SEE YOU, INDIA!

DELHI - FEBRUARY 2008

The last hours spent in India in 2008 were dedicated to shopping and indulgence... Here are some pictures of those times, an open door to a next visit!


"STATE EMPORIA - The Complex has shops offering handicrafts and other goods of the different Indian states. Located on the Baba Kharak Singh Marg - the road leading to Connaught Circus - you'll always find something to buy, even when you don't need it..."




"KHAN MARKET - Located in the city centre, near the Lodi Gardens, the Khan is one of the more upmarket and expensive places to shop in Delhi. Popular with the diplomatic community, it offers a wide variety of stores and it is said to have also some of the best tailors in Delhi"


"DIFFICULT TO CARRY"


"THE TAJ MAHAL HOTEL - It has been named the best hotel in New Delhi. You need to see with your eyes!"




"BUFFET LUNCH"


"TEEN MURTI MEMORIAL - Facing the house that hosted the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, the memorial was built in memory of the Indian soldiers who perished in World War I"



"CHANAKYAPURI is a neighbourhood in Central Delhi, where most of the foreign embassies in India are located!"


"CHANAKYAPURI COW..."



"PORTUGUESE EMBASSY - THE RESIDENCE"




"FAREWELL DINNER - At the Orient-Express, Taj Palace Hotel"


"SUNRISE"


"CASPIAN SEA - Imagine the caviar... ;)"

INDIA GATE

DELHI - FEBRUARY 2008

New Delhi was built between 1911 and 1931 as the new capital of India. The main architect was Edwin Luytens, who combined Western Classicism with Indian decorative motifs. The result is a somehow unique combination of classical form and English manner!




"INDIA GATE is a large war memorial, which was first dedicated to the members of the British Indian Army who lost their lives fighting in World War I and in the Third Afghan War. Since 1971, after the Indo-Pakistan war, it hosts the site of Indian Army's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Amar Jawan Jyoti - the flame of the immortal warrior"


"CANOPY - King George V had his statue installed here in 1936 after his death"



"VIJAY CHOWK - From the Victory Square one has a great view towards the Raisina Hill and the Government buildings. Left the South Block, hosting External Affairs and Defense ministries; right, the North Block, hosting Finance and Home ministries"


"SANSAD BHAVAN - The round building seen on the photo houses the Parliament of India, at the continuation of Vijay Chowk"


"RAJPATH - Running from the Presidential Palace to the National Stadium through the India Gate, the Rajpath (King's Way) is a two-mile long avenue used for the ceremonial purposes, and the most important stretch of road in India. On January 26 - Republic Day - an important parade takes place on its grounds"


"NORTH BLOCK - The blocks are also named Secretariat Buildings"


"IRON GATES - It's said that Luytens copied them from some he saw in Chiswick, England!"


"RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN - The Presidential Palace was the former Viceroy's House. With 340 rooms, it's the largest residence of any President in the world! In front of the palace stands the Jaipur column"


"PHOTO OPPORTUNITY - And in front of the gate everybody takes a picture..."


"ELEPHANTS"


"SOUTH BLOCK - On the back side of the South Block, the Offices of the Prime Minister may be found"


"NATIONAL MUSEUM - Five millennia of Indian history can be explored at the museum, a quite impressive one"





"CONNAUGHT PLACE, officially known as Rajeev Chowk, is the financial centre of Delhi. Created in 1932 by Robert Tor Russell, chief architect to the Government of India, and modeled after the Royal Crescent in Bath, England, it's immediately recognizable on any map of Delhi as the big circle with radial roads spreading out in all directions. Eight separate roads lead out from Connaught's inner circle and twelve different roads lead out from Connaught Circus, the outer ring"


"SUNSET at Connaught Place"

TEMPLES

IN OLD AND (NEW) DELHI - FEBRUARY 2008

Delhi is the second largest city in India with more than eleven million inhabitants; just one million more than the whole Portugal... With so many people around, it has lots of temples. The most impressive Hindu temple is the Akshardham or Swaminarayan Akshardham complex. Since you are not allowed to take pictures in there (even my cell phone had to be returned to the car before entering), you'll have to refer to Wikipedia to have some views of the magnificent building. And even so, mostly from outside only! Or you buy the souvenir book... From some other worship places, we managed to get a few pictures...

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OLD DELHI








"JAAMA MASJID - The Masjid-i Jahan-Namaa, built from 1650 through 1656 by five thousand workers for Emperor Shah Jahan, is the most important mosque of Old Delhi and allegedly the largest mosque in Asia. The courtyard of the mosque can hold up to twenty-five thousand worshippers"


"SRI DIGAMBAR JAIN LA - Just in front of the Red Fort"


"GURDWARA SIS GANJ - Built on the site where the Mughals beheaded Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur in 1675, it commemorates his martyrdom. According to the legend, Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded by Mughal emperor, Auranzeb, as he refused to convert to Islam. On his death, no one dared to pick up his body. Suddenly, sky became clouded, followed by a heavy downpour. Then, two of his disciples fled with his head and body. One can still see the trunk of the tree under which the Guru was martyred"

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"GANESH is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon, widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles or as Lord of Beginnings"

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DELHI


"ISKCON - Also known as the «Hare Rama Hare Krishna Temple», is dedicated to Lord Krishna and was built by the Hare-Rama Hare-Krishna cult followers in 1998"


"LOTUS TEMPLE - Built between 1980 and 1986, it's the last of seven major Bahai temples build all over the world and the only Bahai Temple of Worship in Asia. The Temple has a Prayers Hall for Meditation for Faiths of all Religions"




"BIRLA MANDIR - Also known as the Lakshmi Narayan Temple, it was built in 1938 by B.D.Birla and was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi on the condition that people of all castes in particular untouchables would be allowed in. The temple enshrines almost all the deities of the Hindu Pantheon, headed by Narayan (Vishnu, the preserver in Hindu trinity) and his consort Lakshmi, the Goddess of prosperity and good fortune"