Old Delhi

From Amritsar, we returned to New Delhi by train and were ready to explore the capital city.

We decided that a walking tour would be a great way to get to know the city of Old Delhi, so lucky for us, we found a free walking tour, (pay as you like), by a great husband and wife team, Shruti and Shashank from Walks 2 Remember.

The dynamic duo led us through the busy streets and back alleys to discover historical treasures and explain why Old Delhi and New Delhi are side by side.

We started in front of the Turkman Gate which is one of five remaining gates that lead into the former walled city. It’s similar to other walled European cities we’ve seen, but this time, it wasn’t a Roman wall/gate, but rather, a Mughal one as they took over from the Sultanates in 1526. In 1639, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan created the city of Dehli and made it the capital with beautiful palaces, mosques and noble homes.

When the British took over post 1857, they moved the capital to Calcutta, however they continued to develop Dehli. Anything outside of the walls was considered to be New Dehli. Today, Old Delhi is seen as the symbolic heart of the capital and New Dehli, a modern metropolis.

One of our first stops was the grave site of the first woman ruler of Old Dehli, Razia Sultana, a Muslim woman who was killed in a revolt against her rule back in the 13th century. She was an incredible leader known to dress up as a man, and even rode an elephant into battle.  Sadly, traditional Muslims did not agree with her female leadership and wanted her ousted.  There is speculation that the grave beside hers is that of her lover, a former army general.

Old Dehli is very much a heritage area where residential areas are accessed via large doors located throughout the main streets. There are street long havelis (mansions) from previous centuries, but the problem is that because they are protected by the government and there is a lot of bureaucracy, not a lot of work is being done to restore them to their former glories and thus, they remain in a dilapidated state.

A haveli in rubble – too difficult to restore

Former mansion known as a haveli

Entrance door to the residential areas from the main street.

As we wandered through the residential areas, we saw chilli peppers and lemons threaded together and we found out that this is for good luck and blessings. Many people hang them outside their homes and put up fresh ones every few days.

On our travels we saw a variety of unique jobs:

• Steam Ironers – right on the street, ladies will do ironing with coal heated hot irons
• Flower Preparers – these people organize and thread flowers to be used when worshipping at a temple
• Ear Cleaners – these gentlemen wear red hats and carry special instruments to clean out plugged ears
  

  Preparing flowers for the temple

  

  Man in red hat is an “ear cleaner” and carries special instruments in his hat.

  

  Threading flowers for the temple

  

  Ironing in the streets

There were some very different food stalls and open markets along our tour and we really enjoyed watching the preparation and presentation of some of the street delights!

• There was prepared whipped cream decorated with roses. The seller scoops it into a small muffin sized tin and people eat it with a small spoon.
• One of the most popular desserts is Jalebos – dough that is immersed in hot oil and heated up – similar to a donut except in a spiral shape. After frying, the Jalebos are soaked in orange sugar syrup and then covered in a rich milky cream. The girls loved it!
• One gentleman was stirring shredded carrots in a vat of sweet milk, which is a very popular Indian dessert
  

  Stirring carrots in sweet milk for a dessert

  

  Carrots in milk

  

  Sweet whipped cream with roses ready to eat!

  

  Dough fried in batter and dipped in orange sugar syrup.

  

  Jalebas covered in sweet mild and cream.

  

  Famous street eats

  

  Cooking in the streets

  

  Street carts

As Mik shared in an earlier post, there are a number of different religions and it was interesting to see so many different temples and places of worship. One mosque that is quite famous in Old Dehli is the Shahi Jama Masjd. It is the largest mosque in India and can hold up to 25 000 worshippers! We were amazed at the sheer size of the mosque, as well as the peacefulness of the place.

Hallway in mosque

Imam’s stand

Jama Masjid

As we left the mosque, we entered the Chandni Chowk market area with markets such as the paper, textiles, fireworks, wedding, silver, camera, bicycle and many more! It was fascinating to see all of the different products and the crowds moving through. It is a bustling and crowded area of fun and chaos!

Markets everywhere!

Sari decorations

Whatever you need – we have it!

Flowers here!

Fresh markets!

Floor mattresses hand stitched and ready to sleep on

Wedding market

Wedding market

Wedding market

Garlands of rupees to wear for weddings

Fireworks – fun for everyone!

The Red Fort (World Heritage Site) was the last stop of our tour and we entered into the powerful Moghul walled fortress built back in the 1600’s (eventually captured by the British and the Sikhs). We spent the afternoon exploring the fort with an audio guide and were able to see the 2km property of palaces, beautiful gardens and fountains made from red sandstone and white marble.

The Red Fort

Gardens and palaces in the Red Fort

Of course, no visit to the Old Delhi is complete without a visit to the famous Moughal restaurant Karim’s. We enjoyed a great meal and agree with it’s popularity!

We did our walking tour in the early morning, and I totally understand why. It is impossible to move through the streets in the afternoon as it is so crowded. At the end of our day, we opted for a tuk tuk to take us back to the Metro station as there were just too many moving vehicles to walk safely. I think Oliver’s expression says it all about our reaction to the driving! Thankfully we made it in one piece and are alive to explore another day in this exotic and hospitable land.

So busy you can barely move!

Oliver’s expression at the driving in the tuk tuk!

Tomorrow we explore outside the walls and venture into New Dehli!