Nizamuddin | Blue Lapis Road

DAY 10 (3/3): NIZAMUDDIN BASTI, Delhi, India, 2018.12.03

Before dinner, the last activity of our Indian journey 2018 was a guided tour in Nizamuddin Basti, a 14th century community centered around the shrine of the Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. Despite located just ten minutes of walk from the UNESCO World Heritage site Humayun’s Tomb, the Muslim neighborhood is relatively under visited. From online research, we learnt about the local charity organization, the Hope Project, offers tour of the community for anyone who is interested in the Nizamuddin Basti neighborhood. Found by Sufi teacher, Pir Vilayat Inyat Khan, the Hope Project runs a community health centre, a school, vocational training classes, credit program, etc in Nizamuddin Basti. Through email, we arranged a guided tour of the basti with them. Unfortunately, we were running late by the time we left Humayun’s Tomb. We weren’t sure if our arranged tour was still available. After entering the neighborhood, it took us quite some time to locate the office in the midst of busy lanes. Gratefully, the staff there were willing to take us for a walk, despite the mosques had closed. After the walk in Nizamuddin Basti, we took the metro to United Coffee House at Connaught Place for dinner. We had also dined there on the last day of our trip back in 2016.

The first thing we encountered was the outer wall of Kalan Masjid, also known as Kali Mosque or Large Mosque. The mosque was built in 1370.

We passed by the entrance of the Kalan Masjid, but were unable to enter the complex.

All the lanes in Nizamuddin Basti were busy with people and motorcycles.

Basti residents can find everything they need in their historical neighborhood.

Many locals smiled to us while we toured around the 600-year old neighborhood.

Through the historical gateway, we entered to the forecourt of Chausath Khamba, the tomb complex built by Mughal noble Mirza Aziz Koka in 1623 at the time of Emperor Jahangir.

The forecourt of Chausath Khamba was recently landscaped by the Aga Khan Trust.

The forecourt of Chausath Khamba is frequented by children coming to meet friends and play cricket.

The actual Chausath Khamba is a square shape marble building supported by 64 columns.

The marble hall is divided into 25 bays and covered by 25 domes concealed in the roof structure.

Chausath Khamba houses the tomb of Mirza Aziz Koka, his father Ataga Khan, and other unidentified people.

Adjacent to Chausath Khamba stand the Ghalib Academy and Mazar-e-Ghalib, the tomb of Ghalib, a famous 19th century Persian poet. Our tour with the Hope Project ended at Mazar-e-Ghalib.

On our way out of the neighborhood, the street eateries reminded us that it was almost dinner time.

The monumental and modernist Nizamuddin Markaz Mosque is the centre for the Tablighi network. It was busy with evening prayers as we left the basti.

Due to the Sufi request for divine love, rose is popular among locals.

We followed the main road out towards Mathura Road, where we could walk back to the metro.

We then took the metro to Connaught Place for dinner.

Just like two years ago, we sat down at United Coffee House for their local Indian cuisine.

We sat down at a table on the ground floor and took our time to enjoy the meal and ambience of the restaurant.

Another night flight to return home, another wonderful Indian journey completed. We returned back to the Airport Express Station to pick up our backpacks and hopped on an airport bounded train. This concluded the record of our India 2018 trip.

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Posts on 2018 Rajasthan:-

Day 1: Jodhpur
DAY 1.1: IN TRANSIT TO RAJASTHAN
DAY 1.2: PAL HAVELI & THE OMELETTE MAN, Jodhpur
DAY 1.3: SPLENDOR OF THE SUN FORT, Mehrangarh, Jodhpur
DAY 1.4: SUNSET OVER THE BLUE CITY, Mehrangarh, Jodhpur
DAY 1.5: SADAR MARKET AND GHANTA GHAR CLOCKTOWER, Jodhpur

Day 2: Jodhpur, Osian, Jaisalmer
DAY 2.1: MARBLE CENOTAPH JASWANT THADA, Jodhpur
DAY 2.2: MEDIEVAL STEPWELLS, Mahila Bagh Ka Jhalra, Gulab Sagar, & Toorji Ka Jhalra, Jodhpur
DAY 2.3: PILGRIM OASIS IN THAR DESERT, Sachiya Mata Temple, Osian
DAY 2.4: SUNRISE AT THE FIRST GATE OF GOLDEN FORT, Jaisalmer

Day 3: Jaisalmer
DAY 3.1: THE GOLDEN LIVING FORT, Jaisalmer
DAY 3.2: JAIN TEMPLES PART 1, Jaisalmer
DAY 3.3: JAIN TEMPLES PART 2, Jaisalmer
DAY 3.4: FORT PALACE, Jaisalmer

Day 4: Jaisalmer
DAY 4.1: RESERVOIR OF THE GOLDEN CITY, Gadsisar Lake, Jaisalmer
DAY 4.2: ARCHITECTURAL JEWEL OF RAJASTHAN, Patwon Ki Haveli Part 1, Jaisalmer
DAY 4.3: ARCHITECTURAL JEWEL OF RAJASTHAN, Patwon Ki Haveli Part 2, Jaisalmer
DAY 4.4: DESERT HERITAGE, Hotel Nachana Haveli and Thar Heritage Museum, Jaisalmer
DAY 4.5: LAST STROLL IN THE GOLDEN CITY, Jaisalmer

