Some Lesser Known Sites in Delhi

Delhi is full of all sorts of interesting places to see that have historical significance or natural value. In looking at the map that I had bought there was a list of tourist sites. One of them was Humayun's Tomb. Another was the national zoo. Both were in the same area of the city, so I went to have a look.

In my time at the Taj Mahal, I learned that there had been 6 Mughal emperors during the Mughal empire. I also learned that the last of these emperors was Aurangzeb. When I had visited the Aurangabad area with Ben, we had gone with our auto-rickshaw driver to see a tomb of one Aurangzeb. I hadn't realized at the time that he was the last Mughal emperor. It had only been a simple tomb for a former ruler.

At the Taj Mahal, I learned that Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor, was also entombed there with his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. But where Aurangzeb's tomb was very simple, the Taj Mahal is, as everyone knows, a very lavish tomb.

I don't know where the other tombs are, but the second emperor was Humayun and his tomb is in Delhi. He was the second Mughal emperor. He was much revered and was a very enlightened ruler and his empire grew in learning and places of beauty while he was in power. Unfortunately, he came to a sad end. He was going down some stairs, when he became distracted by the bells to announce one of the times of prayer. He tripped and fell to his death. His son, only 13 ascended the throne.

After Humayun's death, his son had a mausoleum built for him. And it was the first really lavish tomb to be built for any Muslim leader anywhere. Although the photo cuts off the relative size of Humayun's tomb compared to others of the time, it is still possible to tell the relative sizes of the various mausoleums.

All told there were several spots of interest in the complex. When I first entered, I bought my ticket and walked past the tomb of Isa Khan. Unfortunately it was closed for restoration work and I was unable to go inside for a look. But from outside the wall, it looked pretty impressive as well.

Across from Isa Khan's tomb complex, there was another little structure. As I was walking away from it, a man who had been sitting in the first gate leading to Humayun's tomb got up and said he was a teacher of history and he knew all about it. It was the tomb of someone called Buhalima and he knew all about her. He told me to follow him and he would tell me all about it. I told him that I had no money to give him for the talk. He looked me over and said, “None?” Nope, I shook my head. None. Suddenly, he lost interest in talking to me. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. :) The mercenary nature of people in the Golden Triangle area is irksome, but is also hilarious to watch in action sometimes.

From there, I passed through the first gate. I had my first glimpse of Humayun's Tomb. It was quite impressive.

But I didn't go there immediately. There was another ornate gate to the right after going through the first gate.

Behind that gate was a garden with a mosque and another tomb inside. So I headed in there. The security guard at the gate followed me. He told me to head to the mosque and I was headed that way when I noticed a pillar pointing the way to various spots on the grounds. Signposts like that make good ways to remember the spots in large complexes with many buildings. So I take photos of them so I can remember. While I was doing that, another couple came through and headed to the mosque. They went inside and the security made a beeline for them and started explaining things to them. I headed in after them and heard him. I suspect that he wanted to play tour guide, like the old many at the first gate, and then possibly get a monetary consideration out of it. I had narrowly avoided having to squash that desire in yet another person in less than 10 minutes. (But perhaps I am being to suspicious of the guy. Maybe he didn't anything for his time. Ha ha!)

I walked around that tomb and mosque for a few minutes. The tombs were of some sort of regular seeming people, from what the archaeologists had been able to determine. Well not regular exactly, they seemed to be some kind of military officers.

Then I wandered to the side where there were some kind of living quarters that included a spot that could possibly have been baths of some sort.

That pretty much exhausted the other parts of the complex. So it was finally onto the enclosure for Humayun's mausoleum. The gate was quite grand.

Inside the gate, an interpretive center had been set up that explained the chronology of when the mausoleum had been built and why and how it fit into the timeline of the Mughal empire. It also included information on the tomb's rehabilitation and preservation as a World Heritage Site. And there was a model of the entire complex.

And then it was into the enclosure for the mausoleum. It is an amazing looking building. There is currently a great deal of preservation work going on, and so there was the marring presence of green work tarps in places. But the view from another side was better.

The preservation work was also quite interesting as they are repainting a lot of the alcoves. And since the site is inscribed on the World Heritage List, I assume the paints as well as the techniques and such are the same as what was originally used 7 or 8 hundred years ago.

The mausoleum has been set into the grounds of a garden, and it was one of the first to ever be so placed. This gave people a place to go and enjoy a nice garden, while still paying homage to the dead emperor. The garden, as with all Mughal creations, was created with a great deal of symmetry. It is a gridded area with nine sections. The mausoleum is set in the middle section with the other eight sections arranged around it. Each of those sections is further divided into four section through the use of walkways and manmade streams of water that was somehow brought in from the nearby Yamuna River. And yes, that's the same Yamuna River that flows past the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Inside the mausoleum, despite the size and grandeur of the building, the actual tomb was small and understated.

Out on the grounds, despite the fact that not all the water channels and pools were filled with water (the conservation works are ongoing), the water works are quite elaborate and show what amazing things could be done by the ancient without benefit of modern pumps and pipes.

Overall, it's an amazing complex and complements well the other complexes like the Taj Mahal and other Muslim mosques and buildings.

From Humayun's Tomb, I walked towards the zoo. The map I bought, although, still left me poking about here and there and asking a couple of people to find where I wanted to go. But I ended up at the entrance to the zoo, and wondering how many things there are to see in Delhi. Across from the zoo there is another old ruined site. I wondered if I was going to have time to visit it after the zoo.

As I have stated before, I'm not a general fan of zoos. Animals seem to always be in small cages, much to small for them to roam. Someday, with the way humanity does things, zoos may be the only way to see animals, but for now I get uncomfortable knowing they don't have their natural amounts of space in which to roam and live.

The Delhi zoo appears to be built inside the ruin of yet another old fort or something like that. Around some of the edges of the zoo there is an old stone wall. One sign identifies the edifice as the Purana Qila.

The zoo is pretty good. After working out their no-bags policy (if places are going to say they won't allow bags in, they really should make sure they have secure storage places; I'm not leaving my bag with my laptop in it on some shelf where it can be rifled and stolen from), I was allowed in with my bag and I started looking around. I first noticed some really nice large, open enclosures. No animals, but it was a Saturday and there were scads and scads of noisy visitors.

Before long I found an area where lots of water birds make their home. There were possibly hundreds of storks and other birds nesting in this one little area in and around this little lake.

There were the usual assortment of deer and other food for carnivores. Ho hum.

And there were lots of bigger and more interesting animals as well.

There were lots of spots that seemed to be under construction or rehabilitation, but there was plenty to see in the zoo. I was satisfied with the visit.

The ruined building across from the zoo was another mosque. Inside the ruined outer walls there seemed to be a working mosque. I wasn't sure if it would require a ticket to get, so I decided to pass on it for the time being as it was rather late in the afternoon. I will be leaving from Delhi and so I will be returning. I can visit it then, along with some other things, if I like.

I walked from there to the India Gate area. India Gate is a war memorial. It stands in the middle of an immense circular area. There is a large park immediately around the monument. And then leading out in 6 or 8 directions are streets and parade lanes. I suspect that the parade lanes must be used on a regular basis, for they have bleachers that line the parade lanes. I don't know what kinds of ceremonies are done here, but with the amount of space for spectators, they must be quite impressive.