It is pretty impressive: the world’s tallest brick minaret, set in a complex of archaeological ruins dating back to 1193 AD, on a site that is much older than that. The stories behind it are quite something as well. Qutb Minar, sometimes spelled Qutub or Qutab, was started in 1192 by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the first Sultan of Delhi and ruler of North India from 1206 to […]
Tag Archives: architecture My husband is in China at the moment. I am not. Such is life! I shouldn’t complain too much; his absence gives me extra time to get to photos I haven’t yet processed… including those pictures I took when I tagged along on his last trip to China in April. We stayed in Xiamen (Amoy): […]  Gulangyu. “Drum Wave Islet”. Named for the sound that the waves make as they roll off the Taiwan Strait and hit the off-shore reefs and rocks, Gulangyu Island is a delightful place. Just a short ferry ride from downtown Xiamen, in the south east of the People’s Republic of China, it is a popular destination for local visitors. Gulangyu’s charming pedestrian-only streets are filled with traditional […]  The Masjid-i Jahān-Numā (the “World Reflecting Mosque”), situated in the heart of Old Delhi, is the largest and most important mosque in India. Built between 1644 (or 1650 – depending who you believe) and 1658, it was “the final architectural extravagance of Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort”. Situated on a small hill, […]  History is written by the victors. So, how do the non-victors manage to tell their stories, especially to future generations who are looking back on conflicts with very different historical perspectives? How do descendants of those who were seen as perpetrators of crimes or atrocities reconcile themselves with their own histories? How do the future generations, who are often still seen […] |
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