Old Delhi & Safdarjang's Tomb

I love to wake around old Delhi, looking at all there is to see.

We found this lovely church tucked away behind gates.  Sadly, due to religious tensions, it had to be guarded by the police.

I have never seen a baptismal bath before.

The walk we concentrated on the architectural elements.  We were soon swept away by all the beautifully colour doorways and windows.

Often the doorways had arches around them.

 

Behind some of the doors, impossibly steep staircases were to be found.

Long ago, Old Delhi would have been the place to live, full of rich folk and their families.  Not so now.  Try as we might, though we could see the beauty of some of these buildings and compounds, it was hard to see that Old Delhi would ever become gentrified. 

Despite the vans and motorbikes, bicycle rickshaws are still to found quite easily.

Most people just walk it seems.  

A mobile food cart that is a bit more glitzy than your usual carts.

I spotted this colourful character nestling in a niche in a wall.

Delhi is so chock full of these wonderful monuments, you seem to pass something every time you venture out the door.  On a rather overcast morning we went to visit Safdarjang's Tomb, which was built 1753-54.  Long fountains radiate out from each face of the tomb (though they were more or less empty when we visited) into the pretty garden.  The facade of the tomb was really impressive.

Inside, the tomb was beautiful too.  The ceilings were intricately carved and had very little discernible signs of erosion,

Inside were the ubiquitous multi-arches.

The sarcophagus lay in the middle.

The origin eventually brightened up and we were able to enjoy the spring flowering in the gardens.

This was an interesting tree (above) that also had flowers growing out of the trunk too.

Roses seem to be very popular in Delhi, with rose gardens and parks full of them.  Of course a few drops of rain still clinging to the flower, make for an interesting photo.