[Thursday 21st Nov] After flying from Cochin to Delhi yesterday and seeing the Lotus Temple during sunset, today was a day of mass-sightseeing. We had arranged a driver to take us to several sights around Delhi today, tomorrow and then to Agra, the next stop the following day. First we drove to Jama Masjid, the largest and best known mosque in India. Inside the dress code was: no shoes, women cover legs, body and arms and Rs.300 for a camera. Papa and Milan went up one of the towers for the view above while and Mama & I stayed down and watched the busy streets and wildlife. After, we drove to The Red Fort and spent two hours with an audio guide inside. We entered through the gate and learned that the Red Fort is made of red sandstone. The Red fort was a palace constructed by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan for himself and his court. The Red Fort also had many riches including the priceless peacock throne, which was looted of its jewels by the persians when they decided to settle in Delhi. After the Red Fort, we drove to Raj Ghat a park dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, a man who fought the rights of people and led India to independence, but in a non-violent way, with various protests, marches and such. After we drove to our final stop for the day, the Akshardham Temple the biggest Hindu temple in the world. We walked in and had a look in the huge gardens, where there was memorials of people who had done good things in their lives for the country. Then we took our shoes off, and went into the main temple which has golden statues of Hindu gods which you can receive blessings from. After we went out and looked at the Elephant Plinth at the base of the temple which are elephants carved into the stone and made into stories about them which were very interesting. After the elephants, we walked more around the temple and through the lotus garden which is a big garden shaped as a lotus flower. It was after dark by then so we decided to go back to the hotel, tired after our day of mass-sightseeing.
Nilay
For some photos click here:
ramblingramas 