New Delhi - Ganhdi Museum

When we got back to New Delhi, we visited the Gandhi Smitri. This is the place where Gandhi spent his last days. It contains a cool (with gadgets and exhibits you can interact with) museum with Gandhi's ideas for tolerance and unity and peace.

Outside you can see this sculpture

Gandhi Sculpture

And the World Peace Gong

World Peace Gong

Inside, you can find various posters and dioramas (diorami?) about Gandhi's life and the Salt March.

"I know the path,

It is straight and narrow.

It is like the edge of a sword,

I rejoice to walk on it."

Gandhi's words on the straight and narrow path

Life size scuplture of Gandhi and his wife

Creepy sculptures of Gandhi and his wife

"Experience has taught me that silence is a part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth. Proneness to exaggerate, to suppress or modify the truth, wittingly or unwittingly, is a natural weakness of man, and silence is necessary in order to surmount it. A man of few words will rarely be thoughtless in his speech, he will measure every word."

Gandhi's thoughts on silence

Gandhi's last steps were also traced from the time he left his room up to the place where he was shot.

Where Gandhi exited his room 

Gandhi's last steps

Place of martyrdom -- where he was shot

Up to the present day, a lot of people still visit to pay their respects.

People pay their respects

New Delhi - Lotus Temple

Another stop in Delhi. The Lotus Temple looks like a blooming lotus. I can imagine what it must look against a bright blue sky. But at the time we were there, the sky was slightly gray. And the line of people going in was really long. We lined up to get into the grounds, but decided not to spend the time in line just to get into the temple. So all we have are outside shots.

It is beautiful, reaching high up into the sky.:)

Trying to blend in

Lotus Temple

not sure I love you enough to make the time and put in the effort just to see if it will stick

You do know that I'm not marrying you because I love you, right? I'm going to marry you because I want to.

New Delhi - Red Fort (Part 3)

The private quarters and bath house for the royal family are located apart from the rest of the buildings. These buildings are all beautifully decorated.

Red Fort Palaces

Look at how intricately detailed and decorated the palaces are:

Decorated columns and scalloped arches

Decorated windows, walls and ceilings

The other side

Screened window with arch

Archway

Intricately carved archway

 Close up of the underside of the arch

Carved underside of arch

 A different building

Another building

Notice the symmetry of the columns 

Corner view

it's so light and airy

Close-up details of the buildings

Ceiling, arch and underside of scalloped arch, tops of the walls

Arch, flowers, borders

Flower tile

Carving on edges

Done with the Red Fort!

New Delhi - Red Fort (Part 2)

Here are some buildings inside the Red Fort. We didn't explore them anymore. (Thanks to superzoom, hehe)

Lawn and buildings

Lawn and buildings

Brick building?

Domed building

Close up of domed building

Close up 

Another building

Square building

close up

Oh look! A squirrel!

Squirrel rooting around

New Delhi - Red Fort (Part 1)

The Red Fort is well, a fort built a long time ago. Inside the sprawling complex are little streets filled with small stores which leads into open grounds. Parts of the Red Fort are still used as uhm, forts, to house soldiers. But the palaces inside are open to the public.

It's made of red sandstone, I think, hence, the name.

 There's a really wide paved road going into the fort (so they can see enemies approaching)

Imposing Red Fort

The wall is really imposing, see how small the man (bottom right corner) is compared to it.

Wall and ramparts(?)

The wall surrounds the entire complex. Here are photos off to the side...

 Side of the walls, upon entering

Entrance facade

After passing through the shops, the first building you will see is the audience hall (I guess)

Inside Red Fort

It's an open air building with high ceilings...

Open air building with scalloped arches

Scalloped arches

Where we came from

Arch silhouette

This audience hall was supposedly the site of the Peacock Throne (which I think was stolen by invaders or disappeared through the mists of time)

Raised platform

Close up of details

Next in Part 2, buildings inside the Red Fort.

New Delhi - Mosque

We also visited one of the largest mosques in New Delhi. For your information, mosques are for muslims, temples are for the buddhist, hindus, and jewish?.

We were required to remove our shoes before entering the mosque and wear shawls so that our shoulders and arms were covered. Be warned. Hahaha.

The mosque...there were a lot of people and birds.

From the courtyard

See the gate again...and the birds...

Left: one of the gates into the mosque. Right: birds

Inside the mosque, it was really simple. But I think women aren't really allowed inside because we got strange looks from the people there.

Mosque entryway, prayer area

The tower on the left side can be climbed by the public. So of course, K and I did. I forgot how many steps it was, but it was a lot of spirally small steps in a dark dank tower...

Corner towers

But the view at the top was worth it...

View from the tower

New Delhi - Humayun's Tomb

Ok, I'm gonna be honest here. We visited a lot of tombs, mosques and forts. And, if I confuse them, please refer to when K makes her own blog post on our India trip for the names of the places we actually went to.

*shrugs*

This is the first garden tomb (with the most popular being the Taj Mahal). All these tombs are actually just within a single family...

Humayun's Tomb

Domed entry, stairs, carved screens

Details of the tomb

View towards the entrance. All tombs have north-south-east-west gates. They like symmetry.

View of gardens and one of the gates

Domed ceiling inside

Carved stone ceiling