Since I didn't manage to do any sightseeing in Delhi during my first visit (my entire time was instead spent trying to buy train tickets) after visiting the Taj Mahal I went back to New Delhi for a second time so I could actually see some of the sights and main attractions.
My first stop was Humayun's tomb, the tomb of the second emperor of the Mughal empire, but this blog post isn't going to be a lesson in history. For me, most things I do are driven by photography and so my main focus when visiting somewhere like this is trying to photograph it as best I can and I'm pleased to say that during this day in New Delhi I actually got some of my favourite photos from my whole time in India.
From Humayun's Tomb I then went to the Red Fort, although despite being probably the most famous and iconic landmark in Delhi, I didn't actually take as many photos here as I did at the tomb. The main gate is simply too big to get in one photo and doesn't hold much scope for creativity - it kind of is what it is - the corridor immediately through the gate has been turned into a touristy market and so the most photogenic part of the Fort I found was the audience hall.
What really caught my eye here was the huge contrast between the bright sunlight and the shadows underneath the hall. I love high contrast scenes and it was producing wonderful colours and textures on the pillars. You can hear me discuss my photography and my thinking behind it at the Fort in my video at the top of this page.
My final visit of the day was to Jama Masjid, one of the biggest mosques in India. I was a little bit anxious about entering on my own to begin with. As a white, non Muslim, going in wearing a Seattle Seahawks baseball cap, I knew I would stick out like a sore thumb and I wondered if people would look at me and think 'what is he doing in here?'
Thankfully that could not be further from the truth. I felt very welcome in there, people were smiling and saying hello and seemed very happy to see me there and here more so than anywhere else in India I kept being asked to have my photo taken. In fact there was a space of about 10 minutes when I literally couldn't move for different people constantly asking to have their photo taken with me. I guess my YouTube channel must be pretty big in India ;)
As for the mosque itself, it was absolutely stunning and I had managed to time my visit perfectly for the sun setting so it was even more beautiful and as I said, as a white, non-Muslim, for a small town in Northern England, this is something I don't normally get to see or experience and I felt very privileged and grateful to see such a beautiful place and to be made to feel so welcome there.
I will finish the post with some street photography as I walked around Old Delhi on my way from Jama Masjid back to my accommodation. Be sure to keep an eye out for my next post too as the next stop for me in India was Varanasi.