Bike Riding in Delhi 2004-2005

Bike Rides in Delhi 2004-2005
Almost every Sunday morning, I go bike riding with some other teachers at our school. It's a great way to see the sights of Delhi and get some exercise at the same time. Here are some of the places we've been to. After the name, I give the date that it was built (or the era it was built in, if the actual date is unknown) and the Intach Delhi Serial Number. Tricia gave me this awesome set of architectural encyclopedias for my birthday, so I can refer to any significant building in the city by it's official code number.

May 8, 2005
One of my former students from Cairo came on a Sunday ride. At first, we were headed to Old Delhi, but then Rahul got a flat and switched bikes, so we ended up just going to Agrasen Ki Baoli (D45, AD1400s), the Delhi Stepwell. Then I got another flat on the way home, and we walked our bikes back.

The Walls of Qila Rai Pithora, AD 1180, F249

May 1st, 2005

Marty, Tom, Bob and I went looking for the first two cities of Delhi, Qila Rai Pithora and Lal Kot. They're both in ruins now, so it's hard to tell when you move from one to the other. I'll have to go back and map it more completely. Anyway, it was fun climbing the walls and trying to ride our bikes along it.

Some Sufi tombs among the walls of Lal Kot, near the excavations of Anang Tal.

April 24, 2005
Elise and I went out looking for tomb D196 near Nehru Stadium. It was the third trip I've made in search of it, and the first successful one. Hooray!

D187, Shish Gumbad, the tomb of an unknown Grandee of the Lodi Period.

On the way, we cut through Lodi Gardens. Turns out, you're not allowed to ride bikes in the garden. We walked out bikes, and I took a few photos of the tombs.
Above is the AD1494 Mosque, D185

The Turret, D188, was most likely a corner of a former wall, built sometime in the Lodi period. Some will tell you that it's a Mughal Kos Minar, but my book (and I) doubt it.

You'd think being up on a hill like this that D196 would be easy to find. But it's off the road, and you can only get there by entering the stadium and cutting across the track. Good thing the guards don't mind! D196 is an unusual Lodi-era tomb, shaped as a 16-sided polygonal prism.

Ah, Tuglaq tomb D198. So easy to find. Right in the shade of Delhi's largest sports complex.

D197 is just north of the stadium. This is maybe my second or third time visiting the Late Mughal tomb.

April 2, 2005
RK Puram tombs, Wazirpur and Tin Burji with Ray. Katie's brother Ray had just enough time in town for one last bike ride. We went to Ramakrishna Puram, Wazirpur, and the tomb of Tin Burji on Africa Avenue. Then we stopped at the pottery road off of Africa Avenue on the way home.

A collection of Lodi-era tombs, F14, F16, F17, and F18

F15, Lodi-era stepwell. That's Ray, climbing down into it! The nearby Lodi-era tomb of Bijri Khan, F32

Tin Burji, F34. The name just means "Triple Domed," it's not the name of the person buried inside (who is unknown.) It dates back to the Lodi period. Pottery Street - a great place for a terracotta candleholder! F19 and F29, a small Lodi-era tomb and a wall mosque.

March 20, 2005

Chirag Delhi

This was perhaps the largest turnout yet for a bike ride! Katie's brother Ray was in town, Genta and her friend Ray came along. And Elise and Bob. Chirag Delhi is a fun spot for visitors, and there were plenty of buildings there I hadn't seen yet.

The first stop on our ride was a Sufi tomb complex, or dargah. It was originally built in 1375, but many buildings were added during the Lodi period (1456-1526).

This was Ray's last ride with us -- he moved back to the Antipodes. He waited outside with some Sufi mystics rather than enter the dargah with the rest of us.

Because we were wearing bike shorts, the dargah keepers loaned us some longees to cover our legs with. This very short guy is helping Bob get his tied properly.

This crumbling building is the remainder of the Northern Gateway to Chirag Delhi (F162). It was built between AD 1719 and 1748.
The Gateway to the Dargah complex, (F167) dates from AD1375.
The most important building in the dargah complex is F168, the tomb of Roshan Chiragh Shaikh Naisruddin Mahmud, built in 1375.