Day 5: Pushkar
DAY 5.1: RANIKHET EXPRESS
DAY 5.2: 52 BATHING GHATS, Pushkar
DAY 5.3: SUNSET OVER SACRED WATER, Pushkar

Day 6: Pushkar & Jaipur
DAY 6.1: SUNRISE OVER PUSHKAR LAKE, Pushkar
DAY 6.2: GRANDEUR OF THE MAHARAJA, City Palace, Jaipur
DAY 6.3: IN SEARCH OF 1860 CARL ZEISS CAMERA, Jaipur

Day 7: Jaipur
DAY 7.1: AMBER FORT, Jaipur
DAY 7.2: JAIGARH FORT, Jaipur
DAY 7.3: MAHARAJA’S ASTRONOMICAL LEGACY, Jantar Mantar, Jaipur
DAY 7.4: PALACE OF WINDS, Hawa Mahal, Jaipur

Day 8: Bhangarh, Abhaneri & Agra
DAY 8.1: ON THR ROAD TO AGRA
DAY 8.2: HAUNTED RUINS, Bhangarh, Rajasthan
DAY 8.3: CHAND BAORI, Abhaneri, Rajasthan
DAY 8.4: THE ABANDONED CAPITAL OF MUGHAL EMPIRE, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
DAY 8.5: FRIDAY MOSQUE, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra, Uttar Pradesh

Day 9: Agra
DAY 9.1: CROWN OF THE PALACES, Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
DAY 9.2: AGRA FORT, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
DAY 9.3: RAWATPARA SPICE MARKET, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
DAY 9.4: SUNSET AT MEHTAB BAGH, Agra, Uttar Pradesh

Day 10: Delhi
DAY 10.1: TRAIN 12627, Agra to Delhi
DAY 10.2 : HUMAYUN’S TOMB, Delhi
Day 10.3: NIZAMUDDIN BASTI, Delhi

May 31, 2019 | Categories: Delhi, India, India: Rajasthan, Agra and Delhi 2018 | Tags: Basti, Chausath Khamba, Connaught, Delhi, Ghalib, Hazrat, Hope, India, Islam, Kalan Masjid, mausoleum, mosque, Muslim, Nizamuddin, Place, Project, tomb, tour, United Coffee | Leave a comment

DAY 10 (2/3): HUMAYUN’S TOMB, Delhi, India, 2018.12.03

Last time when we first visited Delhi, we only had time to see the Red Fort and Jama Masjid. Similar to last time, we had a few hours of stopover time before flying back to Hong Kong. After lunch at Khan Market, we spent the day in the area of Nizamuddin, a busy Medieval neighborhood with narrow lanes and community mosques. The famous Humayun’s Tomb is the biggest draw for visitors in the area. From the closest metro station Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, it was a ten minute walk to the enormous tomb ground. Despite the short distance, crossing the dusty roads, walking under flyovers, and finding ourselves towards the right park entrance was not as straightforward as we thought. Anyhow, we managed to arrive at a rather chaotic queuing scene at the ticket office.

Commissioned by Empress Bega Begum for her husband Mughal Emperor Humayun, Humayun’s Tomb was built in 1569-70 in Delhi’s Nizamuddin East. Designed by Persian architects Mirak Mirza Ghiyas and Sayyid Muhammad, Humayun’s Tomb was the first large scale structure made with red sandstone. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage, the splendid structure had set a fine standard for latter Mughal architecture, including the Taj Mahal.

After obtaining the admission tickets, we entered the complex of Humayun’s Tomb through a series of gateways and courtyards.

We followed a prominent water channel towards the beautiful sandstone building of Humayun’s Tomb. Reference to Char Bagh (Four Gardens) of the Paradise in the Koran, the tomb garden is a 30-acre square carved into smaller squares by paths and water channels.

The tomb structure reaches a height of 47m, with obvious influences from Persian architecture. The entire structure sits on a large platform with a few meters high.

The arch and beam structure together with the use of red sandstone, white marble, and Rajasthani decorations exemplifies the Mughal architecture lasted in India for four hundred years.

The red sandstone and white marble provide a splendid combination of facade treatments and decorations.

Modeled on the Paradise Garden in Koran, the garden is divided into 36 squares by axes of water channels and paths.

Just like a few other attractions, we encountered a large group of school students at Humayun’s Tombs.

Entrance dome of Humayun’s Tomb was decorated with elegant lines.

Much less crowded than the Taj Mahal, visitors could appreciate the solemn interior of the mausoleum.

The main level houses the cenotaph of Emperor Humayun and Empress Bega Begum and also several other Mughal rulers from a later period. The real graves lie one level before in the basement.

It’s common to see school groups when visiting historical movements in India.

Inspired by Persian garden, the 30 acre tomb garden is subdivided by a network of water channels.

After visiting the interior of the tomb, we circled around the structure on the upper platform.

We returned to the garden at the ground level via one of the four covered staircases.

As we left the complex, the late afternoon sun cast a warm amber tone on the white marble and accentuated the reddish tone of the sandstone.

A final view of the front facade of the building before we left the complex.

Near Humayun’s Tomb, there is another magnificent tomb architecture known as Isa Khan’s Tomb. Built in 1547 – 58, the octagonal structure is decorated with canopies, glazed tiles, lattice screens, and a prominent verandah.