It has been awhile indeed but we have been pretty busy around here! Last week Aaron's parents flew all the way to India and we got to spend 10 wonderful days with them! We all had a great time together and really had an action packed trip! They first arrived to Bangalore and we spent a few days in town here giving them some time to adjust to not only the time zone but to just being in India! It can be a bit overwhelming at times! We went out for some nice dinners and had an afternoon at a local brewery but also got a little sightseeing in!
Checked out the Bangalore Palace
Some people mount deer heads but not in Bangalore!!
Don't worry I am pretty sure that is not a real elephant!
Roxanne picked up some nice new footstools! Just kidding!
On Sunday we all hopped on a plane and headed north to Delhi. We weren't sure what to expect but Aaron and I were both impressed at how clean the streets of New Delhi were and the traffic seemed to be a bit more organized than here in Bangalore. They had some really nice landscaping and really kept the city clean. It was nice to see in comparison to Bangalore! Our only complaint would had been the air quality. We all knew it was polluted but I was surprised how much smog there was and how low the visibility was while we were there. Besides that we had a great time touring forts, temples, and seeing lots of different sides of Delhi.
Right after landing we went to the Red Fort and took a tour. The Red Fort was the residence of the Mughal Emperor of India for 200 years until 1857. The 5th Mughal emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the fort to be built in 1638 when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. The fort is located right in the middle of Delhi and has it's name from the red sandstone walls that enclose the fort. Most of the jewels and artwork were stolen during different wars and many of the jewels are now housed in British museums. They say there have been requests for them to be returned but the requests have been denied by the British Government.
That night we walked over to the Imperial Hotel and had some drinks at the 1911 bar. It was an amazing hotel to see and had a great bar!
The next day we went all around the city of Delhi. We check out Qutub Minar and one of the oldest mosques in the world. It is no longer in use but there is a practicing mosque still on the grounds. Qutub Minar is a tower that stands at 240 feet tall and has 379 steps inside to reach the top. Visitors are no longer allowed inside because the tower has started to lean a bit!
Lots of detailed engravings in all of the stone work within the complex.
Our guide told us that it is believed that the base of the tower and some of the initial columns were built by Hindus. All of the arches face Mecca but the base of the tower does not and below you can see figures of what appear to be Gods that have been defaced on the columns. In Muslim architecture figures are not commonly used in engravings or decor, instead your see geometric shapes, flowers or nature symbols, or Quranic scripture. Neat little tidbit about ancient architecture!
Hindu Design (above) vs Muslim Design (Below)
The tower was so impressive with all of it's detail. You can see here that every other column of the tower is rounded and then pointed.
This is the mosque in the grounds of Qutub Minar. The arches all face Mecca but this is no longer a practicing mosque.
There were so many green parrots everywhere! it was pretty cool!
After this tour we went to Old Delhi and took a rickshaw ride to a spice market through some very crowded streets! Old Dehli used to be home to many mansions, mosques and gardens but today it is a very crowded area and the symbolic heart of Delhi. The area was a walled city with the Red Fort inside and there were 14 gates in to the area. The walls are mostly gone now but most gates remain. Old Delhi is a very small area but has many millions of people living there!
Roxanne and Larry (he's hiding behind the driver) on the rickshaw!
Spice Market
Tried to get a picture of just how many people there were!
Not sure this picture below does it justice but the streets were so narrow! I felt like I could stretch my arms and touch stores that were across the street from each other!
Last thing of the day is that we went shopping for rugs! It was neat to hear how rugs are hand made in the northern state of Kashmir. We didn't end up buying any at this store but they had some really beautiful selections!
We did go out for a nice dinner in Delhi that night as well but we were all so tired we didn't even think of getting a photo of us all cleaned up!
I'll get working on our trip to the Taj! No wonder we were so tired after this trip! We did a lot of stuff!
