Humayun's Tomb

Amazingly, it wasn't until my fourth trip to Delhi that I visited Humayun's Tomb. I have no idea why this site is so little known, at least in comparison with the better-known Taj Mahal (built in the same style by Shah Jahan seventy years later). The Taj is one of the wonders of the world, and should certainly be seen by anyone visiting the region, but Humayun's Tomb is almost as impressive architecturally, and has the advantage of being very uncrowded, set in beautifully restored Moghul gardens, and right in the middle of New Delhi. You can take a taxi from any of the central hotels and be there in no time.

Humayun was the second Moghul Emperor and established the tradition of being buried in a lavish mausoleum. In fact it was his widow who had the mausoleum built in 1562. It took eight years, and apparently she had the Afghan architects who constructed the building executed once it was finished, to stop anyone building something similar. The Tomb is next to the main railway line, close to Lodhi Gardens and to the main road that leads from India Gate and Sundernagar down to the South Extension. I must have been past it dozens of times without realising it was there.

I thought I would start providing Google Earth placemarks to accompany some of these photos. These will be included in the 'details' section at the end of each post (I've added them to a few recent posts to get the ball rolling). If you have Google Earth installed, just click on the placemark link to home in on the location in question (if it does not launch automatically, just open the downloaded file in Google Earth).

Details: Minolta Dynax 5, 50mm lens, exposure not recorded. New Delhi, October 2003. Placemark.