Northwest India Rajasthan is the oldest settled region of India and home to one of the oldest civilized places on Earth. Some of its cities and kingdoms have roots stretching back to antiquity. Moreover, for well over a thousand years it has stood at the crossroads of the Hindu east and the Muslim west. For all of these reasons Rajasthan was historically one of the most … [Read more...]
COASTAL FORTS OF MAHARASTRA (JANJIRA, SINDHUDURG, VIJAYDURG)
Central India Maharastra is one of the largest, wealthiest and most populous states in India, and has been one of that country’s greatest prizes since early times. Thanks to millennia of both seaborne and overland trade with the west, the coastal regions boast some of India’s oldest and largest cities and, in pre-Colonial times, some of its most important kingdoms. Because … [Read more...]
CHITTORGARH FORTRESS
Chittorgarh, India The Chittorgarh Fort in northwest India is the largest in India and one of the largest in the world. It is also one of the oldest surviving fortifications in Asia, and has a colorful if violent history. Aside from its impressive dimensions, Chittorgarh is famous for its gravity-defying cliff-top battlements and a water-storage system that is itself an … [Read more...]
RED FORTS (AGRA, DELHI)
Northern India From the time of the rise of the Seljuk Turks, the nomadic tribes of Central Asia had established a succession of empires across Asia. The last great Turkic/Mongol Empire in the east was that of the Mughals, which at its height during the late medieval period dominated much of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. The successor to the realm of Timur, the Mughal … [Read more...]
MOTHER HOUSE OF THE MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY
Kolkata, West Bengal From its outside appearance, the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata is one of the least likely pilgrimage destinations imaginable. But considering the history of its founder, perhaps this is fitting. It is very likely that this austere building may eventually come to be the most popular Christian site in Asia. It is certainly one … [Read more...]