The Mosque of Farukhsiyar (F169) was built in 1713, but has been extensively modified in recent years.
The Lodi-era (1400s) mosque F173 has been all built over, but from the courtyard behind the dargah, you can see part of the original building.
F174 -- the Mahfil Khana. It's a Lodi-era assembly hall.

F170, a Lodi-era Tomb F171 The Lodi-era Tomb of Shaikh Zainuddin F172 The tomb of the granddaughter of Shaikh Farid Shakarganj

F175 - another tomb in the complex F179 - the tomb of Bahlol Lodi, first emperor of the Lodi era. Built in AD1488. Back then, it was good to be buried near a famous Sheikh's tomb. F180 - a Lodi-era grave enclosure

While riding through Chirag Delhi, we found the Tuglaq-era (1300s F186) tomb of Haji Khanam nearby. It's now being used as a screenprinting factory. This is the outer gate to the courtyard where Haji's tomb is located. This might be the Lodi-era Pahar (F182) building, but if it is, there's been a lot of changes made to the surroundings since the photo was published in my guide book. It does look old, though!

March 13 - Khan i Khannan's tomb in Nizamuddin East Katie and I rode to the area around Humayan's Tomb. Just making a circle around the main tomb, you see all kinds of great other stuff. The main goal was the tomb of Khan-i-Khannan, but we saw lots of other sites as well.

D201, the Lodi-era tomb known as the tomb of Do Shriya. Not a lot is known about this tomb, and the lady who lives inside it didn't want to give us a tour. D260, the gateway to Arab Ki Sarai. It was built be Shah Jahangir in 1605 AD, as an entrance to the visitor's courtyard. Now the courtyard is used as a concert venue for my favorite annual event, Muzzafar Ali's Sufi music festival. D278, another Lodi-era tomb. This one is chattri style, a dome raised on pillars, rather than enclosed by walls. This is the tomb of Sayyid Yasin.

The Bara Batshewala Mahal, (D270) a large building constructed in 1603 AD. Now it's the centerpiece of a campground for the Bharat Scouts (a sort of Indian version of Boy Scouts).

A monkey guarded our bikes for us.
D279, a late Mughal-era gateway. Now it's used as a tea stand.

The Nila Gumbad (D276) is an incredibly beautiful tomb, tucked away behind Humayan's tomb. It's got quite a few of the original blue tiles still in place, hence the name "blue tomb." It's the tomb of Fahim Khan, who died in 1624.

The object of our journey, the 1627 AD tomb of Khan-i Khanan (D280). He was a renowned general under Emperors Akbar and Jahangir. Most of the marble facing that once decorated the tomb was stripped off to build Safdarjang's tomb a hundred years later.

Feb 6, 2005 - Katra Neel
My old buddy Walter was visiting Delhi from his new home in Shanghai and wanted to go riding for old times' sake. So we went back to Katra Neel. There are so many old Hindu Shivalayas and neat old buildings there! It was kind of fun to go someplace two weeks in a row. And it was great riding with Walter again after so long.

A62 Late 19th C Dharamshala
A dharamshala is a rest house, often attached to a Hindu temple. Pilgrims can stay there while visiting. A41 St Stephen's Church, 1867

A63 Temple and school, late 19th Century Doorway of Temple A63 A61, Pandit Hari Ramji ka Shivalaya, late Mughal. A cool Hindu temple in Old Delhi. Walter and I went in and looked around. It's probably not much older than 1950, or it would have shown up in my books. A80, MCD Office, late 19th C. It's not known what this old turret used to be, but now it's an office for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

Walter reads a sign outside the Hindu temple
Old Delhi Railway Station, A77, built in 1867

January 30, 2005
Katra Neel and Tilak Bazaar
This trip it was just Todd and I. We headed up to Old Delhi to check out the shivalayas of the Katra Neel neighborhood. A shivalaya is a Hindu shrine enclosing a stone called a shivalingham, which is symbolic of the phallus of Lord Shiva. You might recall the shivalingham as the object of Indiana Jones' search in Temple of Doom.

