One city.  Countless facets.  It’s the land of government, commerce, religion, modernity, antiquity, wealth, poverty, lush gardens, dusty streets.  Just when you think that you have Delhi pigeon holed, it changes yet again.

Such diversity spawns a wide range of sites and activities.  Along with visiting mosques, temples and gardens, Sean and I sweated it out with an afternoon trip to Qutub Minar.  An impressive monument from the period of Islamic rule in India, the Minar was constructed in 1193.  Today it is surrounded by the remains of Mughal summer palaces.

We also wandered around the grounds of the 16th century Humayun’s Tomb and 18th century Safdarjang’s Tomb.   Emperor Humayun’s grand burial site was initiated by his wife, who camped out and oversaw its construction until its completion.  Viceroy Safdarjang’s son prompted the creation of his father’s majestic tomb.  It is one of the most recent examples of Mughal architecture in India.

A contemporary site that drew in throngs was the memorial for Mahatma Gandhi.  Here the brick platform on which his funeral pyre had been built was encased in marble for all to see.   An elegant yet understated tribute to the father of modern India.

Although shopping never plays a huge role in our journeys, we did make a stop at the Khan Market.  How could we not?  It was right next to our hotel.  Our driver, Sher-Singh, had described it as a ‘rich person’s place to shop.’  From the buildings’ faded exteriors we wouldn’t have guessed this.  However, at Khan Market we found a well-stocked cookware shop, Nike, Reebok and Apple stores, beautiful handcrafted silver jewelry, several bookstores, an upscale pet shop and countless little restaurants.