Today was dedicated to a guided bus tour of Old and New Delhi! I really enjoyed the whole experience, as it was a great chance to have someone very knowledgeable on all the places talk about their significance. We got a chance to walk around them, and that was pretty great too!
We started at the Qutb Minar (lots of pictures to follow--but it was very foggy out so don't get your hopes up!). It was wicked cool because the complex was built my Mughals and a slave army identifying as Muslims, so they had destroyed all the Hindu and Jain temples then used rubble as building material for their own mosque. It had been covered in plaster, but now that it has worn away, all the Hindu carvings are visible inside the mosque ruins.
Next was the Lotus Temple (the pictures on Wikipedia are definitely cooler than mine). It is a Bahaii place of worship (remember the fruit sale Finn?) and was incredibly gorgeous. The Bahaii faith is founded on the principle that all religions fundamentally worship the same higher being and that all the prophets were from one god. Thus, the Bahaii places of worship take on characteristics of whatever region they are in; in this case, the lotus flower has significance in both Buddhism and Hinduism, so it was a good symbol to use. There also aren't religious symbols inside. Instead, there are readings from all the major religion's texts. When we walked in, a man was singing from the Koran over a speaker system, which reverberated off the walls of the building, creating an eerie but entrancing hum. The gardens there were also beautiful, and it was so neat seeing people of different religions come together.
After that, we grabbed lunch. It was the best chicken, naan, and dal that I have had on this trip!
We then continued on to a Sikh temple, the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. We had to cover our heads and wash our hands and feet before entering the inner temple. The inside was gilded in gold, and a man at the center was reciting the prayers. We circled around, then continued outside to a large pond next to it. While we were sitting for a photo, random people were taking photos of us. We definitely get a lot of stares here in Delhi, and it was painfully hilarious to see a guy so obviously going out of his way to get a photo of us. We also briefly visited the community kitchen, where anyone can go for a free meal, served restaurant style, any day of the week.
We drove through the center of New Delhi, where the heart of the British empire was. We saw the India Gate briefly, but many things have been closed off because Obama will be there Monday. The next place we got out was Gandhi Smriti, the home where Gandhi spent the last 144 days of his life. It was so peaceful and incredibly moving, as it was part museum as well. There is a raised column (bottom picture on the Wikipedia page) where he was assassinated, and there are raised footsteps leading up to it to show his final walk. The gardens were so beautiful though--after seeing gardens all day, I hope that I have enough money/motivation to create peaceful gardens for myself when I am older.
Next up was Jama Masjid, a stunning mosque where the women had to put on robes before entering. It is huge, and while there isn't a lot to it, the architecture is elegant. We then got on rickshaws! As soon as I sat down, a pigeon relieved itself on me, adding to the hilarity of the situation. With nine rickshaws in a row, we caused a bit of a traffic jam wherever we went. Our goal was to see Chandni Chowk; half of it was closed, but we still traversed the narrow, crowded alleys. It is a main hub for saris and wedding invitations, so the stores were all bright and displayed lavishly bejeweled saris. It was a ton of fun being on a rickshaw (even when we were hooked on another cart and even when I was almost impaled by a two by four and even when Sophie almost lost her leg to an oncoming trash cart!).
We concluded the tour soon thereafter. It had been a blast, but we were all exhausted and took a break in the hotel before heading out for dinner. When the group finally left, we went to a super hygienic fast food type place where we had dosas! I went to buy some chocolates, but the guy at the counter refused my money and insisted that it was his gift to me! (He had a cute smile. It could have been love! But alas, it wasn't meant to be.) We then continued walking to a place to get chicken tikka rolls, which developed from kebabs. We then walked to an ice cream store and back to the hotel!
It was all a really great day, and I am so thankful for the opportunity I've had to be here. With only two days left, it is too surreal to think I'll be leaving so soon. While I am cherishing my time here, I am also excited to be back in the states. All of this travel has made me more easy going and relaxed about things working out: hopefully, this is a lesson I'll keep with me for a long time!
