Hello Steemians!

Back in 2008 a dream came true – I was able to travel to India. It has always been a great desire. Maybe some of you have been there, maybe some of you have heard about 'India's Golden Triangle'.

It's a famous circular trip for tourists and I decided to do it. It includes the cities New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. The circuit leads you to the highlights of the indian subcontinent. You'll experience and discover religion, tradition and culture from the long forgotten times, all combined, like a visit to the Taj Mahal. There's so much to see and yet you have to focus on some things because you simply can't visit all the places, unfortunately. Maybe I'll to go back again to explore what I missed :)

The exploration tour started in New Delhi.

This is a front view of the mosque Jama Masjid. It is the biggest muslim mosque in India! And also one of the biggest in the world.

This is the The Laxminarayan Temple. And hindu temple. The architecture and all the details are fascinating.

My next stop was Agra, about 200 km south-east of New Delhi.

I guess the most famous thing you can see in Agra is of course: The Taj Mahal. I was blessed to experience this magnificent appearance at sunrise! Words and images cannot describe the feeling you have, believe me. It's just a glimpse of it. And in addition to the sunrise: Barely no one was there! At least for a few moments :)

When you see it for the first time it's really funny. But you get used to it: Elephants on the crosswalk :) Of course they had to stop as well.:)

This image is one of many reasons why India is the country of thousand colors. You just have to find a marketplace. And no, these are no watercolors!:) These are spices!

If you go through the streets you happen to meet a lot of different people. I asked this man if I can take a picture and he kindly agreed. He's obviously very religious.

The travel continued to Jaipur. What a beautiful city. It's the capital city of Rajasthan and has about 3 Million inhabitants. Just crazy.

This is a view of the Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds. It is considered to be one of the main attractions in India. You can see why. An architectural masterpiece and part of a gigantic palace of the local maharaja.

The elefant parade was very colorful, too and again just another reason to call it the land of thousand colors.

But I decided to extend my travel. I had to see Varanasi. Varanasi is the most holy and sacred city in Hindusim and it is described as the perfect place to die. I had to got there.

On my way to Varanasi I made a stop in Khajuraho. You can find the Khajuraho Group of Monuments there. A huge temple complex, famous for the Nagara architecture and the erotic sculptures. It is also a world heritage.

The temple on the left is the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, one of the 20 temples at Khajuraho.

And a closer view of the right temple.

And of course some of the famous erotic sculptures.

Varanasi itself.

These are the typical Ghats, 'stairs which lead to the water'. Ghats are important places for ritual washings and ceremonies. This is a view by day.

And at night during a ceremony.

A shopping street in Varanasi.

The owner of this shop was very fortunate to have this ox in his shop. The ox is sitting there voluntary of course, he enjoyed the environment :) Ox and cow are considered to be lucky charms / talismans and the owner was very happy that the ox attracted many customers :)

Hope you enjoyed this little insight into the land of thousand colors.

Steem on!

lobotony