Srinigar has a fascinating old quarter with preserved wooden houses that have carved terraces and rounded balconies. The old town has windy and twisty lanes, with a thriving market selling everything from food to copperware to sparkly ladies' cloth to household goods. It was just magical wandering through the alleyways and coming upon surprise after surprise including craftsmen of burning and polishing their copperware, errant sheep running loose, picturesque old mosques (one was built to commemorate a saint from Hamadan in Iran) and the stone mausoleum of a King's mother. The old quarter is cut by a river which is crossed by several bridges including a wooden one under repair now and which casts a lovely upside down reflection on the river (see photos). I enjoyed a mid-morning snack of a plain puff pastry bought from from a side street and watched little boys playing cricket in the grassy lawns in front of a mosque. What a perfect morning.
