Weekend in Pictures

Friday:

Dinner at Parikrama, a restaurant in downtown Delhi that's at the top of a 25 story building. It spins - making a revolution once every hour and a half or so.


Dinner at the top. We'd met some UPenn graduate students this week at a malaria talk and we got together for dinner. L-R: myself, Caroline (PHFI intern), Jin and Danny (Penn Med), and Emily (UMich 04 alum! and Penn Nursing)

Saturday: Touring Old Delhi and Fourth of July bash at the US Embassy


First stop in Old Delhi: Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. India's the 2nd largest Muslim country in the world, to Indonesia. Most of the people in the area (there was a bazaar leading into the mosque) were not tourists, but were there to pray.


Not knowing that Jama Masjid was a mosque, I accidentally wore shorts. In order to respectfully tour through the place, I had to rent a large cloth to cover my bare legs. Other tourists had to rent cloths that would cover their entire bodies.


We climbed to the top of one of the minarets and this was the view. You could see all the flat rooftop houses of Delhi and the skyscrapers from there as well. It was awesome.


Next stop: the Red Fort. It was one of many forts around the area. Since we were a little short on time, I was considering not paying 100 rupees to go in, but I'm glad I did. Turns out the entire complex is like one huge maze that you walk through, observing different monuments ranging from tombs to reflecting pools along the way.


The Fourth of July party was held at the US Embassy in Delhi. They were trying really hard to recreate a taste of America by having it on a baseball field. We were welcomed by this guy...


After the sunset, they had a small fireworks show. I found out after I left that the Lakers were in town to promote "Basketball Without Borders." As a couple of us were waiting for taxis, we ran into several US diplomats and they were egging us on to join them at their next stop. Since we were doubtful of their sobriety, we declined. We found out later on of course that they were actually serious, though.

Sunday: Sightseeing in south and central Delhi



Lotus Temple - also know as a Baha'i House of Worship, this place is home of worship for those of the Baha'i faith. It was a beautiful building with nine pools of water surrounding it. The religion is known for promoting unity of God and the unity of humanity.


Sightseeing with several Caucasian interns, this has come to be a common sight. Whenever we go to any of the touristy places in Delhi, we are inevitably stopped by people (usually Indians who are visiting Delhi) who want pictures with us. I took this picture outside of the Lotus Temple with my friend who's also interning at PHFI, Caroline. A couple minutes before, a group of people started videotaping their friend walking alongside her. The same thing happened to one of our other friends from UPenn.


Next stop: Humayam's Tomb. This place was a beautiful and peaceful complex that serves as a precursor to the Taj Mahal. It's not quite as majestic or famous, but the story is similar and it's still a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


Inside - the main tomb.


Last stop of the day - Janta Mantar. There are several structures here that were built by an emperor hundreds of years ago for making precise measurements according to the sun, including the time.


I decided to climb into one of the instruments for a picture.

Next weekend: the Taj Mahal!