A51, The late Mughal Shivalaya of Kunniji Maharaj. We went inside, but they asked us not to take photos while in there. So this is the doorway. A54 the Bada Shivalaya, built in 1816. You can see the canopy through the archway. Most of the shivalayas of Katra Neel are small octagonal domes with intricately carved marble or sandstone columns. A60, a late 19th Century residence. The doorway is a nicely carved sandstone arch, and the balcony above (which you can see in the photo) is made of sandstone as well. The address is #649 Katra Nil, Chadni Chowk.

I think this chattri dome is part of the A62 Dharamashala, but I'm not sure. A70 The Southern gateway to Katra Nil. Sometimes it's spelled "nil" and sometimes "neel." The gateway was built in the early 1800s. An intricate Old Delhi entranceway. But it's a pretty new building. I liked the horse parked outside.

Tilak Bazaar is a bustling market in Old Delhi.

There's no mention of this Art Deco facade in my book, so it might be a 1950s or 60s revival, instead of a 1930's original.

Flower delivery cycle
A71, the Haveli of Lala Chunna Mal, built in 1857. This grand haveli (mansion) is now a commercial building. Underneath the dust and billboards, it's got a lot of character and style.

October 31st, 2004
Nizamuddin Katie and I set out to find the Kali Masjid of Nizamuddin. It's another one of the seven mosques built by Khan-i-Jahan in the 1300s. I've looked for it before and never found it -- it's in a small and hard-to-find section of Nizamuddin.

D203 The Kushaki Lal, a red sandstone building from 1245 AD. Entrance to the Kali Masjid, D241, 1370 AD. Khan-i-Jahan's mosques have this awesome fortresslike style to them. A hat vendor in Nizamuddin.

D242 Gateway to Inner Kot
An old entrance to part of the walled city of Nizamuddin, from the Tughlaq era (1350s) Interior of the Kali Masjid. It's an active Sufi mosque now, but they've kept part of it in decent shape. Some of Khan-i-Jahan's mosques are so plastered and painted that they look brand new. Exterior wall of mosque, with a balloon vendor.

October 17, 2004
Turkmen Gate and Kalan Masjid Jonathan and I set out to find the Kalan Masjid, or black mosque. It's one of Khan-i-Jahan's mosques, located in Old Delhi near Turkman Gate.

A191, an early Mughal gateway known as the Telion Ka Phatak. A188, Turkman Gate, one of the original gates to the old walled city of Shajahanabad in Old Delhi. 1658 AD. A190, the Badi Masjid -- a Mughal-era mosque near Turkmen Gate. 1676 AD.

On the way home, we stopped at the Agrasen Ki Baoli The Black Mosque (A192, Kalan Masjid) could be called the Pink-and-Green Mosque nowadays. 1387 AD.

Here I am driving through India Gate On the roof of the Kalan Masjid The interior -- compare the paint and plaster to the original style of the other Khan-i-Jahan mosques!

September 19, 2004
Janakpur Tower

Busy streets of Janakpur View from the top of the tower On the way out, we passed by the last train from Pakistan. It's kind of a monument.

Katie and I headed out to Janakpur. It's a pretty long way to go, but there's a cool tower out there you can climb to the top of.

G18 The Hati Khana. It's a hunting lodge from 1650 AD. The Minar of Janakpur, G17. Also from the 1650s.

September 19, 2004
Janakpur Tower (with Katie?)

August 15, 2004
Katie and I went to Sultan Ghari's tomb, out past the airport. Along the way, there's a nice detour through the village of Mahipalpur. The tomb is surrounded by ancient ruins and crumbling stone walls.

F107 - The ruins of a mahal (residence) in Mahipalpur
F10x - 13th Century ruins in front of the tomb of Sultan Ghari

F109 - The tomb of Sultan Ghari's brother, another son of Iltutmish (1230s)

August 8th, 2004
Delhi Cantonment No one else wanted to go riding this morning, so I went out alone to the former British military base known as The Cantonment. I stopped at G23, The 1929 St. Martin's Church. It's a large, attractive brick church.

