Delhi is a city of contradictions, The modern city which is known as New Delhi is very different from the the old walled city . To understand Delhi in its true sense, one must explore both sides of the city , Delhi sightseeing tour by car managed by Swan Tours offers glimpses of the best in the city . Below is the tourist information on the best of the old city: The Jama Masjid (1650-6 meaning Friday Mosque, was Shah Jahan's last building, completed two years before he lost his throne. Standing on a mound called Bhojla Pahar, the great royal mosque—one of the largest of Islam—was designed by Ustad Khlil who placed it on a high plinth to show off its glowing red sandstone inlaid with marble and brass—and to proclaim to the world his master's authority as a reflection of divine power. Visitors were suitably impressed. It was at first named Masjid-i Jahan Nama (mosque with a view of the world). Certainly, its two slender minarets flanking the three black-and-white striped, marble, onion domes of the prayer-hall dominate Old Delhi. The faithful ceaselessly stream up and down the steep north steps to the courtyard. Here they wash, study the Qur'an, pray and join visitors to gaze at the fort through the arcades, which are especially beautiful under soft morning sunlight. When pious Aurangzeb came to prayer riding a decorated elephant or carried in a golden throne, the streets from fort to mosque were doused with water to reduce the heat and dust, and were lined with 300 musketeers. (It is sometimes possible to go up a minaret, worth the climb for a bird's-eye view of the city. It is best to obtain prior permission and to avoid the crowded holy days of Fridays and Muslim festivals). The area around Jama Masjid seethes with Muslim life. On the south side, the air is scented with spices from the cluster of tiny restaurants where Karim, found down the central lane, is worth a look at any hour. Further round, the markets sell baskets of clucking white chickens and an assortment of weird-shaped fish. Shah Jahan's daughter, Jahanara Begum, built Urdu Bazar which runs off to the east. Back on the west side, every conceivable car part and size of tyre spills out from busy workshops. On the north side there are fireworks shops, supplemented by roadside stalls at festival time. Fireworks displays are an old Indian tradition (paintings show princesses playing with fireworks on palace terraces). Huge wooden elephants or gods dissolve into a mass of crackers at Hindu festivals; and one current favourite rocket has a plastic mini Ganesh (the elephant-headed god) who descends in a parachute. The lane running north from the mosque's north steps leads to Dariba Kalan, a turning on the left, which emerges into Chandni Chowk (to avoid getting lost, it is best to check by asking). The narrow paths twist between the high walls of ancient havelis (courtyard houses) with carved wooden doorways, some still home for descendants of Mughal traders, others still owned by families who now live in the air-conditioned comfort of south Delhi colonies. Tiny, polychrome temples are jammed between them, goldsmiths sit cross-legged working miracles with nimble fingers, cows laze about nonchalantly and a paan seller trundles his box of ingredients from one customer to the next. For shopping , when you undertake Golden Triangle tour packages in India , a must visit is Kinari (braid) Bazar is a lane on the left lined with tiny shops , a must visit for tourists ,glittering with all kinds of essential equipment for weddings and festivals: gold-embroidered shoes, fancy braid, glitzy saris, gold-lame turbans, tinsel, plumes and magnificent papier-mache masks of Durga, Hanuman and other favourite gods, with extra Ravana heads, swords, bows and arrows on sale in the run-up to the Dussehra festival in October. The next lane is Paratha Walan (alley of paratha sellers), formerly lined with cooks frying up delicious flat paratha breads on their griddles; today, Kusha Rai is the best of the three remaining cafes. Back on Dariba Kalan the travellers are fascinated by Gulab Singh's attar shop has tiny bottles of strong-smelling Lotus and Moonlight perfumes, much used by Muslim men and women. Further down, the old silver and gold shops glisten with traditional jewellery. On the left, the basement of Sri Ram Had Ram is like a non-stop market; women debate over which piece to buy, shop assistants pop them on the scales as cost is by weight, not design. And at the end, on the corner of Chandni Chowk, a perpetual crowd hovers around the sweet aroma of Naim Chand Jain's jalebi kiosk, customers greedily gobbling up the hot, sweet and crisp twirly shapes, licking their fingers and lips with delight.
for more information on tourist sightseeing spots in and around Delhi , Contact Swan Tours , one of the leading travel agents in India since 1995 .
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AuthorSwan Tours one of the leading travel agnets in India Archives
January 2018
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