotus flower. It is basically a nondenominational place of worship, though technically it is associated with the Baha'i faith (which thinks that belief and prayer of all kind is holy). I thought it was a really clever building, with pools all around it to simulate a lotus sitting in water. And though it was bustling with school kids and tourists such as ourselves, as soon as you get inside you are met with peaceful silence. I have been in a lot of massive churches, but this one didn't feel anything like those. It was very modern, so the inside was filled with steel arches and supportive beams. I thought it was very interesting, and totally different from most of the places of worship I have visited while traveling.

Next we met Usha for lunch at a place called Karim's, which is a Muslim restaurant. We made our way to the predominantly Muslim part of the city, and pulled up along the main street. From there, the roads were too narrow to continue by car, so we walked out into the winding streets. It is always easy to tell when you have moved into a Muslim area of a city simply by looking around you. For one thing, you will see a lot more people in Muslim clothes, and along the roads all of the shops start selling prayer mats and the traditional skull caps. But another easy way to tell is suddenly instead of just Hindi or sometimes English, all of the signs are written in Urdu, and then sometimes Hindi as well. After wandering through congested streets, we finally made it to the restaurant.

I'm sure the architecture style looks quite familiar.

Karim's is famous for their kebabs, so it was not exactly ideal for vegetarians. But in India there will always be something vegetarian, and they also had fantastic rotis (breads) so I was not complaining. Unlike Hindus, most of whom are vegetarian, Muslims eat a lot of meat, mostly chicken and mutton. So, to continue the Delhi trend, we vegetarians had some paneer, as well as two other vegetable dishes, which were quite delicious. Usha met us at the restaurant towards the end of lunch and we continued to our next sight, which was actually just a few blocks from us. Soon we found ourselves at an arching gate, which would lead us to Humayun's Tomb. Humayun was a Muslim emperor during the Mughal rule. Mughal Emperors ruled for a long time not only in India, but in a good deal of Asia and the middle east. A lot of India's most iconic structures, like the giant dome of the Taj Mahal and other similar buildings, are actually due to this Islamic influence. So Humayun's Tomb also had the characteristics of Mughal buildings- a red sandstone building culminating in a white marble dome. And of course, from top to bottom it is laden with carvings in different coloured stone, both decorative and words from the Qur'an. And one of my favourite details, were the beautifully kept gardens which surrounded the tomb.

Once we had seen some incredibly impressive sights, we decided to finish off the day with a bit of Delhi shopping. A relative of Usha's has a jewelry shop in a nice area of Delhi, so we visited there and wandered a bit in that area, popping into tea and antique shops. Then we were taken to a special scarf and shawl shop, which is particularly known for their pashminas. We spent at least an hour and a half being shown various colours, patterns, and grades of scarf, and then of course once we had selected, we had to begin the tedious haggling process. In most nice Indian shops, you don't actually browse for things. Rather you sit around a cushioned table as the employees of the shop toss item after item in front of you, piling things up until they are eventually swept away and the process starts all over again. We easily saw hundreds of things before we eventually made our choices.

By the time we got back to our hotel we were exhausted from a long day of sight seeing. Rather than attempt to find somewhere nice to eat, we settled for order in pizza and an early night. The next morning we would have to get up early to head for Agra, and I for one was very grateful to settle into my bed. Once again, I think it is probably in all of your best interests that I leave this post here and write up another one for the next day. However this time I will actually be speedy with my further writings! After all, the next day would be the pinnacle of any tourists visit to Delhi, and perhaps India in general.