After seeing the India Gate, we entered Old Delhi, the Muslim quarter, and I understood their earlier "empty streets" comments. This area was packed with humanity. We were headed to the Jama Masjid, the oldest mosque in India which is adjacent to the Red Fort.
Delhi is India's capitol and the 5th largest city in the world (the latest census predictor thinks it is very close to 19 million). Old Delhi dates back to the 1600s. I think it is interesting that Delhi was ruled by Muslims for over 700 years. I was told that Muslims currently only make up 18% of the population. The mosque was built from 1644 to 1656 by the Moghul Emperor who 6 years prior to beginning construction had changed the capitol from Agra to Delhi.
We removed our shoes after a short stair climb and found out that I was the only one that had to pay. Since I hadn't gotten rupees yet Nadia was the only one that paid (however she knows where to find me so it is ok.). We entered to discover that all of the other Western women were wearing odd mumu things. I credit Nadia and Reshma for preventing this from happening to me.
In the mosque we as a group attracted a lot of attention from men (I also attracted kid attention which equaled open mouth staring). This is not a place I expected to be hit on. My favorite line of the day was given to Nadia, "I hope your day is as bright as your smile." That statement probably works some of time when you are not in a place of worship. After wandering around the courtyard which holds 25,000 people, we decided to climb the tower.
To get to the tower we had to walk up a tiny circular staircase that was barely big enough to be considered one way, but somehow turned into multiple lanes (this seems to be a theme for any kind of transit in India). The top of the tower probably had a max capacity of 4 people. The guy watching our shoes (also the gatekeeper of the tower) might have lost count because there were at least 20 adult people and 3 babies in the top. Just to add some excitement to the day, on our way down he must have decided to let everyone in line go ahead (closing time vs. more shoes to watch and thus get paid for). The staircase was packed. One guy groped me after grabbing my hand when he attempted to pass. Nadia and Reshma said if that happens again I should make a scene. Noted.
After the tower we left the mosque and walked through a local market and the street where a rickshaw almost ran the two of them over (Rubbing will always be racing unless you are a cow on the street in India, then you get a few more centimeters berth.). The street walking wasn't intentional, but I liked it from a sights, smells, sounds perspective. We were trying to find our uber in all of the traffic.
On the corners of the market and the street there were piles of trash. This was explained to me that the infrastructure doesn't exist to provide receptacles or prevent throwing it down. We walked by everything you could possibly need to exist (flannel bras) and some cows, goats, dogs, pigs, and cats just doing their thing hanging out.
It was now 6 PM and we had picked a restaurant that gave us to kill until 9 pm. We went to one of Delhi's local malls were we looked at local fashion, tried unstabilized chocolates (they start melting immediately), and tested aruveydic skin treatments. Maybe most importantly we found an ATM. Thinking back this was probably one of the few OK places for us to be after dark out in the city.
On to the restaurant, Bukhara which is in the ITC Maurya hotel. This hotel is where most foreign dignities stay including the U.S. President and Bukhara is said to be one of the best if not the best restaurant in India. It has been voted best restaurant in Asia and the 37th best restaurant in the world. We put our name on the list and the guy told us we would definitely get a table (YESSSS!!!). We wandered around the hotel and looked at jewelry that could be lent out for the Emmy's or that Oprah might buy and then bought fancy chocolates with themes. If you know me you know I don't really like chocolate, however this was intriguing. We bought the box that was representative of the elements (earth, air, water, fire, and wood) and then did some major adulting eating chocolates as we waited for our table.
Dinner was amazing, one of the best meals I have eaten. The prawns, daal, and paneer were all perfection. The blanket-sized naan was delicious and fun in a gourmet food challenge kind of way.
It was almost 1 am and time to go home and get some rest after a great day.
No comments:
Post a Comment