Day 9 Delhi - old and not so new

It was an easy coach drive across country .....farms and a lot of brickworks !

Delhi, India’s capital territory, is massive - estimated at 29 million ! (London is about 9 million I think)

It’s Sunday and Republic day today .......a busy day for Delhi but it should quiet on the traffic and unfortunately some sights are closed due to the celebrations ... bah !

We head south to see some pre Mughal sites .
First it’s the Qutub complex and Mehrauli archeological Park which is dominated by the massive Qutub Minar . The park was established around 1193 and apart from the tower it has the oldest mosque in India - with pillars covered with carvings . It was built to announce the arrival of the Muslim sultans . Over carved panels and tombs it’s a mixture of decorative Hindu and Islamic domes and arches and oddly constructed
of red , orange and yellow sandstone. That five storeyed Victory tower is something ! The 4th century iron pillar is a flagstaff relic of very ancient metallurgy and also impressive !

From there we visit the Lodi Gardens which in an area of green and contains some 15thC Sayyid and Lodi dynasties and some impressive ancient tombs - Bara Gumbad and Sheesh Gumbad !

The Lakshmi Narayan Mandir or Birla Mandir is modern 1938 red and yellow temple but impressive and preserved!

A drive around the centre and we pass the Viceroy house - huge , the Parliament , the 18thC observatory of Jantar Mantar , the 1930s terraces of Connaught Place ,the golden mosque and some others !

In the north is Old Delhi ,the walled city built by Shah Jahan built in 1640s . It was India's Capital and at that time the whole city was protected by wall and 14 gates. It includes the Mughal-era Red Fort - which today all we can do is look on from afar due to Republic day! Bah!
We do however hit the very busy and sprawling Jama Masjid mosque -its courtyard takes 25000 people. Today there is a party atmosphere and crowded!
Chandni Chowk is nearby - we decide to take a rickshaw ride through the bazaar alleyways ! It should be a very busy with food carts, sweets ,food and spice stalls and also safer shops . Today it’s very quiet and our rickshaw ride is a breeze! It’s amazing to see the spider web of overhead cables as we cycle down - God knows how they know what is what !

Home on the New Delhi underground - modern and just like Beijing , clean and efficient !
Home and an early night as it’s an early start at 545 for the 9 hr train journey !Okumaya devam et