The nearly 450-year-old Humayun’s tomb will be the first stop for President Barack Obama when he arrives here with his wife Michelle on November 7, followed by a private dinner with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur.
“The President felt it was important give the rich civilization that India has, to pay tribute to that through this stop. We wanted to ensure that we had a culture stop in Delhi, in this instance visiting a tomb that has served as a precursor to the Taj Mahal,” Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said in Washington.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/humayun-tomb-private-dinner-with-singhs-first-on-obamas-plan
‘I don’t think any US president has visited Humayun’s Tomb in the last 20 years. But the visit depends on security arrangements,’ Archaeological Survey of India Joint Director-General B.R. Mani told IANS.
According to Ben Rhodes, Obama’s official speech-writer and spokesperson, ‘the tomb is one of the great cultural marvels in New Delhi’.
Built in red sandstone and marble, it is located in Nizamuddin East. The Humayun’s Tomb was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1993.
‘The ASI is renovating the tomb with the Aga Khan Trust. The first phase of the project that envisages to revive the ancient water channels in the mausoleum complex is nearing completion,’ Mani said.
Read more at: http://www.indiatalkies.com/2010/10/obama-visit-humayuns-tomb.html
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