We spent a day in Old Delhi visiting the 17th century Red Fort commissioned by Shah Jehan when he decided in 1638 to move the Indian capital from Agra to Delhi. He's the one who had the Taj Mahal built as a memorial to his beloved Mumtaz. We later visited the old mosque, Jama Masjid, and took a rickshaw into Chandni Chowk.
There is a stall and a seller for everything in India. These are some of the vendors outside the Red Fort:
 |
| Pineapple |
 |
| Cucumber |
 |
| Mixed fruit |
 |
| Popcorn |
 |
| Inside the Red Fort constructed with red sandstone |
 |
| Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque) inside the fort |
 |
| Detail of Diwan-i Khas, where the Emperor received private guests |
 |
| External fort walls |
Other visitors to the Red Fort:
We jumped on a rickshaw and visited the Jama Masjid. More merchants outside the entrance:
 |
| Potatoes |
 |
Steamed tomatoes
 |
 |
| View of Chandni Chowk from the Jama Masjid |
 |
| Lunch on the steps of the Jama Masjid |
 |
3 requirements to enter: pay entrance fee, remove shoes and non-Mulsims must wear the most hideous cover-up seen on the planet for respect. Alla wearing such hideous cover-up below. I am admittedly too vain to be photographed in such a frock.
Below is what Alla was snapping, that I also had to shoot:
The faithful linger, pray, nap and spend their time in this historic mosque built from 1650 to 1656 which can hold up to 25,000 people in the central courtyard.
 |
THIS is why they hate us. These are Americans - Christians saying their prayers in the oldest and biggest Islamic place of worship in India during Eid Al-Fitr. What happens to a Muslim who drops a prayer rug in the direction of Mecca at a Baptist church south of the Mason-Dixon line and says their prayers? Beyond outrageous.
 |
Observing the Americans across the courtyard
|
 |
| The mosque clears for the call to prayer |
All the tourists are asked to leave before the muezzin announces the afternoon call to prayer. We get back on the rickshaw and observe the choreographed chaos of Chandni Chok while our rickshaw driver masterfully avoids collision.
 |
| Fire code considerations? That tangle of wires prevail throughout. |
And my battery dies. I miss the shot of the outdoor barber, literally shaving men in the street. Rickshaw whizzing by too quickly and too tired of pointing a device at people so I just take it all in and wonder how this morass of humanity live on top of each other like this....and have done so for the last several centuries.
|
|
Posts
