Day 36 New Delhi

Met our guide Arun and driver Ravinder, (nice Toyota van stocked with water and snacks) and set off at 11 after a late breakfast and a short but decent night’s sleep.

First stop was Qutub Minar, a World Heritage Mosque and the largest stone tower in the world. 900 years old and 72 metres tall.  Arun gave us lots of info about the mosque and also was quite knowledgeable about the local variety of trees!  There is one everygreen called the ‘happy’ tree, as it’s always green and pleasing in shape – see pics, also the Neem tree.  We use neem oil at home as an organic pesticide, smells, but is effective, now we know what the tree looks like!

Humayun’s Tomb was next, a huge complex, building began in 1569, however he did not live to see the completion, but his son finished the project. Humayun is buried in the center and over 100 of his relatives are surrounding him. The tomb is built with great symmetry and attention to detail. The surrounding buildings look like they would fit into the shape of the main building. Also in the same area is the mausoleum of the celebrated Sufi saint of Delhi, Nizamuddin Auliya, who was much revered by the rulers of Delhi. His tomb is not nearly as grand as the previous but built in the 12th century and is currently being restored.

After this we moved on to lunch followed by a drive past a few other landmarks including the Red Fort and the main Mosque and the British built government buildings. This area is part of the old city with narrow crowed streets. We stopped for a brief time to walk around with our guide. This area has a day market as well as a night market selling everything you can think of, the activity never stops and the constantly a buzz with activity.