November 29 – More Lucknow Sightseeing

First stop on our Lucknow tour today is Christ Church, the third oldest Christian Church in India.

Then we stopped at the Dilkusha Palaces.  The complex was a hunting lodge for one of the Nawab’s of the area.  

It was undergoing major renovations.

We also drove onto a military base where we stopped at the Bibiapur House…another former hunting lodge that is also undergoing renovations.   It was in pretty bad shape. The location was very serene and quiet.

Another stop on the military base was All Saints Garrison Church.  It is well over 100 years old and was built by the British.  

The most interesting aspect of the church was the rails between the pews.  There were notches every few feet…for use by the soldiers to hold their rifles during services. 

We did a bit of a walking tour but it was fairly short.

On their way somewhere with a ladder.

The last stop was an absolutely over the top memorial to Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, a freedom fighter, father of the Indian constitution and an advocate for the lowest castes in Indian society.  

The complex was over 110 acres and was covered mostly with very shiny stone.  It gave really good reflections.  It is so dusty in India that usually there is a thick layer of dust everywhere.  They obviously must clean the complex every day because the stones were so shiny and clean.

In his later life Dr. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism so the complex had a lot of elephants, a symbol that is important in Buddhism.

There were a number of "avenues" lined with columns, most with elephants at the top.

There were so many interesting features scattered around the complex.  The entire memorial was amazing and included buildings and arcades dedicated to other heroes of Indian independence. It was overwhelming and beautiful.

Then it was back to the hotel for lunch and work on photos.  A very nice short day of sightseeing.