Ajmer

Storing our Shoes at the Shrine

Ready to enter the Shrine

Absolutions before Prayer

Men at Prayer

Ajmer Mosque

Great Horns

Dinner at Rambagh Palace, Gold Plates and Silverware

Sometimes when you are on vacation, you need to just put your foot down and say enough is enough. Today was one of those days. We loved Sharpura Bagh. It definitely is a place we will return to. We were sad to leave its tranquility.

We were heading to Ajmer. Next to Mecca, Ajmer is the most holy Sufi site aside from Mecca. It is the final resting place of the Sufi Saint: Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. He is huge. Hoards of people come to pray at his shrine. In Delhi we had been to another famous Sufi Saint Shrine; Nizamuddin Dargah it is the dargah of the other world famous Sufi saints, Nizamuddin Auliya.

When we visited the shrine in Delhi we did not have a guide, Cathy and I walked the narrow lanes of the Muslim Village alone. To us it was like a walk into the heart of darkness. We really didn’t know what we were in for. We were requested to leave our shoes behind at one point. We complied, and wondered if we would ever find where we left them again. We were constantly asked for money, we felt like we were being treated as human ATM’s. We finally reached the shrine of the Saint, and only I, a male, was allowed to enter. Men were praying feverishly. Women looked from afar. On the outside of shrine, Qwwali Singers were singing the praise of Allah. We sat on the ground and enjoyed the singing. We left the shrine after listening to the music (which we love) and eventually found our shoes and walked back through the alleyways and found our driver. It was a surrealistic experience. Our Hindu driver was amazed we went in to the crowded Muslim area alone without a guide.

Ajmer is thought of as even being a more spiritual place. We did however, based upon our experience in Delhi, secure a guide. Surprisingly he was a Hindu. Unlike the walk into the Nizamuddin Dargah (Shrine) he secured a tuk-tuk. At the shrine you need cover your head – we were sold coverings. When we finally arrived at the Shrine of the Sufi Saint Christi the men and women were not separated. Cathy and I walked in together. There were obviously people praying devoutly, but we felt nothing spiritual at all. People wanting money constantly accosted us while the pilgrims pushed and shoved. The great value of the guide was not to interpret the Sufi Mysticism but rather to tell me the least amount I could pay to be blessed. The guide was worth it. Hindu priests in a similar way had bamboozled us in Pushkar. The guide was a good investment.

We then went to our hotel. There was going to be a big wedding that night and they warned us that it would be noisy. We were less than impressed with the hotel anyway, so we decided to bale. We had already checked in, but we told them we were leaving. We headed back towards Jaipur. From the car, I called The Rambagh Palace and told them we returning. It was a wise decision on our part. We wound up with a great room (I am sure they all are). Drinks in the bar, then a delicious dinner convinced us we made the right choice.  Morning spent on the terrace of our room overlooking the glorious palace grounds.

Now on to Delhi.