Marathon - Day 6, Part 2

As we had eaten a massive lunch that day at a random restaurant, (that I can’t remember the name of) we decided to skip dinner and go to see the daily Light and Sound show at The Red Fort. We had about an hour to kill before we went to the fort so we went to see the Houses of Parliament, the Presidential residences and the India Gate.

The whole area around the Parliamentary building reminded me of the Champs-Élysées in Paris. There was a really long tree lined road that had the President’s house and Parliamentary buildings at one end and the India Gate at the other end, which also reminded me of the Ace de Triomphe. The surface of the road was so smooth and well kept so that (according to our guide) in an emergency, it could be used as an aircraft runway to evacuate the president or other such important people that needed to be taken to safety.

The closest we could get to the President's House

Marathon - Day 6, Part 1

Our day started at 9.30 when we were picked up by Sanjay and greeted by our tour guide for the day and were driven to our first stop of the day.

The first place was Jama Masjid Mosque in Old Delhi, which was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (the builder of the Taj Mahal), and completed in the year 1628 AD, it is the largest and best-known mosque in India. It’s constructed of red sandstone and black and white marble. It has three entrances that lead into a huge courtyard that is big enough to house up to 25000 worshippers at any one time.

Jama Masjid Mosque

Marathon - Day 5

The day started off with a short trip via an auto rickshaw to Pune airport and then a two hour flight to Delhi in the North of India.

Delhi airport was massive! It seemed like we were walking for at least 20 minutes before we got to the baggage carousel. In the arrivals hall, there was an amazing display on the wall. There were 9 large metallic hands that depicted various hand gestures called Mudras surrounded by large copper discs that were either concave or convex. 

Arrivals