Delhi

10 October 2010

Delhi is situated roughly in the middle of North India, and has been the gateway to many invasions. As a result, the city you see is an amalgamation of seven previous cities, the first dating from around 1200BC, and the most recent completed in 1931.

For the visitor interested in history, Delhi is an absolute goldmine, with thousands of designated archaeological sites scattered over the city, with few visitors for many of them. In addition, Delhi houses many museums and galleries of national and international importance along with countless buildings of architectural note.

There are currently two main areas to Delhi, Old Delhi to the North, next to the banks of the river Yamuna, and New Delhi to the South, away from the river.

The contrast between them is typical of India. Old Delhi is a labyrinth of narrow streets, constantly crowded markets and traffic jams consisting of bullocks, cycle rickshaws and large trucks ploughing their furrows through the entire melee. New Delhi, with so much space, light and air combined with the imperial buildings, suburban houses and villas tucked away along quiet avenues, is a world away from its older neighbour. In fact, both cities are a delight to walk around in for different reasons, though larger distances may
be covered more easily by rickshaw.