August 1, 2004
Bob, Marty, Katie and I headed over to South Extension, a neighborhood containing many Lodi-era tombs.

D282 - The tomb of Darya Khan Lohani

D285 - The Tomb of Bhure Khan D284 - The Tomb of Chhote Khan D283 - The Tomb of Bare Khan


May 8, 2005 One of my former students from Cairo came on a Sunday ride. At first, we were headed to Old Delhi, but then Rahul got a flat and switched bikes, so we ended up just going to Agrasen Ki Baoli (D45, AD1400s), the Delhi Stepwell. Then I got another flat on the way home, and we walked our bikes back.

The Walls of Qila Rai Pithora, AD 1180, F249	May 1st, 2005 Marty, Tom, Bob and I went looking for the first two cities of Delhi, Qila Rai Pithora and Lal Kot. They're both in ruins now, so it's hard to tell when you move from one to the other. I'll have to go back and map it more completely. Anyway, it was fun climbing the walls and trying to ride our bikes along it.	Some Sufi tombs among the walls of Lal Kot, near the excavations of Anang Tal.

April 24, 2005 Elise and I went out looking for tomb D196 near Nehru Stadium. It was the third trip I've made in search of it, and the first successful one. Hooray! D187, Shish Gumbad, the tomb of an unknown Grandee of the Lodi Period.	On the way, we cut through Lodi Gardens. Turns out, you're not allowed to ride bikes in the garden. We walked out bikes, and I took a few photos of the tombs. Above is the AD1494 Mosque, D185	The Turret, D188, was most likely a corner of a former wall, built sometime in the Lodi period. Some will tell you that it's a Mughal Kos Minar, but my book (and I) doubt it.
You'd think being up on a hill like this that D196 would be easy to find. But it's off the road, and you can only get there by entering the stadium and cutting across the track. Good thing the guards don't mind! D196 is an unusual Lodi-era tomb, shaped as a 16-sided polygonal prism.	Ah, Tuglaq tomb D198. So easy to find. Right in the shade of Delhi's largest sports complex.	D197 is just north of the stadium. This is maybe my second or third time visiting the Late Mughal tomb.

April 2, 2005 RK Puram tombs, Wazirpur and Tin Burji with Ray.	Katie's brother Ray had just enough time in town for one last bike ride. We went to Ramakrishna Puram, Wazirpur, and the tomb of Tin Burji on Africa Avenue. Then we stopped at the pottery road off of Africa Avenue on the way home.

A collection of Lodi-era tombs, F14, F16, F17, and F18

	F15, Lodi-era stepwell. That's Ray, climbing down into it!	The nearby Lodi-era tomb of Bijri Khan, F32

Tin Burji, F34. The name just means "Triple Domed," it's not the name of the person buried inside (who is unknown.) It dates back to the Lodi period.	Pottery Street - a great place for a terracotta candleholder!	F19 and F29, a small Lodi-era tomb and a wall mosque.
March 20, 2005 Chirag Delhi This was perhaps the largest turnout yet for a bike ride! Katie's brother Ray was in town, Genta and her friend Ray came along. And Elise and Bob. Chirag Delhi is a fun spot for visitors, and there were plenty of buildings there I hadn't seen yet.	The first stop on our ride was a Sufi tomb complex, or dargah. It was originally built in 1375, but many buildings were added during the Lodi period (1456-1526). This was Ray's last ride with us -- he moved back to the Antipodes. He waited outside with some Sufi mystics rather than enter the dargah with the rest of us.	Because we were wearing bike shorts, the dargah keepers loaned us some longees to cover our legs with. This very short guy is helping Bob get his tied properly.

