452 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by Maynard Owen Williams 



THE FRONT STEPS OE THE GREAT MOSQUE AT DELHI 



With the coming of the afternoon shadows the red sandstone steps 

 of the Delhi mosque are dotted with color. The whole incline 

 becomes a bustling bazaar, draped with silks and cluttered with 

 pottery, and beside this truly Oriental scene the itinerant billboards 

 of the local cinemas bespeak patronage and modernity. 



of sordid show she was declasse. As 

 though seeking to retain some vestige of 

 my respect, she sadly waved aside the tip 

 I proffered her. 



Around the dusty base of the cityward 

 walls of the ancient fort, great herds of 

 water-buffalo stand, baking their parched 

 hides in the sun, but around the city of 

 the thirteen gates there runs a green gir- 

 dle of gardens pleasing to the eye as well 

 as the body. Only on the northwest is 

 this circle of coolness broken by a dusty 

 expanse stretching toward the Ravi 

 River. 



Situated at an in- 

 tersection of t wo 

 streets is the Sonehri 

 Ma.sjid. its t h r e e 

 golden domes a ra- 

 diant brightness in 

 the deep shadow of 

 the bazaar, and far- 

 ther on one comes to 

 a square across which 

 is seen the great 

 arched entrance t o 

 the Mosque of Wazir 

 Khan, its tiled walls 

 colored in a way that 

 suggests Shakh Zinda, 

 on the outskirts of 

 Samarkand. 



AMRITSAR, T1IK CITY 

 OE CARPETS 



Leaving by the f < >rt- 

 like station of Lahore, 

 within whose battle- 

 ments a few brave 

 men could long with- 

 stand a mob and thus 

 protect the railway 

 lines, an hour's ride 

 brought me to Amrit- 

 sar, whose carpets all 

 the world now knows. 

 Within the long, low 

 sheds the weavers 

 work with shaggy 

 balls of varicolored 

 wool, and designers 

 draw improved pat- 

 terns for Oriental 

 rugs from plates pub- 

 lished by the Austrian 

 Commercial Museum. 

 In Peking I found a 

 rug-maker copying the knot and colors of 

 a carpet from Merv. In Amritsar sev- 

 eral looms were given up to Chinese de- 

 signs. 



As far as India is concerned, Amritsar 

 is not known for its carpets, but as the 

 Mecca of the stately Sikhs, who furnish 

 Shanghai with policemen, the Indian 

 army with its handsomest warriors, and 

 the government with many an anxiety. 



The stout-hearted Sikhs are a race of 

 lions, each bearing the name Singh. For 

 enduring courage they rank with Richard 

 Cceur de Lion. 



