Around Lodi Gardens
South of India Gate lie most of the sites of the former cities of Delhi and many good shopping areas, such as Khan Market, which has good bookshops and up-market stores selling everything for the house, including fresh flowers. A short walk southwest along Subramania Road brings you to the beautiful Lodi Gardens (open sunrise to sunset), with fascinating tombs set in well-maintained lawns lined with rows of flowerbeds, immense trees, a bridge and walkways.
Old Delhi
The peaceful 18th-century Qudsia Gardens, near the Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) and Kashmiri Gate, mark the southern boundary of British Delhi (which was strung out to the east of the Northern Ridge) with its cantonment bungalows and administrative buildings of the Civil Lines © and the University campus. South of the gardens lies Mughal Shahjahanabad, Delhi’s seventh city, with the spectacular Lai Qila (Red Fort) facing Chandni Chowk (meaning moonlit or silver crossroads), once the central avenue of an ancient bazaar that is still an important commercial centre.
Each side street around Chandni Chowk has its own specialty: silver and gold at Dariba Kalan, wedding paraphernalia and theatrical props at Kinari Bazaar, silk saris, copper and brassware and a fascinating wholesale spice market (with dry fruit and nuts from Kabul) at Naya Bazaar. On Main Street is Digambara Temple, the oldest Jain Temple in Delhi, and the Bird Hospital, where injured birds are nursed back to health.
The Sisganj Gurudwara (Sikh temple), Sunehri Masjid (Golden Mosque), and Fatehpuri Masjid (1650) are some of the sites crowded between stalls selling a jumble of wares, street photographers using ancient cameras, and hawkers and touts. The famous sweetmeat shop of Ghantewala, established in 1790, is worth a visit. Specialities include sohn halva and sohn papri (caramelised sweets made with clarified butter). South of Central Road, follow Dariba Kalan to the massive red sandstone and white marble Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque), the focal point for Delhi’s Muslims. Commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1644, the mosque can hold 20,000 people in its huge courtyard, in the centre of which is a tank used for ritual ablutions. The mosque and fort, opposite each other, were integral to the complex plan of the walled city.
