Humayun's Tomb

While my mom was here visiting in the spring I took the opportunity of having a captive audience (really, whenever she comes to visit she just goes along with whatever crazy ideas I come up with) to go see one of the old Mughal constructions that I had been wanting to check out, Humayun's Tomb. Dating back to 1572, when you walk through the main gate and see the building through an arch, you can see how this is considered a precursor to the Taj Mahal with all of its arches and dome. The tomb is set in a lovely garden, provided an oasis of green in the center of Delhi, which also gives space for a few other "extra" tombs including that of the royal barber as well as that of the patron saint of Delhi, Nizamuddin Auliya.

 

Arriving early in the morning we did not have to worry about fighting a crowd, and had the freedom to explore as we wished. I appreciated that this UNESCO World Heritage Site actually provided information about the construction of the garden and the buildings, provided small tidbits of trivia that captivated my interest. Like the story behind the lovely marble lattice windows. The story goes that while Mohammed was being chased he escaped into a cave and a spider threw a web all across the entrance. When the people who were chasing him came by they assumed he wasn't in there because of the web. The windows were designed to replicate the spider's web. Walking around you begin to appreciate the symmetry of the architecture and the gardens. The attempt to create a small section of paradise.