Golden City #1: Delhi

Delhi (pronounced Dhileeeeee) is a city that is filled with rich history and culture. Probably one of the most famous cities in India and known to be the greenest capital in the world, Delhi is most famous for 5 things.

1. Monuments
There are over 1300 monuments in Delhi, and no possible way to view them all in three days. So we had to pick and choose. These are my favorite monuments that we visited.
The first place that we went was Qutub Minar. Qutub Minar is a victory tower that Qutub- ud- Din Aibak, the first Muslim king to rule over India, built after defeating Delhi's last Hindu kingdom. Qutub Minar is beautiful and it was so cool to get to explore an area that was built in 1193.

Humayan was a Mughal emperor who died in 1569. His wife was the one who had his tomb commissioned and was the first women to ever create a tomb for her husband. Humayan's tomb is also called Baby Taj because it is known to be the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. The tomb sits in the middle of a four square garden and has a 4 way fountain that rumor has it was filled with juice, milk, wine, and water. A fun fact about Humayan was that he loved his barber so much, that he had a tomb built for the barber too. This was such a beautiful sight to see and the way that it still is standing after all these years amazes me. It's really cool that you can go inside of the tomb and explore and see who else he is buried with.

2. Food
Delhi is known for its Mughal food and Indian food. I am happy to say that I was not disappointed. Food is delicious and I will come back 10 pounds heavier. :)

3. Melting Pot of Religions
One of the only places in the world where you will see people of different religions celebrating each others' holidays is Delhi. There are so many different religions in Delhi and so many different temples.

The Lotus Temple is a place of worship for people of the Bahá’í Faith. The principles of this faith are the oneness of god, oneness of religion, and oneness of mankind. Since these are the principles, people of the Bahá’í Faith believe that everyone can pray in the temple because that is a House of God. The Lotus temple is so beautiful and it is really unique to see people of all different faiths praying together.

The Laxminarayan Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, known as the preserver and protector, and his wife Lakshmi, goddess of wealth, fortune, and prosperity. This temple is beautiful inside and outside. One thing that I love is the garden is decorated with trees that are covered in red and yellow thread called mauli. These trees are wish trees because by tying the mauli around the tree, your wish will come true. 

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is a Sikh house of worship. I learned that Sikhs believe that a temple was not built for prayer, but built for the sharing of spiritual knowledge and sharing of resources. The sharing of resources is demonstrated by Sikhs using the money donated to the Gurudwara to provide meals for people who ask for food. I think that this is such a wonderful concept. The Gurudwara was really cool and I enjoyed learning about Sikhism.

Swaminarayan Akshardham is one of the most famous Hindu temples in the world. Because this is such a popular sight to visit by all, there is more security at the temple than at the airport. This place is absolutely breathtaking and indescribable. The temple is completely made up of hand carved marble. The temple was commissioned by an organization called BAPS. BAPS even builds temples like Akshardham in the United States... in fact there is a BAPS temple in Kansas City... on a much smaller scale. This is probably one of my favorite places that I have ever been in my life and I would recommend that everyone visit it, even if you are not Hindu.

4. Spices and Tea
India is probably best known for spices and tea... and probably curry. One of the best places to get these key ingredients is in a place called Chandani Chowk. Chandani Chowk is a market and the oldest existing bazaar in India today.The streets are very crowded and narrow and so to get there you must take a bike rickshaw. We visited a spice store that opened 97 years ago and sells spices to restaurants all over the world.

5. Arts and Crafts
Arts and crafts refers to places to shop. There are so many places to shop in Delhi and if you don't know where to start you can always start at Delhi Haat, which has a little bit of everything.

Delhi is a wonderful place. I got to meet so much extended family that I had never heard about. Meeting all these family members really makes me wish that I had gotten to meet them sooner or gotten to grow up around them like families do in India. It's very different how many families work in India, meaning that you grow up with your cousins and your second cousins and your cousins' cousins and at times, you may all live together.

After 3 wonderful days in Delhi, we move on to Agra- home of the world famous Taj Mahal...