We were turfed out of the train at Old Delhi station at around 7am. There was no prepaid taxi booth, and we were fed up of having to insist on being taken to the right place by other taxis, so we took the metro. It turned out to be remarkably simple and pleasant, as Delhi's modern and clean metro was not even crowded at that time. We had just a short walk from Hauz Khas station, in the south of Delhi, to our next stop, B&B Mi Casa. There was no sign on the door, so we had to trust in the address and knock on the door. We were welcomed into the well-furnished flat by a young Indian lady, who then showed us to our extremely comfortable room. After dropping off our bags we were offered a lovely breakfast, strengthening our conviction that we'd made an excellent choice.
After a short post-breakfast nap we set off to explore, resisting the temptation to relax and enjoy our luxurious environs. First stop was just outside our door, as we ventured over to the ruins that we had spotted on our walk from the metro. We thought they were the ruins of Siri, the second city to be built in the Delhi area in around 1300 AD, but there were no signs to confirm it. Instead the ruins were surrounded by an arid, dusty park that was occupied on one side by old men playing cards and on the other by kids playing cricket. We climbed up the ruins to the top of the fort and enjoyed our first view of the city. Already we could see the contrasts that ran through all of India: on one side were slums, on the other side leafy suburbs.
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| Ruins of the fort |
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| Less privileged area close to the affluent suburb |
Climbing down from the ruins, we made our way over to the metro and a little further south to Qutab Minar, one of Delhi's three world heritage sites. We emerged from the metro station and turned down the offer of an autorickshaw because we thought the Minar was nearby. We weren't wrong, but it turned out that we had to walk for 10 minutes along a smog-choked dual carriageway. It probably would have been worth 50 rupees for a lift. With a little help from passers-by we made it to the entrance to the complex, where the guy selling the tickets talked us out of taking the audioguides and into hiring a government-approved guide to show us around. It was hard to dispute that it was more pleasant to have a real person telling you about the monument, and we would rather pay an individual than pay the audio guide company, but our gut told us it was probably a bad idea. We were right; the guide had very little to say, and then deposited us quickly. The best you could say was that he took a couple of photos of the two of us. The site was so magnificent, however, that our irritation quickly faded.
The centre-piece of the complex, the Qutab Minar itself, was begun at the end of the 12th century AD by the Muslim sultan Qutb-ud-din. Only the first storey was completed by the time he died and the four highest tiers were added by his successors, bringing the mighty tower to a height of around 70 metres, apparently the highest individual stone tower in the world. The red sandstone and marble catches the light beautifully, and watching the sunset over the Minar (long after the guide had disappeared) was a soothing experience.
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| Our guide serving his only useful purpose |
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| Verses of the Koran on the Minar |
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| Tomb of Altamish, Qut-ud-din's son in law |
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| Qutab Minar through the walls of the open-air mosque |
The large complex also includes the first mosque in India, the Quwwat-ul-Islam (Might of Islam) Mosque, built in 1193 amidst the ruins of Hindu temples smashed by the Muslim conquerors. The mosque makes good use of its Hindu foundations; on most of the pillars around the mosque you can make out the scupltures of Hindu gods, with their idolatrous faces obliterated lest they offend the Almighty. Within the mosque is the seven metre high Iron Pillar, dating from the 5th century AD. To be able to encircle it with your arms behind your back was thought to grant your wish . Quite how iron of such exceptional purity was forged into this pillar so long ago still puzzles scientists, apparently. It survived the purge by the Muslim invaders because the sultan decided that to remove an object so renowned as a good luck charm would be a dangerous decision.
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| Remnants of Hindu carvings with the faces smashed |
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| The 5th century AD Iron Pillar |
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| Sanskrit inscription indicating that it was raised in the memory of Chandragupta II |
There were several other buildings in the complex, each of which would have been worthy of a visit alone. We greatly enjoyed several hours wandering among the mosques, towers, and tombs, finding a peaceful spot to watch the parakeets flit from rampart to rampart, and searching for the best spot to catch the gentle rose of sunset on the Minar. At sunset the complex closed and we filed out onto the street, where we caught a minibus-taxi to the metro station. Also in the minibus were young guys, maybe 18-20, who very much enjoyed being close to Clem. This was more amusing than irritating until they continued to follow us, first down to the same spot in the station, and then along the platform when we moved to avoid them. Neither subtle nor pleasant; yet another example of under-sexed (or over-sexed?) Indian men.
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| Alai Darwaza gateway |
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| In the light of the setting sun |
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| Pillars of the mosque taken from former Hindu and Jain temples |
We arrived back at the flat at around 6 pm, which left us an hour to relax before dinner. We had been invited to a complimentary welcome dinner by the owner of the B&B, Muny, a remarkably hospitable gesture. He had two flats, around 15 minutes drive from each other. Since there was no one else staying in our flat, he picked us up and drove us to the other flat, which was entirely populated with Swedes. This may have been because Muny had been to university there, before returning to India in the 70s, setting up an export business, and starting the B&B as a semi-retirement hobby. The food was delicious, Muny was a gracious host, and the other guests (a Swedish couple and a pair of Swedish girls) were very pleasant. We even had a chance to try some Indian wine, a fruity red from Maharastra that slipped down very nicely. At around 11 pm we were dropped back to the flat, feeling right at home (and slightly tipsy).
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