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Socks and temples don’t always mix

Word to the wise: if you’re visiting numerous religious temples in a day in a tropical climate, wear sandals. Pealing off socks and shoes in 120 degree heat several times today was not fun.

It’s standard procedure in most parts of the world to remove your shoes before entering a mosque or Hindu temple. Today being Sunday in Delhi, we decided to rent a car and driver and see the historic religious sights. We started at the breathtaking Qutub Minar, built by a Muslim king in 1199 AD. At 72.5 meters high, it’s the tallest brick minaret in the world. It has a mosque at its base. It was built on the site of a large Hindu temple, and you can see the dramatic architectural contrasts between the two great religions.

We visited the modern, lotus-shaped Bahai Temple and the 17th century Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India where thousands of Muslims gather for prayer each week. And we capped off our religious tour with the ornate Birla Mandir, built in 1938 over a foundation that was laid by Mahatama Gandhi.

We didn’t disagree with the principle of removing our shoes and socks as a sign of respect. It was more the experience of rolling off sweat-soaked socks, and then having to put them back on twenty minutes later at nearly every stop that was less appealing. But even that didn’t compare with the experience of walking bare foot across the open stone plazas. The searing hot sun had baked the red limestone and marble courtyards to a blazingly hot temperature, and Sanjeev, Jon and I learned how to walk with a very light step. We weren’t walking on hot coals with bare feet, but it sure felt that way!