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Jama Masjid: The Jama Masjid of Old Delhi is the largest mosque in India, its courtyard capable of holding up to twenty-five thousand worshippers. This was our first stop of the day and it required us to ascend three flights of stairs, totaling 39 steps, as it was constructed on a hill. In the center of the courtyard is a large pool of water where worshippers wash their feet prior to praying. Parallel white lines extend across the courtyard to keep the rows of prayer rugs aligned and properly oriented toward the west, facing Mecca.
The mosque itself is a large prayer hall open on three sides, capped with three large domes and flanked by two tall minarets. The minarets are made of white marble and red sandstone, while the domes are white and black marble, topped with gold caps. Sandstone and marble were also used in the construction of the hall, where the floor is tiled in the pattern of the muslim prayer mat. Worshippers praying in the hall do not need to use a separate prayer mat, as the design on the floor suffices. It took over 5,000 workers more than six years to construct the mosque, completed in 1656, for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal.
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Red Fort: The Red Fort was constructed by Shah Jahan from 1639 to 1648 as he moved the capital of his empire from Agra to Shahjahanabad. This location essentially remained the Royal Palace of the Mughal Emperor until the British overtook it in 1857, eventually destroying all the residential palaces. The British Indian Army occupied the fort until India gained its independence from British rule.
Upon gaining independence on 15 August 1947, the new Indian Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, marked the occasion by unveiling the new national flag in front of the Red Fort. This act of unfurling the national flag and giving a speech at this spot is repeated by the prime minister every year on Independence Day.
The Indian National Army continued to occupy the fort from 1947 until 2003, when it was handed over to the Indian tourist authorities. We did not tour the Red Fort while in Delhi.
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Raj Ghat: The Raj Ghat is a black marble platform and eternal flame memorializing Mahatma Gandhi, father of the country. The memorial is surrounded by four walls but left open to the sky. It was built on the cremation site of Mahatma Gandhi and contains his epitaph "He Ram" (Oh God), believed to be the last words he spoke. According to Hindu tradition, his remains were scattered in the Ganges river. He died in January, 1948. Nearby are ten additional memorials of influential Indians.
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Humayun's Tomb: Humayun's Tomb was built for the second Mughal Emperor Humayun by his wife, Hamida Banu Begum. It sits in the middle of a Charbagh garden, a square garden divided into four quadrants by walkways, the first of its kind in India. Its architecture, a mixture of Persian and Indian design, is also a first for mausoleums in India, previous ones being much less grandiose. There are over 100 graves within the tomb. The corpses are oriented with their heads to the north, feet to the south, and head turned to face west.
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Isa Khan Niyazi's Tomb: Built 20 years before Humayun's Tomb, Isa Khan Niyazi's Tomb is located nearby and was built for an Afghan noble within his lifetime. On the western side of his tomb complex is a red sandstone mosque.
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India Gate & Amar Jawan Jyoti: Unveiled in 1931 this war memorial was constructed during British rule and has inscribed on it the names of the 90,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who lost their lives in WWI and the Afghan Wars.
Located below the towering arches of the India Gate is the Amar Jawan Jyoti (Flame of the Immortal Warrior), or the Indian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It's base is made of black marble with the words "Amar Jawan" (Immortal Warrior) inscribed in gold on each of its four sides. Atop the marble base is a standing rifle capped with a soldier's helmet, surrounded by four eternal flames. Soldiers from all three arms of India's military (army, navy, and air force) stand guard in rotation.
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Rashtrapati Bhavan: Otherwise known as the Presidental House, this is the official residence of the President of India and is the largest residence of a head of state in the world. Originally designed and built by the British when they moved the capital from Calcutta to Delhi, the palace took 17 years to complete and was occupied by the Governor-General of India for just 18 years before India gained its independence. The palace sits on a plateau atop Raisina Hill at the opposite end of an imposing avenue from India Gate. Although primarily classical in design, it contains many aspects of Indian architecture as well. It is not open to the public for tours.
Standing prominently in front of the palace is the Jaipur Column, topped by the star of India. Also on the plateau atop Raisina Hill are the secretariat buildings. This area is known as Lutyens' Delhi, named after the chief architect and member of the city planning council.
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Laxmi Narayan Temple: This temple was constructed in 1622 in honor of the Hindu goddess of wealth, Laxmi, and her consort, Lord Vishnu. Although there are many gods and goddesses in Hinduism, the three main ones belong to the Trimurti and are Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. Together, they embody the cosmic functions that are reflected in our birth, life and death.
After a very busy morning touring many of Delhi's attractions, we stopped for lunch at a small shop in Connaught Place, the main retail sector of the city. Peep had nan, an Indian bread, while I ordered a somewhat spicy dish that seemed to me much like a meatless chili.
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National Museum: Our last stop of the day was at the National Museum. After paying our entrance fee and renting audio guide headphones, we set out to learn about Indian pre-History, Ancient Civilizations, Jewelry, Coins, Paintings, Maritime Heritage, Decorative Arts & Textiles, Arms & Armour, Wood Carvings, Musical Instruments, and more. We spent around three hours touring the museum before heading back to the hotel for dinner and some much needed rest.