India Travel

Khirki-ki-Masjid in South Delhi

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Old Delhi and north of Connaught Place in Delhi

If you find Paharganj too much of a travellers' hang-out, or Connaught Place too impersonal, head for Old Delhi, where foreign tourists seldom stay. Here you'll find yourself swamped by the noise and smells of the least modernized area of the capital. Prices are low and standards not very high, but the hotels are well sited for visits to the Red Fort and Jami Masjid, and you can guarantee constant activity on the crowded streets, excellent food at long-established restaurants and superb sweets from roadside stalls. If the noise of Chandni Chowk proves too much, you could opt for a

Moth-ki-Masjid in South Delhi

The Moth-ki-Masjid, built during the reign of Sikandar Lodi (1488-1517), is now all but abandoned, isolated in a rural setting within the rapidly spreading suburbs of south Delhi, 2km from Hauz Khas off the Delhi—Mehrauli Road. A milestone in the evolution of the Moghul mosque, its three-domed prayer hall, ornate mihrab and arches stand on a raised plinth, enclosed by walls pierced by an elegant red sandstone gate to the east. Legend has it that Sikandar Lodi picked a grain of moth (a type of lentil) which was then sown by his minister Miyan Bhuwa; the bumper crop multiplied again

The City of Central Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal has two separate centres. Spread over the hill to the south of the lakes, the New Market area, as its name implies, is a recent extension of the city -a modest agglomeration 01 shopping arcades, cybercafes, ice-cream parlours, cinemas and modern office blocks. Once you've squeezed through the strip of land that divides the Upper and (smaller) Lower lakes, sweeping avenues, civic buildings and pleasure gardens quickly give way to the more heavily congested old city. Focused around the Jam! Masjid mosque, the bazaar, in the area known as Chowk, occupies the dense grid of streets between Moti Masjid

Jami Masjid in Central new Delhi

Old Delhi's red and white Jami Masjid (Rs10; Rs50 extra for camera), dominating the surrounding markets around 500m to the west o( the Red Fort, may look huge from a distance, but feels nothing short of immense once you've climbed the wide staircases to the arched gateways and entered the open courtyard, large enough to accommodate the bending bodies of up to 25,000 worshippers. This is India's largest mosque, designed by the eminent architect Shah Jahan, and built by a workforce of 5000 between 1644 and 1656. Originally called Masjid-i-Jahanuma ("mosque commanding a view of the world"), this grand structure

Dholka in Ahmedabad

A 35-kilometre journey southwest of Ahmedabad by bus or train brings you to DHOLKA, and its three majestic ruined mosques. The modestly proportioned Masjid of Hilal Khan Qazi (1333), featuring detailed tracery work, and the Tanka Masjid (1361), decorated with elaborate Hindu carvings, are both unaffected by Islamic design. More dilapidated, the Mosque of Alif Khan (1453) is distinctively Persian, dominated by solid square towers on either side of the facade. Dholka village is famous for its pomegranate and guava orchards, and also has a stunning wooden haveli temple.

Purana Qila in South Delhi

The majestic fortress of Purana Qila, whose crumbling ramparts dominate busy Mathura Road. 4km southeast of Connaught Place, is often said to stand on the site of Indraprastha, the city of the Pandavas. oi Mahabharala fame. More certainly, it was the centre of the sixth city of Delhi, created by Humayun, the second Moghul emperor, as Din-Panah, and renamed Shergarh by Sher Shah, who briefly displaced him. Purana Qila is served by buses between Delhi Gate and Sundernagar, such as #423 and #438. The #411 continues to Nizamuddin. and #482 goes on to Kalkaji. Two principal buildings survive to hint at

Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad) in Central New Delhi

Although it's not in fact the oldest part of Delhi, the seventeenth-century city of Shahjahanabad, built by the Moghul emperor. Shah Jahan, is known as OLD DELHI. The original city walls spread for seven miles, enclosing the sprawling fort, Lai Qila, and the formidable Jami Masjid, or "Friday Mosque'l. Old Delhi's mam thoroughfare, Chandni Chowk, a seething mass ot hooting, pushing cars, tempos, cycle rickshaws and ox carts, was once a sublime canal lined with trees and some of the most opulent bazaars of the East. Today the city walls have crumbled, and houses and shops have long since spilled

Old Delhi

Among the shops, offices and houses in Old Delhi's crowded streets, simple, grubby, unadvertised hole-in-the-wall food halls serve surprisingly good, and invariably fiery, Indian dishes for less than Rs2().There are few upmarket places in the heart of Old Delhi, but a number of larger, cleaner restaurants on the outskirts otter surroundings more conducive to leisurely and relaxed eating. The restaurants listed below are marked on the map ot Old Delhi on p.123. Chor Bizarre, Hotel Broadway, 4/15Asaf Ali Rd. Pure, but pricey. Kashmiri taraml and wazwan, made all the more enjoyable by imaginative decor and a servery made from a 1927

Pandua in Central Bengal

The splendid Adina Masjid at PANDUA, 18km north of Malda, built by Sikander Shah around 1370, was in its day the largest mosque in the subcontinent. It now lies in ruins but these still betray the origin of much of the building materials - carved basalt masonry from earlier Hindu temples was used to support 88 brick-built arches and 378 identical small domes, the design following that of the great eighth-century mosque of Damascus. Other monuments include the Eklakhi mausoleum - one of the first square brick tombs in Bengal with a carved Ganesh on the doorway; and Qutb Shahi Masjid,

