Mighty Tughlaqabad Fort

Tughlaqabad Fort, with modern South Delhi visible in the distance

After more than 4 years in Delhi I finally got around to visit the largest of Delhi's many historical monuments: The mighty fort of Tughlaqabad!

The fort was built by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq in 1321 and abandoned just a few years later - according to myth due to a curse from contemporary Sufi saint Nizamuddin. Tughlaqabad is not in the best conditions and not very well maintained - shrubbery grows over the ruins everywhere. But it's still an imposing sight especially when taking in the size of it - more than 6.5 km in perimeter. It must have been nothing short of a spectacular sight in its 6 short years of use some 700 years ago. Today it's located right smack in the middle of South Delhi.

Below are a few pictures of the fort and the tomb of Tughlaq, located just outside the walls of the fort.

Tughlaqabad is protected by massive stone ramparts. The downfall of the fort was not due to lack defensibility

Our friends Lone and Troels in one of the huge water tanks providing fresh water to the inhabitants of the city

Locals exploring the ruins (and in the process providing a reference of scale)

The aesthetically appealing tomb of Tuglaq

No matter how mighty they are, they all end up the same way - Tughlaq
was allegedly helped to his destiny by his son who orchestrated an
  assassinationagainst him

Weather Changes

Sudden rain temporarily interrupting a company party, Gurgaon

Being from Denmark, I am not used to very dramatic changes in weather - it's just pretty much cloudy and drizzling all year round. Delhi gives you a bit more bang for the buck with sudden rains, sudden sand storms and dramatic dark clouds suddenly coming in the middle of the day.

Sunshine after the rain

A picture taken from my office window in the middle of the day and in the middle of the summer. In less than 5 minutes it went from a normal bright day to as dark as night - only in the far horizon was there any light to be seen!

My Best Goan Bird Shots

Brahminy Kite in flight near the road from Candolim to Panjim

In my final post from Goa, I want to share the few best of my (many) bird pictures from the trip. Most of them were spotted in the garden of the villa we had rented or just nearby.
 

Asian Paradise-Flycatcher, rufous male

 

Black-Lored Tits

 

Not sure if it is the best of the pictures, but perhaps the nicest sighting: A Crimson Sunbird

Purple-Rumped Sunbird

Brahminy Kites in Palm Tree

Dolphin Spotting off the Goan Coast

A pair of dolphins off the coast of Goa

Those who know me - or follow my blog - know that I have a strong affinity for observing and photographing various animals in the wild. So naturally I couldn't go to Goa without organising a trip to go out to sea looking for the dolphins living in the Arabian Sea. Some of you may remember I also went dolphin spotting in Hong Kong.

It was an OK trip. We had a couple of decent dolphin sightings - although I am yet to experience the classic scene of dolphins jumping out of the water and flying through the air. We also enjoyed seeing the Goan coastline and the cooling ocean breeze giving some respite from the heat.

My family on the lookout for dolphins in our surprisingly large boat

There were other people also looking for dolphins but in much smaller and faster speed boats. Ironically, though, we got much better sightings than they did since the Dolphins seemed to dislike these boats and hide from them

Nice coastal scenery

A colonial building converted into a prison. It's a location worthy of a five star hotel, yet I don't think you'd want a vacation here

Prisoners looking out to see, probably longing for freedom