Jama Masjid

I'm back in sweltering Vermont - three straight days of 95 degree heat, which we are clearly not prepared. Air conditioning is pretty rare up here. Granted, it's not the 110 we suffered through in Agra and Delhi, but I guess I was in an India state of mind so I was more prepared to it. When I'm in Vermont I'm locked into summer days in the mid-70's (it's the reward we get for our long winter). Now that I'm back - and in between the mad dash to get my summer class ready to go - let me continue to get caught up. Here are some pictures of a mosque that I visited in Delhi. On our last full day in Delhi my father and Annie decided to duck out from the heat, so I went sight-seeing with the most excellent Mr. Rakesh (more on him later). The first place we visited was located in old Delhi, which is a fascinating warren of narrow, winding streets - it "feels" much more like India than New Delhi, which is, of course, beautiful in its own right (and also representative of the rapidly changing world that is India). We went to the Jama Masjid (masjid is rendered, oddly, in English as mosque). It's sad that many Americans avoid going to mosques because of some perception that they will not be received favorably. As I've talk about before, I've visited mosques all over the world and have always found them amazing experiences. After leaving my shoes on the outside I just walked around the courtyard leisurely looking at the sight - and eventually just sat down and soaked in the environment. I'll post some interesting pictures. There's a close-up of the dome on the mosque, which is classically Indian - you see the same thing at the Taj Mahal. What sets it apart from a classic Islamic dome is the appearance of the inverted lotus flower at the top. There's also a picture of one of the mosque's minarets, including a close-up that shows where the muezzin would emerge to call the faithful to worship.