Stunning Taj Mahal and other Agra sights

 

Jan 9 Tuesday 

We headed out of Delhi and on towards Agra and the Taj Mahal.  India has states like we do.  Delhi is its own state (like Washington DC), and where we were headed to was Agra, it is in the state of Uttar Pradesh.  Our driver told us that Uttar Pradesh, while not the largest, was the most populated state in India. We also found out from him that this was the foggy season (on top of air pollution), so it was a little bit of a bummer that we really couldn’t see much of what we were passing by.  BUT, it was still an interesting drive.  We saw 2 naked gurus of the Jain religion walking with their followers in the left hand lanes of the highway.  We were told that they walk between the temples where they preach and they were naked because they denied all bodily comforts.  We also saw a precarious hay wagon, a few cows, goats, dogs and of course crazy drivers on our way.  I got a picture of the cows - but not the gurus!

The hay wagon seemed like it was bursting at the seems. We thought it was comical looking! 

When we arrived in Agra at noon, we got right to sightseeing.  First the Taj Mahal., it was still a little foggy and cool, but we were not disappointed!  It was so beautiful and stunning! 

The Taj Mahal is the most visited tourist site in India and is a complex of buildings with the white domed marble mausoleum being its main focus. The Emperor Shah of the Mughal empire had the mausoleum built for his senior wife.   Started  1631 AD,  20,000 craftsman worked on it round the clock until it was completed in 1648.  The surrounding grounds and buildings were completed by 1653.  The Indian marble is translucent and it changes with the lighting. It is inlaid with semi precious stones which create the decoration.   The technique of inlaying the stone in marble is still practiced in this area by descendants of the original craftsman using the same tools.  One more thing about the marble, it is Indian marble that is non porous, so it has not worn down over time. Brijesh (our guide) told us that everything the Mughals built was symmetrical, and the Taj Mahal and surrounding grounds is a good example of that.

Our guide for the day Brijesh is introducing us to the Taj Mahal and part of that was to show us the grand building that is behind him in the picture above and behind us in the picture below.  EXCEPT, it is not a building - it is just a gate/entrance to the main attraction! 

We felt like many pictures looked like we photo shopped in the Taj Mahal.  This one is no exception, but it is real and it is our first look at it through the entrance gate. 

OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!

There is a river behind the Taj Mahal and it was more misty and foggy the closer you got to it.  We thought it looked good shrouded in a bit of mist.  The 4 minarets are actually not built straight.  They lean out just slightly.  That is in case of an earthquake, so they don’t fall into the main building.  

Here we are being super silly tourists (everyone was doing it).

Here I am examining very closely the marble and inlay work!  

Instead of taking off our shoes to enter, we got to add these beautiful fashion accessories. 

Our guide knew all the places to get great pictures!  

After the Taj Mahal, we went across the river to the Red Fort.  This was the fort and palace of the Mughals rulers.   It was an existing fort when they came to India, but upgraded to the red sandstone in 1563 and was used by the Mughals until 1638.  Only 25% of it is open to the public (and that part was huge), the other 75% is used by the Indian Army and Air Force.

This is one of 3 sets of gates for the entrance into the Red Fort.

We were surprised that the sandstone of the fort was still the original in most parts and hadn’t deteriorated.  Unlike home, the sandstone doesn’t deteriorate here since it is normally very dry. 

Within the Red Fort was also the palace for the Moghul ruler.

It was made of the same beautiful white marble that the Taj Mahal was made of.  In the picture below, it may look like a modern art piece, but it is actually the actual royal bathtub, made out of stone!  

After the fort, we moved on to the Tomb of l’timad-ud-Darla’s, mostly just called the “Baby Taj”.  It is actually about a hundred years older (started in 1622) then the Taj Mahal and was most likely the mausoleum that inspired the design of the Taj Mahal.   

Christine framed this great picture, from the grand entrance gate to the mausoleum (remember the entrance gate of the Taj Mahal?)

While this is a beautiful building and has stunning frescos inside, there was hardly anyone here!  

This is a fresco that is 400 years old! 

There is too much history of the Mughals to put here, but they were not the same as the Mongols.  The Mughals, were an Islamic dynasty that came from Persia and Turkey and ruled much of the Indian subcontinent from the 16th to the 19th centuries.  

We had another full day so we ate dinner, then came back to a silly puppet show at our hotel (where they tried to sell us things), wrote our blogs, got ready to move on the next day and settled in for a good sleep!  

We both can’t believe that we are on our 3rd full day in India! (And by the time I am posting this, we just finished our 5th full day). 

Ps, we over planned our outfits. We worried and wondered about what to wear, (like who knows what to wear in India) but in the end, so far we just have had our coats on over our clothes.  Oh well! 

~ Mary ~