Memoirs of a Foreigner

The more time I spend in India, the more I realize the defincency of world history classes in the American school system. I visit ancient ruins built by kings I have never heard of. I think we spent a week maximum on Asian history, a week on the ancient Middle East and then spent the rest of the year on European and American History. Maybe a sentence or two was added in regards to the British Empire and World War II. But, that was it. So one of my new hobbies is learning Asian history.

The City of Delhi is an ancient city that has been destroyed and rebuilt over and over by empire after empire. The last great empire before the British was the Mughal Empire. But they should not be confused with the Mongol(ian)s led by Gingus Kan The Moguls came from over the  Himalayas through what is now called Afghanistan and Pakistan from central Asia, although the first Mughal Emperor did claim to be the greatgrandson of Gingus Kan! The Moguls brought with them a high culture of design, poetry, dress, food, and Islam. But they are most famous for their architecture —the Mogul King Akbar had Agra Fort (Palace)  and his grandson Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal and had the peacock throne contructed. More on Shah Jahan at a later time.