Red Fort and Chandni Chowk :Old Delhi, Delhi, India
Acity teeming with close to 17 million people, Delhi is the capital of a rapidly changing India and can seem utterly daunting to the casual visitor. To get your bearings and reinvigorate your senses, find your way to its beating heart, Shahjahanabad, the ancient walled city of Shah Jahan (builder of Agra’s Taj
Mahal), also known as Old Delhi.
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| Red Fort |
The Mughal emperor moved the capital from Agra to Delhi in the mid-17th century, creating the same magnificent architecture in the latter as he had in the former. Masterworks include the tomb of the 16th-century Mughal emperor Humayun and the Jama Masjid, the country’s largest mosque. Perhaps the most visited site is the hulking Lal Quila, the Red Fort, named for the color of its 1.5 miles of turreted sandstone walls and the former seat of Mughal power. Armies, servants, and ladies of the court once filled the various mosques, lush gardens, royal quarters, richly decorated halls, and marble-floored hammams or bath chambers. That all ended with the Mutiny of 1857, when the British expelled the last Mughal ruler. For close to one hundred years they used it as barracks, until Jawaharlal Nehru first unfurled the flag of newly independent India from this very spot on August 15, 1947. On Independence Day, the prime minister traditionally hoists the flag and delivers his nationally televised speech here.
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| Chandni Chowk |
But there’s more to see here than the fort. Branching off of the half-mile-long Chandni Chowk (Moonlight Alley) is a network of ancient lanes and timeless bazaars selling everything imaginable, in chaotic operation since the 17th century. Flag down a cycle-rickshaw at Lahore Gate, the entrance to the Red Fort, negotiate fiercely, then let your wallah (driver) navigate the winding backstreets teeming with traffic and people. Pop into a hole-in-the-wall food stall for savory samosas, or stop at a halwai, or candy store, sampling sweets made from recipes that have been passed down over generations. Pick up a Kashmiri carpet or a stack of skinny bangles. The smells of dust and incense mingle with the headier ones that emanate from Khari Bioli, one of Asia’s largest spice markets. In nearby Kinari Bazaar, watch local Hindu families shopping for wedding festivities that usually go on for days.
No one with an appetite leaves this part of town without searching out Karim’s, an unassuming landmark restaurant in an alleyway not far from the Jama Masjid. Packing them in for a hundred years is the authentic Mughlai cuisine: Karim’s fourth-generation owner traces his heritage to the chefs who once prepared these royal recipes for Mughal emperors.
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| Karim's |
Karim’s: Tel 91/11-2326-4981.
Cost:lunch $13.
Best times: Feb–Apr and Aug–Nov for nicest weather; Aug 15 for NationalIndependence Day.
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