We began our second day in Delhi by traveling to the south of the city to the Qutb Complex. The complex was begun by Qutbuddin Aibak, the first of the Delhi Sultanates, in 1193. The Qutb Minar wasn't completed until 1368 and stands 70m high. The surronding building display a wide variety of early Islamic and Hindu styles. The iron pillar in the courtyard is even older, dating from the 4th century. This place was very impressive; we spent hours wander through all the ruins. As we were leaving, we stumbled upon Metcalf's Folly. Apparently, a British Governor General liked to relax here and decided to add some ruins of his own. Silliness!
Next we went to the Lotus Temple -- a Bahai House of Worship. It's a very peaceful place surronded by flower gardens and pools. The Bahai welcome people of all faiths to come pray or meditate. The religion itself is focused on universal peace and harmony. It sounds like a religion that teaches you to be a good liberal.
Following that we went to Humayun's Tomb -- the tomb built for the second Mughal emperor. This building was the template for future Mughal architecture such as the Taj Mahal. We also spent some time walking through the Lodi Gardens. Not advertised as a tourist attraction, it still had a number of ruins to explore. These ruins date from the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties.
Lastly, we saw Delhi's Jantar Mantar -- one of five observatories built in the 18th centurty by Maharaja Jai Singh II. The buildings/instruments used basic trigonometry to calculate the time of day and the motion of celestial objects. And if trying to figure out how they work began to hurt your head, you could always just climb around a bit.
That evening we ate at an amazing restaurant -- Hotel Saravana Bhavan. For $15 we got an appetizer, 4 entrees, 4 desserts, and 2 bottles of water.
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| Qutb Minar | Qutb Minar | Qutb Complex | Qutb Complex |
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| Unfinished Tower | Metcalf's Folly | Lotus Temple | Humayun's Tomb |
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| Lodi Gardens | Jantar Mantar | Jantar Mantar | Jantar Mantar |