lotus temple + humayans tomb part1

we've seen a few of the touristy spots in Delhi and I've taken heaps of photos, way too many to see at my flickr site so I've started making little slideshow videos. this is part 1 of the day we went to see the Baha'ai Lotus Temple and Humayan's Tomb.

the lotus temple looks very similar to the Sydney Opera House except the wings curve inwards like a lotus flower rather than outwards like the opera house. you have to take your shoes off and walk up a long path to reach it. there's thousands of visitors each day - it's one of the busiest places on Earth apparently. you can't take video or photos inside the temple. the acoustics in the room are amazing though! I've taken some audio recordings which I'll post one day. such beautiful echoes. people whisper and whistle and the sounds carry throughout the space wafting up to the upper rafters. the architectural design of the support beams inside is amazing also. plus it's really clean and much cooler than outside so is a great way to get away from the craziness and loudness of the rest of Delhi.

Humayan's Tomb is another tourist attraction. it is the tomb of one of the leaders and his wives. it was built about 100 years prior to the Taj Mahal so they call it a practice building for the Taj. though how they knew that 100 years later a king would be so successful and want to show his wealth & power by building a huge monument to his dead wife I'm not sure, but it's a nice story the tourists (like us) are told! perhaps I need to read a history / architecture book to find the full story. it's pretty much in rubble now. it's amazing how little the heritage is looked after here compared to other places. apparently up until about 30 years ago, people lived in the village compound still so it wasn't taken care of as it should have been until more recent years. I suppose a large space like this with protected walls was a good address to have at the time..

video is also posted at http://blip.tv/file/61132 in case the one below doesn't work

click here or on the image to play the quicktime movie