India Tombs and Foods: Day 1

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Phred and I started our day (excluding the 3am reunion) with a delicious 'Indian breakfast" at Shanti Home. We had coffee, tea, mango juice, fresh fruit (mango, pineapple and papaya), poori and aloo sabji. It was out of this world. Phred and I wondered why we don't eat this for breakfast every morning.

Forgive me as a I cheat on this blog entry by lifting the destination descriptions from an Indian tourism website! I only have a few minutes before my massage and delicious tandoori dinner!! I have to say, the Shanti Home really knows how to treat it's guests!! I recommend it to anyone traveling to Delhi! You should talk to Sanjana or Pooja (she's wonderful, in fact, we're Facebook friends now).

After breakfast, we proceeded with our driver to Qutab Minar. The tallest brick minaret of the world, Qutub Minar is the pride of Delhi - the old historical walled city and national capital of India. An excellent example of Indo-Islamic architecture, the Qutub Minar and its monuments with its deeper historical significance find its inclusion in the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO.
Emulating the minaret of Jam of Afghanistan, the first Muslim king of Delhi, Qutb-Ud-Din-Aybak started the construction of Qutub Minar in 1193. Latter, his successor, Iltutmish added second, third and fourth floor, which was latter forwarded by his successor, Firoz Shah Tughlaq, who constructed the fifth and last floor of the minaret in 1368. Requiring around 400 steps to reach to the top, the minarets with its height of 72.5 metres, unravel a very fine opportunity to see Indo-Islamic architecture.
The minaret, built on the ruins of Lal-Kot and using the materials of 27 destroyed Hindu and Jain temples, is a unique composite of diverse architectural structure. The minaret made of red sandstones have tangled carving and holy Quran inscribed on it. Hindu floral art inscribed on the pillars, heavily carved fluting (a persian technique) and Muslim calligraphy show a perfect example of Indo-Muslim architectural beauty (The tallest brick minaret of the world, Qutub Minar is the pride of Delhi - the old historical walled city and national capital of India. An excellent example of Indo-Islamic architecture, the Qutub Minar and its monuments with its deeper historical significance find its inclusion in the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO. (http://www.cultural-heritage-india.com/monuments/qutub-minar.html)

We then ventured to Humayuns Tomb. Humayun's Tomb, which follows the mausoleum style of Taj Mahal, is one of the best preserved monument of Mughal architecture. The tomb having the model of Charbagh has been designated as the World Heritage Site, and have become one of the most popular tourist spot in the historical city of Delhi.
With high arches and double dome, the tomb was built by the senior widow of Mughal emperor, Humayun after his death in 1556. The magnificent tomb is said to be the inspiration behind construction of many other Mughal and other historical edifice. The large stone platform of the tomb is surrounded by beautiful garden, which form the best attraction of the tomb.
The beautiful view of the Humayun Tomb is seen even from the Humayun Darwaja (gateway) at Purana Quila (old fort). The carvings and in-laid works on the red sandstones similes the kind of craftsmanship done in Taj Mahal. That is why historian designates this tomb as masculine equivalent of Taj Mahal. Walking through the three gardens and storeyed gateways show visitors the supremacy of Mughal architectural taste. (http://www.cultural-heritage-india.com/world_heritage_sites/humayun-tomb.html).

To cool off a bit we went to lunch at a lovely local South Indian restaurant. Getting seated was interesting. Our driver dropped up off, but the guard at the door would not let us in. So we were sent literally down a back alley way and through the kitchen to another dining room where we proceeded to wait for 20 minutes to be seated. But, let me tell you, the food was well worth the wait. I had the most amazing masala dosai and Phred got the paneer dosai. We also split a sweet lassi. Let me say...these dosai were simply out of this world. We were disappointed, however, when we tried to order gulab jamun for dessert and they didn't have any (although they did have a sign at the sweets counter advertising hot gulab jamun...intertesting).
After lunch we did a bit of shopping at the Delhi Emporium. I bought a beautiful shalwar kameez (I'm sure you'll see me styling it in some photos). Phred and I also got sucked into a carpet store for about 20 minutes as a sales clerk showed up wool and silk rugs from Delhi and Kashmir...good times.

We ended the siteseeing portion of our day with a drive by the India Gate (One of the most important monuments of the historical city of Delhi, the India Gate is also one among the most visited destinations. Built as memorial commemorating 80,000 Indian soldiers, who were killed during the first World War, the historical edifice of India Gate is located exactly opposite to the President House.), the Parliment building and the President's House.

Now we are getting ready for our massages, followed by what is promised to be the most delicious tandoori dinner ever. Pooja also promised my gulab jamun since we couldn't get any at lunch...

We are off to Agra bright and early tomorrow to see the Taj Mahal! I'll definitely post some photos then! Until next time...

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Photos

Tandoori Dinner at Shanti
This photo was taken after an hour long massage and very long steam bath...we were both in another realm...