Sawai Madhopur

Friday morning was Metro time, heading back to Old Delhi with our new travelling companions. The Metro was efficient and clean, quite busy to me, we were told to push, push, push to make sure that we got on. Thankfully we only had to shove a little!
We walked then rode in a cycle rickshaw amongst the crazy traffic. Highly entertaining seeing vehicles coming and going in all directions, seemingly with no rules. Apparently it is all done with the eyes and head wobbles, plus a large amount of luck. Despite the chaos we felt safe.

We walked past very ornate and very simple temples, all had fresh flowers in, people were worshipping as they passed while continuing in their daily tasks.

Next stop for some spiritual calm. Built
by a Mughal Emperor between 1644 and 1656 Jama Masjid Delhi's oldest Mosque is India's largest. Built of the local red stone and lavishly decorated with white marble it was built as a symbolic gesture of Islamic power throughout India. The name translates to Congregational Mosque or Friday Mosque, a common name for Islamic Mosques around the world.

Removing our shoes, women also had to wear a gown, we entered the huge square. Large enough to accommodate 25,000 praying souls. The huge prayer hall has three beautiful domes and towers at each side.
James went to the top of one of the towers to get a birds eye view of Delhi prostrate below.

Then on to a Sikh temple Sheeshgamj Gurudwara , it was built here to mark the place where the ninth Sikh Guru was beheaded in 1675. Built in 1783 as a small shrine, the present building was built in 1930 with the gold dome being added a little later.

The temple is a Haven of peace amongst the chaos and noise in the streets. It is beautiful inside and out. Inside is lavishly decorated with gold and rich fabrics. Live devotional music is played throughout each day. This was very atmospheric and added to the solemnity.

Just across the courtyard is a community kitchen where thousands are fed daily, lunch and evening. The food is grown and provided by donors and charities, all prepared by volunteers, everyone is welcome. This happens across India.

At some point we visited Agrasen Ki Baoli step well which was incredibly beautiful, built in three levels. Possibly before the 14thc. It has one hundred and eight steps, as it rains the well fills up and people could access it easily via the steps. Now everyone has running water so they are not used.

To make the most of the few hours left in Delhi we set off to see more sites, with a driver to take us around. The Gandhi museum which is situated where he was assassinated , was sadly disappointing, the rooms where he spent his last days were interesting, but failed to give enough detail of his life to feed our interest.

We passed the India Gate a military memorial of WW1, heading to Humayun's Tomb. Humayun was the second Mughal Emperor and this was Delhi's first Mughal mausoleum. Supervised by Haji Begum his senior wife who is now intered alongside
Made of local red sandstone inlaid with black and white marble the octagonal building is set on a raises platform in a formal garden. It is a huge area with beautiful gardens and other tombs laid out very formally.

Dinner was at a cafe nearby, 10 minutes walk along the main road the pavement all broken and twisted and electrical wires hanging ready to trip us up or strangle us as we passed. We were forced to walk on the edge of the road and compete with the 2 wheeled vehicles and tuktuks, of course going in both direction.
Dinner was great though.Read more