This crumbling building is the remainder of the Northern Gateway to Chirag Delhi (F162). It was built between AD 1719 and 1748.	The Gateway to the Dargah complex, (F167) dates from AD1375.	The most important building in the dargah complex is F168, the tomb of Roshan Chiragh Shaikh Naisruddin Mahmud, built in 1375.
The Mosque of Farukhsiyar (F169) was built in 1713, but has been extensively modified in recent years.	The Lodi-era (1400s) mosque F173 has been all built over, but from the courtyard behind the dargah, you can see part of the original building.	F174 -- the Mahfil Khana. It's a Lodi-era assembly hall.

F170, a Lodi-era Tomb	F171 The Lodi-era Tomb of Shaikh Zainuddin	F172 The tomb of the granddaughter of Shaikh Farid Shakarganj

F175 - another tomb in the complex	F179 - the tomb of Bahlol Lodi, first emperor of the Lodi era. Built in AD1488. Back then, it was good to be buried near a famous Sheikh's tomb.	F180 - a Lodi-era grave enclosure

While riding through Chirag Delhi, we found the Tuglaq-era (1300s F186) tomb of Haji Khanam nearby. It's now being used as a screenprinting factory.	This is the outer gate to the courtyard where Haji's tomb is located.	This might be the Lodi-era Pahar (F182) building, but if it is, there's been a lot of changes made to the surroundings since the photo was published in my guide book. It does look old, though!

March 13 - Khan i Khannan's tomb in Nizamuddin East	Katie and I rode to the area around Humayan's Tomb. Just making a circle around the main tomb, you see all kinds of great other stuff. The main goal was the tomb of Khan-i-Khannan, but we saw lots of other sites as well.

D201, the Lodi-era tomb known as the tomb of Do Shriya. Not a lot is known about this tomb, and the lady who lives inside it didn't want to give us a tour.	D260, the gateway to Arab Ki Sarai. It was built be Shah Jahangir in 1605 AD, as an entrance to the visitor's courtyard. Now the courtyard is used as a concert venue for my favorite annual event, Muzzafar Ali's Sufi music festival.	D278, another Lodi-era tomb. This one is chattri style, a dome raised on pillars, rather than enclosed by walls. This is the tomb of Sayyid Yasin.
The Bara Batshewala Mahal, (D270) a large building constructed in 1603 AD. Now it's the centerpiece of a campground for the Bharat Scouts (a sort of Indian version of Boy Scouts).	A monkey guarded our bikes for us.	D279, a late Mughal-era gateway. Now it's used as a tea stand.
	The Nila Gumbad (D276) is an incredibly beautiful tomb, tucked away behind Humayan's tomb. It's got quite a few of the original blue tiles still in place, hence the name "blue tomb." It's the tomb of Fahim Khan, who died in 1624.

	The object of our journey, the 1627 AD tomb of Khan-i Khanan (D280). He was a renowned general under Emperors Akbar and Jahangir. Most of the marble facing that once decorated the tomb was stripped off to build Safdarjang's tomb a hundred years later.


A63 Temple and school, late 19th Century	Doorway of Temple A63	A61, Pandit Hari Ramji ka Shivalaya, late Mughal.	A cool Hindu temple in Old Delhi. Walter and I went in and looked around. It's probably not much older than 1950, or it would have shown up in my books.	A80, MCD Office, late 19th C. It's not known what this old turret used to be, but now it's an office for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.


Walter reads a sign outside the Hindu temple	Old Delhi Railway Station, A77, built in 1867

January 30, 2005 Katra Neel and Tilak Bazaar This trip it was just Todd and I. We headed up to Old Delhi to check out the shivalayas of the Katra Neel neighborhood. A shivalaya is a Hindu shrine enclosing a stone called a shivalingham, which is symbolic of the phallus of Lord Shiva. You might recall the shivalingham as the object of Indiana Jones' search in Temple of Doom.

A51, The late Mughal Shivalaya of Kunniji Maharaj. We went inside, but they asked us not to take photos while in there. So this is the doorway.	A54 the Bada Shivalaya, built in 1816. You can see the canopy through the archway. Most of the shivalayas of Katra Neel are small octagonal domes with intricately carved marble or sandstone columns.	A60, a late 19th Century residence. The doorway is a nicely carved sandstone arch, and the balcony above (which you can see in the photo) is made of sandstone as well. The address is #649 Katra Nil, Chadni Chowk.