Arrival and information of the Agra in the Uttar Pradesh

Agra has no less than six railway stations. The busiest is Agra Cantonment (Cantt), in the southwest, which serves Delhi, Gwalior. Jhansi and points south, has a tourist information counter, and is near most hotels. Trains from Rajasthan pull in close to the Jami Masjid at Agra Fort Station, further from the main hub of hotels. Don't be persuaded to get off at Agra City Station, an expensive rickshaw ride away from town. To get to a hotel, use the prepaid auto-rickshaw/taxi booth at Agra Cantonment Station (Rs40/90) or flag down one of the cycle rickshaws (Rs25) that wait in the

Jami Masjid and the bazaars to the Agra in the Western UP

Opposite the fort and overlooking Agra Fort railway station, the Jami Masjid or "Friday Mosque" was built by Shah Jahan in 1648 and dedicated to his favourite daughter, Jahanara Begum. Standing on a high plinth approached by stairs, and with five arched entrances to the courtyard, the mosque is crowned by three large sandstone domes distinguished by their zigzag bands of marble. Along the wings of the main prayer wall, panels of beautifully inlaid sandstone similar to those decorating the main gateway of the Taj Mahal, add an appropriately feminine touch. Still in use today, the mosque is one of

Humayun’s Tomb in South Delhi

Close to the medieval Muslim centre of Nizamuddin and 2km from Purana Qila. Humayun's Tomb (daily dawn to dusk; Rs5) stands at the crossroads of the Lodi and Mathura roads, 500m from Nizamuddin railway station which is one stop from New Delhi station on the suburban line. Delhi's first Moghul tomb was constructed from 1564 onwards, after the death of the second Moghul emperor, under the watchful eye of Haji Begum, Humayun's senior widow and mother of Akbar, who camped here tor the duration.The grounds were later used to inter several prominent Moghuls, and served as a refuge for the

The City in South Delhi

Delhi is both daunting and alluring, a sprawling metropolis with a stunning backdrop of ancient architecture. Once you've found your feet and got over the initial impact of the commotion, noise, pollution and sheer scale of the place, the city's geography slowly slips into focus. Monuments in sandstone and marble, which stand in assorted states of repair, make Delhi a veritable museum of Indo-Islamic architecture, seen at its best in the frenetic streets of Old Delhi and the venerable sites of South Delhi. Delhi today, however, as experienced by its many thousands of visitors, centres very much around the imperial

Raj Ghat in Central New Delhi

When Shah Jahan established his city in 1638, its eastern edges bordered the Reiver Yamuna, and a line of ghats, or steps leading to the water, was installed ilong the riverbanks. Ghats have been used in India for centuries, primarily for worship, but also for washing clothes and bathing, and for the final ritual, cremation. Raj Ghat, the site of the cremations of three of modern India's most revered figures, Mahatma Gandhi (1948), Indira Gandhi (1984) and her son kajiv (1991), is more of a park than aghat,lying well away from the river bank. The Mahatma's samadhi, a low black

Jami Masjid in Ahmedabad

A short walk from Teen Darwaja along Gandhi Road leads to the spectacular Jami Masjid, or Friday Mosque. Completed in 1424. it srands today in its entirely, except for two minarets destroyed by an earthquake in 1957. Avidly buzzing with people, the mosque is even busier on Fridays, when thousands converge to worship. A wide flight of steps leads to a vast marble courtyard surrounded on three sides by shady arched cloisters, known as dalans. A meeting place as well as an area for prayer, the courtyard has a water tank used for ablutions in its centre, and at the west

Delhi Zoo in South Delhi

Below the southern ramparts of the Purana Qila. the open-air enclosures and cages of Delhi Zoo (daily except Fri: April-Oct 8am-6pm; Nov-March 'Jam-.Spin; Rs40 [Rs5], Rs50 extra for video camera) cover an extensive area. A little toy train chugs through the grounds, stopping regularly so you can hop on and off as you like. The white tigers are the longstanding attraction but animal-lovers will be disappointed by the conditions m which the big cats are kept.

Arrival and information in Delhi

Delhi is India's main point of arrival for overseas visitors, and has two airports, one domestic and one international. State buses from all over the country pull into the Inter-state Bus Terminal in Old Delhi, while private buses stop in the more central location close to New Delhi railway station. Trains arrive at the railheads in Old or New Delhi, both well connected to Connaught Place, the commercial centre of the city, by rickshaw and taxi. For a summary of the kinds of accommodation available in different areas of the city, which may well determine where you head first, see p.

The City of Aurangabad in Maharashtra

Captains of industry and five-star hotels may have supplanted Moghul emperors and palaces, but Aurangabad has retained much of its Islamic feel. Head for the Muslim quarter around the City Chowk area of the city and you'll see women veiled in long black burkhas, as well as mosques that continue to draw large crowds on Fridays. The old walled city, laid out on a grid by Malik Amber in the sixteenth century, still forms the core of Aurangabad's large bazaar area. It's best approached via Gulmandi Square to the south, along any of several streets lined with colourful shops and

Moving on from Delhi

Delhi has good domestic and international travel connections. Anyone heading from the south to the western Himalayas (Himachal Pradesh, Kullu. Manali, Ladakh) will pass through Delhi; it seldom takes more than a day to arrange the onward journey. Scores of travel agents sell bus and air tickets, and many hotels (budget or otherwise) will hook private buses for you; touts, concentrated at the top of Janpath, waylay tourists with promises of cheap fares, but can't always be trusted.

Delhi scams in Delhi

Delhi can prove a headache for the first-time visitor, with several scams to entrap the unwary. Arrival is always the most difficult, but for those arriving at New Delhi railway station a special word of warning is to avoid all touts and the false tourist offices opposite the Paharganj entrance to the New Delhi railway station, which have brought grief to many an unsuspecting traveller. Similarly, steer clear of those along Janpath that claim to be "government authorized" - there is no such authorization and you're likely to end up paying well over the odds for any services. Shoe-shine boys