After the splendor of the monuments in Agra, the Red Fort and Jama Masjid in Delhi, impressive as they are, were a bit of a let down. Chandni Chowk and the crowded warren of lanes that make up old Delhi were fun to explore - especially in a cycle rickshaw.
The sprawling Red Fort in Delhi was built by Shah Jehan as the focal point of his new capital Shahjahanabad (now Old Delhi). It was built at the height of the creative powers of the Moghul empire, and remained the capital during its long decline. There is the usual Diwan-i-am and the Diwan-i-khas, courtyards, palace quarters and a fine mosque built by Shah Jehan's son Aurangzeb.I was disappointed to find that we were not allowed to enter a number of the structures and had to view them from outside. I walked through these as a fifteen year old, but remember very little.
 |
| The Lahori Gate is the main entrance to the fort. |
 |
| The Diwani-Am |
 |
| The Jharokha where the Emperor sat, is under renovation. |
 |
| The arches in the Diwani-Am |
 |
| The Diwani-Khas which once housed the Peacock throne |
 |
| Detail |
 |
| Diwani-Khas & the location of the throne. |
 |
| All that we could see of the Moti Masjid |
 |
| Diwani-Khas |
 |
| Lahori Gate from inside the fort. |
Jama Masjid is a huge, functioning mosque right in the middle of Old Delhi. It was built by Shah Jehan and shares similarities with the Jama Masjid that was built by his grand-father in Fatehpur Sikri.
 |
| Jama Masjid |
 |
| The huge masjid with one of the gates |
 |
| Praying |
 |
| Washing before prayers |
 |
| Gate to the Masjid |
We walked from the Red Fort to Jama Masjid through what looked like the bicycle bazaar ... shop after shop selling bicycles. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures. We ate at a famous Mughlai restaurant called Karim which is reached via a narrow lane and is spread around a small couryard. The food was excellent! Afterwards, on a whim, we hired a cycle rickhaw and had the time of our lives while he deftly navigated the narrow lanes, huge potholes and the wide bustling roads - often against the flow of traffic!
 |
| A view of an Old Delhi lane from the Jama Masjid. |
 |
| Karim - excellent food. |
 |
| From the cycle rickshaw in Chandni Chowk |
 |
| From the rickshaw |
I've always wanted to visit Raj Ghat - the memorial for Mahatma Gandhi. My life would have been very different if not for him and his compatriots. From the chaos of Chandni Chowk, we cross the busy ring road, and are immediately on a quiet, beautiful lane that runs along the memorials for Indira Gandhi, her son Rajiv Gandhi (neither related to the Mahatma) and then to Raj Ghat. The mood at Raj Ghat was anything but respectful, with busloads of loud, energetic school girls mobbing the site .... and Tami. Still, I'm glad we went.
 |
| Quite lane - 5 minutes from Chandni Chowk. |
 |
| Raj Ghat |
 |
| School girls mobbing Tami. We don't understand this since it did not happen on previous trips |
The rickhaw driver rode us back to the metro.
 |
| Survived! |
That's pretty funny about the mobs around Tami! Hope she's okay when that doesn't happen here. ;-> I love the architecture of some of these buildings!
ReplyDelete