I think this chattri dome is part of the A62 Dharamashala, but I'm not sure.	A70 The Southern gateway to Katra Nil. Sometimes it's spelled "nil" and sometimes "neel." The gateway was built in the early 1800s.	An intricate Old Delhi entranceway. But it's a pretty new building. I liked the horse parked outside.
	Tilak Bazaar is a bustling market in Old Delhi.
		There's no mention of this Art Deco facade in my book, so it might be a 1950s or 60s revival, instead of a 1930's original.

Flower delivery cycle	A71, the Haveli of Lala Chunna Mal, built in 1857. This grand haveli (mansion) is now a commercial building. Underneath the dust and billboards, it's got a lot of character and style.

October 31st, 2004 Nizamuddin	Katie and I set out to find the Kali Masjid of Nizamuddin. It's another one of the seven mosques built by Khan-i-Jahan in the 1300s. I've looked for it before and never found it -- it's in a small and hard-to-find section of Nizamuddin.

D203 The Kushaki Lal, a red sandstone building from 1245 AD.	Entrance to the Kali Masjid, D241, 1370 AD. Khan-i-Jahan's mosques have this awesome fortresslike style to them.	A hat vendor in Nizamuddin.

D242 Gateway to Inner Kot An old entrance to part of the walled city of Nizamuddin, from the Tughlaq era (1350s)	Interior of the Kali Masjid. It's an active Sufi mosque now, but they've kept part of it in decent shape. Some of Khan-i-Jahan's mosques are so plastered and painted that they look brand new.	Exterior wall of mosque, with a balloon vendor.

October 17, 2004 Turkmen Gate and Kalan Masjid	Jonathan and I set out to find the Kalan Masjid, or black mosque. It's one of Khan-i-Jahan's mosques, located in Old Delhi near Turkman Gate.

A191, an early Mughal gateway known as the Telion Ka Phatak.	A188, Turkman Gate, one of the original gates to the old walled city of Shajahanabad in Old Delhi. 1658 AD.	A190, the Badi Masjid -- a Mughal-era mosque near Turkmen Gate. 1676 AD.

On the way home, we stopped at the Agrasen Ki Baoli		The Black Mosque (A192, Kalan Masjid) could be called the Pink-and-Green Mosque nowadays. 1387 AD.

Here I am driving through India Gate	On the roof of the Kalan Masjid	The interior -- compare the paint and plaster to the original style of the other Khan-i-Jahan mosques!

September 19, 2004 Janakpur Tower

Busy streets of Janakpur	View from the top of the tower	On the way out, we passed by the last train from Pakistan. It's kind of a monument.
	Katie and I headed out to Janakpur. It's a pretty long way to go, but there's a cool tower out there you can climb to the top of.
G18 The Hati Khana. It's a hunting lodge from 1650 AD.		The Minar of Janakpur, G17. Also from the 1650s.

August 15, 2004 Katie and I went to Sultan Ghari's tomb, out past the airport. Along the way, there's a nice detour through the village of Mahipalpur. The tomb is surrounded by ancient ruins and crumbling stone walls.
	F107 - The ruins of a mahal (residence) in Mahipalpur	F10x - 13th Century ruins in front of the tomb of Sultan Ghari
		F109 - The tomb of Sultan Ghari's brother, another son of Iltutmish (1230s)

August 8th, 2004 Delhi Cantonment	No one else wanted to go riding this morning, so I went out alone to the former British military base known as The Cantonment. I stopped at G23, The 1929 St. Martin's Church. It's a large, attractive brick church.

	August 1, 2004 Bob, Marty, Katie and I headed over to South Extension, a neighborhood containing many Lodi-era tombs.
		D282 - The tomb of Darya Khan Lohani

D285 - The Tomb of Bhure Khan	D284 - The Tomb of Chhote Khan	D283 - The Tomb of Bare Khan