Tour Day 4

Tuesday, October 9/07

There was no wake-up call this morning which was fortunate as we arrived back from Agra at 11:15 P.M. on Monday night. It was wonderful to sleep in until 7:30!


The first place visited was the Qutb Minar. This is the tallest sandstone tower in India with a base diameter of 14.3 m and a diameter at the top of only 2.75 m. Its foundation was laid in 1199 and it is 239 feet tall. (Interesting that some details are metric and some are Imperial!)



Outside of it are two large stone structures known as Metcalf's Folly. They are interesting to look at and one wonders what must have gone through Metcalf's mind when he built them.


The Lotus Temple of the Bahai faith was next on the tour. The grounds are magnificently kept with interesting round trees. The temple was constructed in 1986 and opened to the public in 1987. It has been called the Taj Mahal of the 20th century.


The 42 m tall India Gate was next. This was constructed in memory of the 90,000 soldiers who lost their lives in World War I.



The round Parliament building (one of two round buildings in the world) and the North and South Government buildings were next on the agenda.


Following lunch it was on to the Indira Gandhi Memorial. This was her house at the time of her assassination. The blood spattered pavement in the yard has been covered and is there for all to see.

The Teen Murti (Nehru) museum was next on the list.

Finally it was on to the Red Fort in all its splendour which was constructed between 1638 and 1648. As we went through the screening at the entrance we saw the high security in full effect.