Nov 18, 2014 Tuesday Delhi – home

Our flight didn’t leave until almost midnight tonight so we had almost a full day of sightseeing. 

- Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India 

 

The highlight of today was a rickshaw ride through old Delhi, colorful, noisy, hectic and fascinating.

The area is massive and the traffic pretty packed.  But it was fun traveling this way as we got to see quite a bit of the old part of the city.  We didn’t stop to walk the area or do any shopping but we did walk through the spice market...incredibly fragrant.

More Photos from the Rickshaw

The rickshaws then took us through the rest of the markets and on to the Raj Ghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi.  There were large numbers of school children at the memorial.

Gandhi Memorial 

- The Akshardham Temple – a Hindu temple that was just beautiful, fairly new (inaugurated in 2005), highly detailed, and the area under the central dome contained a statue of Swaminarayn that is 11 feet tall and is covered in gold gilt.  Swaminarayn lived from 1781 through 1830 and founded a modern sect of Hinduism known as Swaminarayn Hinduism.  There are over 20,000 statues in the buildings and the main temple is surrounded by dozens of elephant statues.  The complex includes an IMAX theater showing the early life of Swaminarayn, musical fountains and large gardens.  The temple and complex were just gorgeous; truly amazing.  Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed either inside or out so we have no pictures.  You’ll have to take our word for it or google it.

Last sightseeing stop of the day was the India Gate and some government buildings.

Ornate Iron Gate with Government Building behind.

India Gate

After dinner at a simple restaurant that is a favorite of Tara's we headed to the airport and home after a phenomenal six week adventure.