Jama Masjid and the Rock Stars

Although the historical sites in this country's capital are numerous, the one that touched us most was the Jama Masjid. To reach this principal mosque of Old Delhi, one leaves the Red Fort, passes by a Jain temple, a Hindu temple honoring Shiva and through a crowded market. Rising atop a small hill stands white domes and rich red stone.

Shah Hahan, the fifth Mogul emperor, was an architecturally attuned sort of guy. He commissioned Agra's Taj Mahal, Delhi's Red Fort and this mosque, which was completed in 1658. The beauty of its design, decorated with Arabic, Jain and Hindu inscriptions, is memorable.

Even more memorable was the warm welcome we and the numerous Hindu visitors received as we left our shoes behind and joined Muslims touring the site just hours before the call to prayer and arrival of 5,000 faithful. In India we are constantly reminded of what nonjudgmental coexistence can feel like.

Surprisingly, WE were the other big draw. Schoolchildren, teenage boys and families took cell-phone pictures with us. Even if they couldn't take a photo, they asked Karen to take their picture. ROCK STARS. Who knew?