Today was all about temples and tombs! We first went to the Qutab Minar, a gorgeous tower built by Qutab-ud-din Aibak at the turn of the 13th Century. The tower stands beside an open-air Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, the first mosque in India. The word minar relates to the word minaret. Originally, this tower was built to show strength, not for religious purposes, but was then used for the Muslim call to prayer because of its height. This mosque is the first Muslim structure built in India. Its builders used stones and pillars from Hindu temples. Of course, they had to get rid of Hindu icons and images so that they could be used in an Islamic mosque. All faces of Hindu gods and demons were scraped off but the ornamentation was kept intact.
The tower is made of up circular and triangular shapes.
The Bahai temple is made up of Italian marble cut in Greece. It’s a magnificent lotus-shaped structure that attracts loads of tourists from all religious affiliations. Another attraction seemed to be our group of mainly white women. Everyone was staring at us and even taking pictures. The feeling was definitely mutual. I could not stop marveling at the saris these women were wearing. According to our guide, they were not wearing their Sunday best. This is everyday attire here in India.
We had to take our shoes off before entering. Thankfully burlap carpets lined the way to the temple since the stone paths were burning hot. Silence is required by all humans inside the temple. The birds, I have to say were chirping up a storm.
Our last site of the morning was Humayun’s Tomb: the Moguls (Sanskrit for Mongols—these are the descendants of Genghis Kahn who brought Islam to India) built this tomb in 1565 and inspired the design of the Taj Mahal. Our guide told us to imagine the inside of the tomb decorated with carpets and curtains.
The tomb is made from red sand stone and lime stone. It is manufactured the same way today.
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