New Delhi - Feb 17th

Our tour started today in the morning - we visited India Gate, Humayan's Tomb (built by the Mughals in the 16th century), Quitb Minar and Jama Masjid (The Masjid-i-Jahan Numa, commonly known as Jama Masjid of Delhi is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and completed in the year 1656 AD, it is the largest and best known mosque in India. The Mughals had a tremendous influence in India. Under the Mughals, India was the heart of a great Islamic empire and a prolific center of Islamic culture and learning. According to historian Gavin Hambly, the Mughals provided the setting for a brilliant court and a vigorous cultural life which was equal to Isfahan under the Safavid Shahs or Istanbul under the Ottoman Sultans. The Mughals lived and reigned in India from 1526 to 1858 AD. Their dynasty was the greatest, richest and longest-lasting Muslim dynasty to rule India. This dynasty produced the finest and most elegant arts and architecture in the history of Muslim dynasties


We then took a bicycle rickshaw around Old Delhi which was a blast! Old Delhi is the exact opposite of New Delhi. It is very unplanned - much more vibrant and active - filled with "the people" vs "the diplomats". It is really nice to experience both. You get a nice sense of cultural and architectural history along with a feel for daily living of those that are struggling to survive in the big city. Unlike the wide boulevards of New Delhi, Old Delhi has winding chaotic streets with lots of people milling about buying fruits and vegetables, chickens, clothing and other goods.

We met up with Susie in the afternoon and were able to tap into her 14 years of living in India to find some of the best shopping areas. After over two months of traveling, Anthony and I were in much need of some clean clothes, so we hit the local markets to update our wardrobes. The shopping in India is amazing! Incredible fabrics, lots of gold sparklies and color! We did some damage - thanks to Susie we did not get ripped off and were able to find some great items at very very very reasonable prices. By the end of the day we needed to buy another suitcase - we probably paid more for that than all of the stuff we bought. I don't mean to sound like a shallow consumerist - and fortunately things don't really work that way in India. So many people, generally local artisans who receive their training from previous generations are employed - there are very few machines in India besides airplanes and computers. All of goods are at a very small local scale.

Of course the caste system is alive and well and although at first i really felt a bit uneasy about the whole thing - it seems to provide a structure that allows everyone to feel valued for their various skills. Of course this could be heavily debated - and IS heavily debated - it is an important part of Indian culture.