We started at the Qutb Minar (lots of pictures to follow--but it was very foggy out so don't get your hopes up!). It was wicked cool because the complex was built my Mughals and a slave army identifying as Muslims, so they had destroyed all the Hindu and Jain temples then used rubble as building material for their own mosque. It had been covered in plaster, but now that it has worn away, all the Hindu carvings are visible inside the mosque ruins.
Next was the Lotus Temple (the pictures on Wikipedia are definitely cooler than mine). It is a Bahaii place of worship (remember the fruit sale Finn?) and was incredibly gorgeous. The Bahaii faith is founded on the principle that all religions fundamentally worship the same higher being and that all the prophets were from one god. Thus, the Bahaii places of worship take on characteristics of whatever region they are in; in this case, the lotus flower has significance in both Buddhism and Hinduism, so it was a good symbol to use. There also aren't religious symbols inside. Instead, there are readings from all the major religion's texts. When we walked in, a man was singing from the Koran over a speaker system, which reverberated off the walls of the building, creating an eerie but entrancing hum. The gardens there were also beautiful, and it was so neat seeing people of different religions come together.
After that, we grabbed lunch. It was the best chicken, naan, and dal that I have had on this trip!
We then continued on to a Sikh temple, the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. We had to cover our heads and wash our hands and feet before entering the inner temple. The inside was gilded in gold, and a man at the center was reciting the prayers. We circled around, then continued outside to a large pond next to it. While we were sitting for a photo, random people were taking photos of us. We definitely get a lot of stares here in Delhi, and it was painfully hilarious to see a guy so obviously going out of his way to get a photo of us. We also briefly visited the community kitchen, where anyone can go for a free meal, served restaurant style, any day of the week.
We drove through the center of New Delhi, where the heart of the British empire was. We saw the India Gate briefly, but many things have been closed off because Obama will be there Monday. The next place we got out was Gandhi Smriti, the home where Gandhi spent the last 144 days of his life. It was so peaceful and incredibly moving, as it was part museum as well. There is a raised column (bottom picture on the Wikipedia page) where he was assassinated, and there are raised footsteps leading up to it to show his final walk. The gardens were so beautiful though--after seeing gardens all day, I hope that I have enough money/motivation to create peaceful gardens for myself when I am older.
Next up was Jama Masjid, a stunning mosque where the women had to put on robes before entering. It is huge, and while there isn't a lot to it, the architecture is elegant. We then got on rickshaws! As soon as I sat down, a pigeon relieved itself on me, adding to the hilarity of the situation. With nine rickshaws in a row, we caused a bit of a traffic jam wherever we went. Our goal was to see Chandni Chowk; half of it was closed, but we still traversed the narrow, crowded alleys. It is a main hub for saris and wedding invitations, so the stores were all bright and displayed lavishly bejeweled saris. It was a ton of fun being on a rickshaw (even when we were hooked on another cart and even when I was almost impaled by a two by four and even when Sophie almost lost her leg to an oncoming trash cart!).
We concluded the tour soon thereafter. It had been a blast, but we were all exhausted and took a break in the hotel before heading out for dinner. When the group finally left, we went to a super hygienic fast food type place where we had dosas! I went to buy some chocolates, but the guy at the counter refused my money and insisted that it was his gift to me! (He had a cute smile. It could have been love! But alas, it wasn't meant to be.) We then continued walking to a place to get chicken tikka rolls, which developed from kebabs. We then walked to an ice cream store and back to the hotel!
It was all a really great day, and I am so thankful for the opportunity I've had to be here. With only two days left, it is too surreal to think I'll be leaving so soon. While I am cherishing my time here, I am also excited to be back in the states. All of this travel has made me more easy going and relaxed about things working out: hopefully, this is a lesson I'll keep with me for a long time!
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