The Red Fort

As I'm sure my usual readers have figured out by now, the streets of Delhi are dotted with fantastic 500+ old monuments; in fact there are so many that most of them aren't even sign-posted or in any way acknowledged by the powers-to-be to be incredible historical structures. However, there are a few big ticket items in Delhi which get all of the tourist love and the Red Fort is prime amongst these.

After 10 months in Delhi I still hadn't managed to make it up to the Red Fort which is in the chaotic old city section of Delhi, but a few weeks ago I decided to finally shake off my procrastination and make the trek. And the Red Fort is monumental: giant in size, rich in history, and chock-full of interesting photo opportunities.

Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the Red Fort: “It was the residence of the Mughal emperor of India for nearly 200 years, until 1857. In addition to accommodating the emperors and their households, it was the ceremonial and political centre of Mughal government and the setting for events critically impacting the region…. The Red Fort is considered to represent the zenith of Mughal creativity under Shah Jahan. Although the palace was planned according to Islamic prototypes, each pavilion contains architectural elements typical of Mughal buildings, reflecting a fusion of Timurid, Persian and Hindu traditions…. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007 as part of the Red Fort Complex….The Red Fort is an iconic symbol of India.”

Meh.

Let me explain. I'm not trying to say that the Red Fort enjoys unearned fame and tourist ticket money--I think it is probably $5 and an hour well spent. But there was nothing to me (other than size) that really set it apart from all of the other grandiose Mughal-era buildings this fine city has on display. Call me jaded or palace/fort/tomb weary, I guess, but after a while lots of this stuff starts to look a bit similar. Even if it is an "iconic symbol of India."

Actually, I err. There is something that sets the Red Fort apart from other tourist sites around Delhi—and that is crowds. I mean, many of Delhi’s sites are fairly well attended, but the Red Fort, being an A-list attraction literally has the looooooongest lines to get in. Like, I bet folks have to wait on the ticket line for at least an hour.

Unless you’re a foreigner, of course. One of the delights(?) of being a blond white-skinned chick at an A-list Indian tourist attraction is that you get dragged out of the crazy long line by some official-looking security guard, who then marches you past all of the plebeians into a special VIP line. I say a special VIP line, but who am I kidding? I’m pretty sure it’s just the white persons' line. Actually, maybe an Indian with lots of money could go to this line too. Or a brown-skinned person flashing a foreign passport—I’ve just never seen anyone but a white person in the VIP line. Yep, that’s white privilege, right there.

I always feel super guilty when I skip the locals line to go into the VIP line because once there I promptly refuse to pay the exorbitant foreigner’s fee (which is usually about Rs. 300, versus the Rs 10 that Indians pay to get in) and instead flash my residence card. So, I get to skip the line AND I get to pay the Indian rate.  Yep, I feel pretty guilty about it—but I still do it. You see, I’m really a terrible person.

Anyway, here are some more nice pictures that I took of the Red Fort, for those who may not be as palace/fort/tomb weary as I am. Enjoy!