Wonderful: Obama on Humayun?s Tomb
US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited Humayun?s Tomb here on Sunday evening.
The first US president to visit the Humayun?s Tomb, Obama and his wife looked around the entire premise with great intent and had words of praise for the 450-year redstone monument, which had reportedly inspired the creation of Taj Mahal.
“Wonderful. Let’s take a look,” Obama said as he entered the main building, where he was received by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) director-general Gautam Sengupta.
ASI Superintendent Archaeologist, Delhi, K K Mohammad, served as a guide for the US First Couple.
The Obamas also met children of workers at the monument and chatted with the kids and distributed gifts.
Mughal Emperor Humayun?s tomb, situated at Nizamuddin East in Delhi, is reportedly the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent.
The mausoleum was commissioned in 1562 by Humayun’s widow Hamida Banu and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyath, a Persian architect, a decade after the death of the Emperor.
Restoration work for the red sandstone structure was started by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) in collaboration with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) around 1999.
The restoration was completed in March 2003.
The tomb was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.
Later in the evening, Obama will be the guest of honour at a dinner hosted by Prime Minister and his wife Gursharan Kaur.
The official component of Obama?s visit is on November 8, beginning with the ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan, followed by a visit to Raj Ghat.
