Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned what is still Delhi’s greatest mosque.
He was also responsible for Agra’s Taj Mahal.
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In the context of the Indian subcontinent’s human history, what we now call “Old Delhi” is not very old.
The original walled city was meticulously planned; its foundation stone was laid in 1639.
Then named Shahjahanabad, it was the result of Emperor Shah Jahan’s decision to shift the Mughal Empire’s capital city, from Agra.
What is still Old Delhi’s most imposing structure was built between 1650 and 1656; at that time Jama Masjid was the subcontinent’s largest mosque.
In 2024 it remains one of India’s largest mosques – probably, its second biggest.
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Monty Python’s Flying Circus premiered John Cleese’s “The Ministry of Silly Walks” in 1970.
The sketch satirically skewered British bureaucracy’s upper echelons.
More than a decade earlier, India and Pakistan had already perfected the art of highly choreographed “silly walks”…but in real life, with neither satirical nor comedic intent.
Various “silly” walks are a key element in a bizarre military ritual, still conducted late each afternoon on the Indo-Pakistani border, less than one hour’s drive from both the Indian city of Amritsar and the megacity of Lahore.
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Amritsar’s Golden Temple complex is refreshingly non-commercial; even its suitably-huge toilets are free. (and meticulously maintained)
All nearby streets are another matter, entirely; shops abound.
Rents for commercial premises are reportedly among India’s highest,
However, a lot of commercial activity does not benefit landlords – it is “informal”, “al fresco”, conducted on the actual streets.
read moreTriple K “expedition” (#11 in teaser series: massive inflation in Amritsar + musical bonus)
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..or breakfast, or dinner.
Every day, the world’s largest community kitchen operates, around the clock.
In any given 24 hours the Golden Temple serves 50,000 to 100,000 hot meals; all, freshly prepared by volunteers.
As future, multi-image posts will eventually illustrate, the achievement of this feat beggars even an eyewitness’s belief.
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In my experience, not a few of the world’s renowned, allegedly “holy” places have proved underwhelming, tawdry, unfriendly, and highly commercialised – oft-grandiose, but lacking in both actual grandeur and actual humanity.
Sikhism’s most significant shrine is, however, truly grand…and this is one temple site where all comers are welcomed, warmly, and where no visitor is in any way “taken advantage of”.
Amritsar is home to circa two million people; each year, fifteen times that number visit the Golden Temple.
Many of them – whether pilgrims, tourists or simply hungry people – there enjoy what is (handsomely) the world’s most massive meal service, served gratis, no questions asked, every day.
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On this trip – whether the relevant terrain was contested, or unambiguously within India, Pakistan, or China – there was a lot of still-solid “up” to look at.
All of the world’s “7000+ metres ASL” peaks are less than 2,000 kilometres distant from Srinagar, and most of them are very much closer than that.
The pictured peaks are less than 7,000 metres above sea level, but all of them are enormously higher than is Australia’s highest peak.
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This post’s featured image is “representative” of tourists’ experience of Srinagar’s Dal Lake.
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If you get up before sunrise, and then head to somewhere well away from “your” (or anyone else’s) houseboat, it is still possible to “feel the serenity” on the waters of Srinagar’s Dal Lake.
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Australian governmental advice says “do not travel” to this destination.
A great many tourists do go there, albeit very few “Westerners”; our group aside, we saw only a handful of “Caucasians”.
Over several days in Indian-controlled Kashmir, we saw many thousands of Indian tourists..and almost as many Indian soldiers and police.
Petty corruption and “checkpoints” are a nigh-constant annoyance – and the two are inextricably entwined – but at no time did we feel “unsafe”.
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