Regal Faith

The Old Leh Palace was built by King Sengge Namgyal in the 17th century. It was later abandoned when Kashmiri forces supposedly besieged it in the mid-19th century. The royal family moved to their current home in Stok Palace on the banks of the the beautiful Indus river.

The mosque in Leh is a Sunni Muslim mosque. It was allegedly constructed under the threat of military action by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb which prompted King Deldan Namgyal to build the mosque in 1661. The mosque reflects a mixture of Islamic and Tibetan architecture.

Leh Mosque with Leh Palace in the background

The Dalai Lama made a visit to Leh in August 2003 to Buddhist temples and mosques, and made a speech to stress religious pluralism among locals and to promote religious harmony.

Leh Palace close to the Leh Mosque

The Dalai Lama took a flight from Delhi to Leh on his visit again on July 31, 2007; while I took a flight on the same day from Leh to Delhi. I sat among a group of military personnel and had interesting conversations with them. I hope to blog about it sometime in future. Security at the Leh airport was extra tight that morning. My tiny backpack was not allowed as a cabin baggage on this flight and, as always, I cooperated with the airline staff by letting it go in the checked baggage.

I intend to post more pictures of Leh and Ladakh in days to come.