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We began our second day of sightseeing in Delhi at Qutb Minar, a 13th century tower of red sandstone. Construction on the 73 meter high tower lasted from 1193 to 1368, and amazingly the tower survives to this day. Unfortunately, you can get an idea of the thick air pollution from the atmospheric perspective in the photo.
Below is a 7th century iron pillar that is also at the sight, and which pre-dates the Islamic structures. Supposedly scientists aren't sure how it was fabricated, as the technology to make a rust-free iron pillar seems unlikely for the 7th century. I tend to think that contemporary humans don't give enough credit to those who came before.
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Surrounding the tower is the Quwwat Ul Islam Mosque, the oldest extant mosque in India, also dating from the 12th and 13th centuries.
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The beautiful carvings on the mosque.
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More of the red sandstone mosque.
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We saw lots of wild parrots around the Delhi monuments.
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The tower was too tall to get the whole thing in without taking the photo from an angle...
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From the base you could hardly see the top, the diameter of the structure is almost 15 meters at the base, and only 2.5 meters at the top.
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Inside one of the remaining mosque structures, a family relaxing on a Saturday morning.
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Our next stop was the modern Lotus Temple, a Baha'i Temple built in the 1980s.
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A huge flower on the temple grounds.
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Looking out at the masses of people coming and going from the temple. One thing that struck us in India was that people tended to travel in large groups. Living in Japan we are used to group activities, but what was so interesting to us was to see large groups, such as extended families of 10 or more traveling together. It really gave us some perspective on the vast population of the country.
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We next stopped for lunch at Lodi Gardens. Below is the walk to the restaurant, complete with paintings lining the path.
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Our water had a message to tell....
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A lovely break from the bustle and noise of Delhi...
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Our last destination of the day was Old Delhi, where we visited Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. Below is the open market on the approach street.
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A view of some kids playing cricket, as seen from the mosque gate. Everywhere we went we saw people playing cricket and there were multiple television stations devoted to the sport. We tried watching some, but I had no idea what was happening.
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The main gate of Jama Masjid, built in the mid-17th century. We arrived right as the evening call to prayer was going out, so we were not allowed to enter the mosque. We were confused about if this meant for the rest of the night, or just during prayers. Thankfully, our driver found us after parking the car and explained that it was only during the prayer time.
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Me on the raised entry gate to Jama Masjid with the Red Fort in the background.
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I was wearing a knee-length skirt, which isn't allowed in the mosque, so I had to wear one of the loaner garments (they had them for men wearing shorts as well). The fabric is a little over the bright, eh?
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The gate of the mosque from the interior courtyard, which can hold up to 20,000 people during prayer services.
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Mosque scenery...
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We hired a bicycle rickshaw to get around Old Delhi. The packed streets were tough to navigate on foot, we saw another tourist get stuck between two bike rickshaws trying to walk it. I think his shirt was torn as a result. Eesh.
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Joe at the Red Fort, also built in the 17th century.
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A Jain Temple near the Red Fort.
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Our rickshaw driver worked hard to cycle us through the narrow streets of Old Delhi and the huge bazaar, which we only got a taste of. This photo is from along the street that sold wedding paraphanilia, other streets were devoted to silver, clothing, toys, spices, or any number of other goods.
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He even stopped to take a photo of us. Our (car) driver is on the back seat of the rickshaw.
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