.: New Delhi INDIA

When I visited New Delhi as the last jumping point before heading home to Bali, I was staying in the house of my best friend that resides in U.K. Thus, I was host and entertained by her father & mother. Dada (I called him) or uncle told me that ".... after all, New Delhi is a 2000 years old city..."

I am WOW-ed!

The area around Delhi was probably inhabited before the second millennium BC, and there is evidence of continuous inhabitation since at least the 6th century BC. The city is believed to be the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata. According to this epic this land was initially a huge mass of forests called 'Kandavaprastha' which was burnt down to build the city of Indraprastha. The earliest architectural relics date back to the Maurya period (circa 300 BC); in 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (273–235 BC) was discovered near Srinivaspuri. Remains of eight major cities have been discovered in Delhi. The first five cities were in the southern part of present-day Delhi. Anang Pal of the Tomara dynasty founded the city of Lal Kot in AD 736. The Chauhans conquered Lal Kot in 1180 and renamed it Qila Rai Pithora. The iron pillar of Delhi, is said to have been fashioned at the time of Chandragupta Vikramaditya (375–413) of the Gupta Empire. The king Prithviraj Chauhan was defeated in 1192 by Muhammad Ghori, a Tajik invader from Afghanistan, who made a concerted effort to conquer northern India. By 1200, native Hindu resistance had begun to crumble, the dominance of foreign Turkic Muslim dynasties in India was to last for the next five centuries. On the death of Muhammad in 1206, the Turkic slave-general, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, broke away from the Ghurid Dynasty and became the first Sultan of Delhi. He began construction of the Qutb Minar and Quwwat-al-Islam (might of Islam) mosque, the earliest extant mosque in India. Qutb-ud-din faced widespread Hindu rebellions and it was his successor, Iltutmish (1211–36), who consolidated the Turkic conquest of northern India.

Zoro, the "baby"

Feast after feast of yummie food

my essentials, its winter here!

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Delhi Haat / Dilli Haat is an open-air food plaza and art market with varieties of cultural traditions of India. DILLI HAAT is located in the commercial centers of South Delhi, opposite INA market. You can take a metro that stops right next to Dilli Haat. Some shops are permanent but other sellers are rotated, usually for fifteen days, sometimes there are events/ cultural venues held here. Products offered may include rosewood and sandalwood carvings, embellished camel hide footwear, sophisticated fabric and drapery, gems, beads, brassware, metal crafts, and silk and wool fabrics. A number of shows promoting handicrafts and handlooms are held at the exhibition hall in the complex.

Thallis

Pakoras

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(this one particular image is not mine, it is Googled)

Connaught Place (Rajiv Chowk) is one of the largest financial, commercial and business centers in New Delhi. It is often abbreviated to CP and houses the headquarters of several noted Indian firms. The former location of the headquarters of the British Raj, the area's environs occupy a place of pride in the city and are counted among the top heritage structures in New Delhi. Named after H.R.H. Field Marshal The 1st Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, construction work began in 1929 and was completed in 1933. The Inner Circle of Connaught Place was renamed Rajiv Chowk (after Rajiv Gandhi while the Outer Circle became Indira Chowk. Today it is the fourth most expensive office destination in the world, according to global property consultant CBRE Group, and the fifth highest priced market in the world according to the 2013 Forbes list.

middle of CP, its the Central Park

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So we bought the red line Hop On Hop Off tour, read more about it on their website.

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The Red Fort (Lal Qil'ah or Lal Qila) is a 17th century fort complex constructed by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the walled city of Old Delhi. It served as the capital of the Mughals until 1857, when Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled by the British Indian government. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, started construction of the massive fort in 1638 and work was completed in 1648 (10 years). The Red Fort was originally referred to as "Qila-i-Mubarak" (the blessed fort), because it was the residence of the royal family. The layout of the Red Fort was organized to retain and integrate this site with the Salimgarh Fort. The fortress palace was an important focal point of the medieval city of Shahjahanabad. The planning and aesthetics of the Red Fort represent the zenith of Mughal creativity which prevailed during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan.

Nahr-i-Behisht, or the "Stream of Paradise"

Diwan-i-Khas is a pavilion clad completely in marble, the pillars are decorated with floral carvings and inlay work with many semi-precious stones. Nahr-i-Behisht The imperial private apartments lie behind the throne. The apartments consist of a row of pavilions that sits on a raised platform along the eastern edge of the fort, looking out onto the river Yamuna. The pavilions are connected by a continuous water channel, known as the Nahr-i-Behisht, or the "Stream of Paradise", that runs through the centre of each pavilion. The water is drawn from the river Yamuna, from a tower, the Shah Burj, at the north-eastern corner of the fort. The palace is designed as an imitation of paradise as it is described in the Koran; a couplet repeatedly inscribed in the palace reads, "If there be a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here". The planning of the palace is based on Islamic prototypes, but each pavilion reveals in its architectural elements the Hindu influences typical of Mughal building. The palace complex of the Red Fort is counted among the best examples of the Mughal style.

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42 m high India Gate, an "Arc-de-Triomphe" like archway in the middle of a crossroad. Almost similar to its French counterpart, it commemorates the 70,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the British Army during the World War I. The memorial bears the names of more than 13,516 British and Indian soldiers killed in the Northwestern Frontier in the Afghan war of 1919. The foundation stone of India Gate was laid by His Royal Highness, the Duke of Connaught in 1921 and it was designed by Edwin Lutyens.

The eternal flame burns day and night under the arch to remind the nation of soldiers who laid down their lives in the Indo-Pakistan War of December 1971.

portable chai seller... :)

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Humayun's Tomb was built by his widow Hamida Banu Begam, also known as Haji Begam in 1569 after his death in 1556. Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, a Persian, was the architect employed by Haji Begam for this tomb. It is considered as the first distinct example of proper Mughal style inspired by Persian architecture. The influence is evident as it was the first garden tomb built in the Indian Subcontinent.

Interesting fact: The first monument to use the Persian double dome.

No Smoking, No Littering, No Spitting

Interesting facts: The water channels at the garden reflect the four rivers that flow in jannat, the Islamic concept of paradise.

Interesting fact: It took eight years to build Humayun's Tomb.

Interesting fact: Humayun's Tomb introduced the four-quartered garden concept into Mughal architecture.

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Isa Khan's tomb was built during his lifetime circa 1547-48 AD, is situated near the Mughal Emperor Humayun's Tomb complex in Delhi which was built later, between 1562-1571 AD. Built within an enclosed octagonal garden, it bears a striking resemblance to other tombs of Sur dynasty monuments in the Lodhi Gardens. This octagonal tomb has distinct ornamentation in the form of canopies, glazed tiles and lattice screens and a deep veranda, around it supported by pillars. It stand south of the Bu Halima garden just as visitors enter the complex. An inscription on a red sandstone slab indicated that the tomb is of Masnad Ali Isa Khan, son of Niyaz Aghwan, the Chief chamberlain, and was built during the reign of Islam Shah Suri, son of Sher Shah, in 1547-48 A.D.

On 5 August 2011 the restoration work on this tomb in New Delhi led to the discovery of the India's oldest sunken garden. Isa Khan’s garden tomb in the enclosed area of Humayun’s Tomb World Heritage Site in the Capital of India can now be considered the earliest example of a sunken garden in India – attached to a tomb – a concept later developed at Akbar’s Tomb and at the Taj Mahal.

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