Day 35. New Delhi

As bad as yesterday began when we arrived, today could not have been better!  The guide and driver were here a few minutes before 9.  Rajiv was equal to the best guide we ever had - the one from Israel.  The car AC worked well so we are back to happy tourists.
 
There have actually been many Delhis - the New was added by the Brits when they moved the capitol here in the 1840's.   We had a fabulous and somewhat overwhelming first day of touring.  We saw TWO World Heritage sites, lots of tombs and mosques and temples.  I hope the pictures capture a bit of the diversity and flavor of this city. 

First World Heritage Site:

Second World Heritage Site:

The Mosque:

India’s house for the President – 350 rooms built for the Brit governor! 

The metro area is 35 million people, 1.2 billion in the country.  The US would be .3 of that total, which means India has almost a billion more people.  The sheer density is almost impossible to describe, so I won't.

A live snake – totally safe they say – I’m still skeptical:

This is a single piece of stone carved by a hand chisel:

Traffic congestion:

Waiting at a spot light, which way to go?

The first 2 moguls (=emperors) gave us the Heritage Sites.  We saw the second mogul Humayun Tomb first, which his wife built and was the model for the Taj Mahal, and the Qutub Mitar Complex.  It was built by the first mogul and included a Muslim Mosque and Minitar when the Afghans conquered the Indian Hindus.  It included an iron balisk from 350, which was very early for the almost pure iron.   

12 century tower with the small shaft of iron 1600 years before the west figured out how to make if and it is 99 percent pure!

We saw a beautiful Sikh Temple; there are 10 in the city which feeds 25 to 30 thousand poor people twice daily because they believe all people are equal.  (The government feeds no one.)  Chris got to roll dough into chapatti to be baked and served with the meals.   

Sikh Mosque:

Think we have large dinners:

Chris rolling dough:

 
The Lotus Blossom temple was also very unusual - I got the feeling of it being a "mega church", very modern and open.  That belongs to the Baha Sect; the lotus represents purity in the middle of contamination. Again pictures will have to help. 

Only good thing from the cab into the hotel was this drive by photo Lotus Blossom temple: