Old School

Delhi - arguably the most impressive city in the world. Today, Toby gave us an awesome tour of some of the incredible sights Old Delhi has to offer. These monuments are a testament to the might of the Mughals, who ruled much of India from the 1500's up until the British bastards rolled in. Each of the monuments we visited displayed characteristic Islamic architecture, incredible in its meticulous detail. Delhi during the Mughal era is known to history as the 7th city of Delhi - the last before the British and modern ages.

The first stop: Red Fort. Built by Shah Jahan, the same guy that ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Red Fort was the final stronghold of the Mughal empire before the British took over India. After the fall of the Mughals, the British utilized the fort as a military camp until Indian independence in 1947.

The second stop: Humayun's Tomb. Humayun was a great emperor of India in early Mughal times, who managed to unify India better than any of his predecessors. Humayun was an avid astrologer and astronomer, and was known for his love of art and science. His tomb was built by his wife following his death, and is known to have greatly inspired Shah Jahan in his vision for the Taj Mahal. Personally, I like Humayun's Tomb better than the tourist infested Taj. Note: The first tomb shown is not Humayun's Tomb, but the tomb of Isa Khan, an Afghan noble who fought against the Mughals in the early era. This tomb was located just near Humayun's own.

The final stop: Qutb Minar. This monument is actually much older than the other two - its construction preceded the Mughal Empire by several centuries. The initial construction of Qutb Minar was ordered by one of the first Islamic rulers of India, Qut-ud-din Aibak, in 1193. Qutb Minar is the tallest brick minaret in the world, and is one of the oldest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture. The bricks used for the minaret were sacked from the surrounding Hindu mandirs, which are now mere ruins. Due to the Islamic rejection of idolatry, the Hindu statues which originally encompassed the area were meticulously destroyed. However, if you look in the right spots, you can still find some remnants of the original Hindu murtis and artwork.