Touring Delhi

Our guide met us early in the morning and we headed straight off to old Delhi, so called because it was the part of Delhi that was there before the British moved their capital there.

We started with a visit to the Jama Masjid, a huge mosque built by Shah Jahan, who was concurrently building the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan was clearly massively wealthy. The mosque was a dramatic building in red sandstone. The huge open courtyard can seat 20,000 people. It was blazing hot, even under the tarps that had been erected in the courtyard. Early arrivals would get under the canopy, next people might get some of the carpets, but late-comers would end up right on the superheated stones of the huge courtyard. Ouch.