India

MY SOUVENIR CARD THAT I SENT HOME FROM THIS VISIT.

New Delhi : INDIA.

The Akshardham Temple was finally reached after two hours traffic and another in the crush of the crowd to finally reach the entry stage..I have never seen such crowds at a monument or an event like this in all my life...there must have been over two hundred thousand people at this and around this amazing place.. we were told that it would not have been so bad if it was a week day...all I can say it was unbeleivable but well worth it..The temple building is quite amazing..I was more impressed with this than I was with the Taj Mahal..The interior has to be seen to be believed.. I think only in India..!! The day was a very memorable experience and myself and my two friends had a great time.. I think we walked ten kilometers this day..no wonder I have lost a bit of weight..This was my last sight seeing day in New Dehli and India and couldn't have been better..   If you are ever in New Delhi...put this on your list of" Must sees" It's amazing..
 The next day I left India for my next destination..wonderful Turkey and friends there.

Ashkardam is a Swaminarayan Temple complex in New Delhi India. also referred to as Delhi Ashkardham or Swaminarayan Ashkardham..The complex displays a millennia of  traditional Hindu and Indian culture Spirituality and Architechture. The monument is the second inspired and developed by Pramukh Swami Maharaj The spiritual head of the Bochasanwasi Aksha Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha whos 3,000  volunteers helped 7,000 artisans construct Ashkardam.  The temple complex attracts more than 70 % of people who visit New Delhi was officially opened on the 6th November 2005. The Temple sits on the banks of the Yamuna adjacent to The 2010 Commonwealth Games Village in eastern New Delhi The Temple at the centre of the complex was built according to Vastu Shastra and the Pancharatra Shastra.
 On July 2nd 2001 the first carved stone was laid, seven thousand carvers and three thousand volunteers were put to work for the construction of Ashkardham with over 6,000 tons of pink sandstone coming from Rajastan workshop sites were set up around places within the state. Amongst the carvers were local farmers and 1500 tribal women who had suffered from the drought and recieved economic gain due to this work
The initial stone cutting was done by machine while the detailed carvings were done by hand, every night over a hundred trucks were sent to Ashkardham where over four thousand workers and volunteers worked on the construction site.  Ashkardham was consecrated on the 6th November 2005..

Thank you Wikipedia for this information..