So...last blog covered a bit about the Hindu population...today off to see Qutb Minar and explore some of the Muslim culture in India. Qutb Minar is a minaret (A tall slender tower attached to a mosque which has one or more projecting balconies from which a 
muezzin summons the people to prayer.) and it is named after Qutb-ud-din Aibak who was the 1st Sultan of Delhi – ie he was the 1st Muslim ruler of Delhi. He started building it in 1193 just after defeating the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi. The minaret is 73m high and is really impressive. It was not finished in his lifetime. He started building the adjacent mosque at the same time. It was built on the foundations of a Hindu temple and on the gate there is an inscription that tells you
it was built from the material of 27 demolished idolatrous temples. Columns from these temples can be seen inside the mosque. Only parts of the M
osque are still in place but it is now a World Heritage sight and quite a lot of restoration work is in progress. It was quite a hot day and because I was going to a mosque, I needed to wear long pants (legs and head need to be covered). Needless to say, beween my attire and the headphones I was wearing for tourist info, I was also part of the attraction and several locals wanted a pic with me
Later, dinner at our apartment cooked by Raj & David – they looked after us during our stay there. Could not even lift a hand to make a cup of coffee. Raj is the smiley one and he is from Nepal. David could not speak a word of English!
muezzin summons the people to prayer.) and it is named after Qutb-ud-din Aibak who was the 1st Sultan of Delhi – ie he was the 1st Muslim ruler of Delhi. He started building it in 1193 just after defeating the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi. The minaret is 73m high and is really impressive. It was not finished in his lifetime. He started building the adjacent mosque at the same time. It was built on the foundations of a Hindu temple and on the gate there is an inscription that tells you
it was built from the material of 27 demolished idolatrous temples. Columns from these temples can be seen inside the mosque. Only parts of the M
osque are still in place but it is now a World Heritage sight and quite a lot of restoration work is in progress. It was quite a hot day and because I was going to a mosque, I needed to wear long pants (legs and head need to be covered). Needless to say, beween my attire and the headphones I was wearing for tourist info, I was also part of the attraction and several locals wanted a pic with meLater, dinner at our apartment cooked by Raj & David – they looked after us during our stay there. Could not even lift a hand to make a cup of coffee. Raj is the smiley one and he is from Nepal. David could not speak a word of English!
No comments:
Post a Comment