India Guide
Delhi
Old Delhi
Though it's not in fact the oldest part of Delhi, the seventeenth-century city of Shahjahanabad, built for Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, is known as OLD DELHI. Construction began in 1638, and within eleven years the city was substantially complete, surrounded by ramparts pierced by fourteen main gates. It boasted a beautiful main thoroughfare, Chandni Chowk, an imposing citadel, the Red Fort, and an impressive congregational mosque, the Jama Masjid. The capital's most frenetic quarter, it's also its most Islamic. Much of the wall has crumbled, and only four gates remain, but it's still fascinating, crammed with interesting nooks and crannies.