Touring New Delhi.

The next stop on our agenda was Delhi. Here are a few of the popular sites of Delhi.

First stop - The Baha'i Lotus Temple.
Next on to Raj Ghat - which houses the memorials of the three important Gandhis.
Mahatma Gandhi's memorial. (Father of the Nation).
Rajiv Gandhi's memorial. (former Prime Minister of India who was assassinated by a suicide bomber while at a campaign meeting outside Chennai, India).
Indira Gandhi's memorial. First woman Prime Minister of India. Assassinated by her own security guard (a Sikh) outside her house.

Next stop - The Red Fort. It is so huge (perimeter of 2.41 km) it can house a city inside it. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1628 AD as his royal residence.

Shops inside the Fort.

The Diwan-i-Am or Public court where the Emperor used to grant public audience.

Some of the other buildings inside the Fort including a House of Mirrors.

This is the one that housed his wife(s). Water with rose petals used to run through the middle.

India Gate which also has the Amar Jyoti in honor of the fallen soldiers. The 2 walls of the Gate list the names of soldiers who died in various wars for India.

A view of Rashtrapathi Bhavan (President's residence) from India Gate.

Parliament House.

A view of India Gate from Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

Copy of newspaper which announced that India became a Republic. This is housed in Teen Murthi Bhavan which used to be Jawaharlal Nehru's residence. The museum there is awesome and it chronicles India's freedom struggle. Some of the rooms of his residence have been preserved as well.

The different flag designs that were tried before choosing the current flag.

Last stop - Qutb Minar (Tower of Qutb). Designed and built by Qutbuddin Aibak at the end of the Twelfth Century and completed by Altamash after his death.

The base of the Minar.

Iron Pillar of Delhi. The unique fact about this pillar is that has stood for centuries without rusting as it was made of 98% pure iron.

Ruins of a second larger Minar that was commenced by a different Emperor but not completed.

The Taj!

We left Delhi at 7.30 am for our trip to Agra. Shantha athai, Badri and Haya joined us. We reached the entrance to the Taj Mahal around 12.30 pm.
You can get a camel ride from the parking lot to the entrance. We didn't take one but here is a picture of it anyways.

Here is Ats fascinated by the camel.

There were separate security lines for men and women. So we were able to get in right away and then had to wait for appa and Haya to come (almost 45 minutes). So here we are waiting for them on the lawns near the entrance.

The entry way to the Taj Mahal.

Our first glimpse of the Taj.

Some of the interior architecture.

The tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz. (Of course, it is claimed that they are actually not buried here but somewhere else. These tombs are just representative).

Outside architecture.

Looking out from the Taj Mahal.

The Yamuna river behind the Taj Mahal. It once used to flow through here beautifully but is now almost dried up.

The Taj Mahal is truly an architectural marvel. The detail that has gone into its building is something one must admire. No wonder people from all over the world come to visit it every day.