Day 4 -- New Delhi, Sikh Temple, Qutb, Humayun's Tomb
This day's sightseeing is in New Delhi, including the parliament building...
...and the government office of finance.
The presidential palace.
The India Gate is a war memorial created after World War I.
The canopy behind the gate.
A closer view inside the gate.
We then went to the Sikh temple, entering through this walkway...
...to the main entrance.
The main entrance is ornately decorated.
We had to don headgear to go in. Kimberly brought her shawl, and they issued me this lovely scarf.
A view of the sacred writings on the left, and two of the three musicians (in gray in the background to the right).
A short video to capture the flavor of the music. They are singing the lessons from the holy books.
Outside is a special pool for a "baptizing" ceremony.
The view from the far side of the pool back to the temple.
All Sikh temples support the community by provding food to the hungry. This is where the food is dispensed.
The dining hall.
We go inside the industrial kitchen...
...and are given an opportunity to help press out naan from the dough.
One of the cooking pots being taken outside to clean, just to give an idea of scale.
Back on the street, we stop at a local shop that prepares us some delicious chai masala tea.
We decide to forgo the fried bread and other delicacies (the fly count was a little high for us).
Next to the Qutb Complex. All of the entrance areas we went to were segregated to allow for screening men and women separately.
The Qutb Minar is called the "Leaning Tower of India" because the perspective makes it look like it is
leaning away from you. It doesn't actually lean.
The cloister columns inside the mosque.
The Dome of Islam mosque.
A view of some of the carving detail. The picture does not do it justice.
Red sandstone arch in a yellow sandstone wall.
At 73 meters, the Qtub Minar is the world's tallest rubble masonry minaret. "Rubble masonry" means they
built the internal our of rubble and stone, and then built a smooth facade around that.
The Alai-Darwaza, considered a gem of Islamic architecture.
A separate stop a Humayun's Tomb.
It is a complex filled with various burial grounds.
Kimberly in one of the archways.
A better view of the burial vault.
A separate stop at Humayun's Tomb, considered a brother site to the Taj Majal.
The entry gate from inside...
...and out.
Us in front of the main vault.
The main burial chamber you can visit; it is actually a fake, and the real one is a couple stories below it.
A stop for liquor shows that our friend Hans has a store here.
