One of The Greatest Love Stories

  Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
January 01, 2015The breakfast buffet was outstanding! Just when I thought I had eaten enough, a chef talked me into a local breakfast specialty. It was a pancake made out of rice and lentils filled with potatoes like a crepe with soup, and yogurt and mint sauces. YUM!!
Our driver today was an adorable elderly gentleman named after the god of happiness, Sukhdev, and our guide was Joli. We started late because it was very foggy and there was no visible sunrise. So, we departed around 10 and arrived a few minutes later at the ticket office for the Taj Mahal. We were very restricted with what we could bring inside - no pens or pencils, nothing sharp, no tripods, no computers, etc. It was very unfortuneate because Joli shared many stories about the Taj Mahal that I will not be able to recall Outside the West Gate - About to Go In.
After going boarding the free electric bus, no fuel motors were allowed, to the entrance, we went through security and began our tour through the West Gate. 
Our first look at the Taj Mahal was magnificent and mysterious, as it was veiled with the fog and clouds. Joli was an excellent guide and provided us with a lot of history and navigated us expertly through the crowds. While we stood in the entrance, he explained that the monument was constructed as a work of love by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his late wife, Mumtaz Mahal. She was the third wife of the emperor, but she was his true love. They were inseparable for their 19 years of marriage, until 1631 when she died giving birth to their 14th child. 
The monument was completed by 20,000 artisans and 1,000 elephants, in 1653.
 
During our visit, the sun peaked through the overcast sky a couple of times and it really changed the look of the building The Taj Mahal. Joli explained that the Taj Mahal has many moods, like a woman, and the appearance changes dramatically during the sunrise, sunset, just after the rain, and especially when there was a full moon.

Some amazing features of this work of love and beauty were the minarets which were tilted slightly outward and 40m high, the calligraphy which has larger lettering at the top to make the impression of uniform size from the base, and the 35 different semi precious stones in the white marble inlays.

We enjoyed our leisurely stroll around the beautifully manicured gardens while being serenaded by numerous birds. We saw the infamous Princess Diana bench, but did not get close to it because it was quite crowded. 

We then donned our shoe covers and went inside the monument to see cenotaph - false as the real mausoleums were located underground Theresa at the Taj. After our brief tour inside the monument, we walked to the North side to see the view of the Yamuna River. We then finished our tour by slowly walking back to entrance.

We then drove a short distance and toured the fort when the emperor and the queen had lived, Agra Fort. 
 
The massive red sandstone fort was originally constructed by Shah Jahan's grandfather, 
 Emperor Akbar in 1565. This site also had tons of tourists and we navigated our way over the wet and dry moats to the interior of the fort. We were able to tour a small section of the grounds that was opened to the public. The rest of the grounds are being restored or was being used by the Indian army. 
 
We toured through a number of different rooms in the rooms of the palace where the Shah's grandparents lived. We also went through the Shah Jahan's own white marble palace and specifically the areas where his two surviving daughters lived Fantastic Carved White Marble. he architecture of the marble and semi-precious stonework was very similar to the Taj Mahal. There was a great attention to detail and it was highly skilled work. The palace was huge and very cool. It would have been good to be emperor back in the day! 
 
The romantic love story comes to a sad end. The emperor handed over the thrown to the eldest son and Shah Jahan's 3rd son did not agree with his father's decision and killed his 3 brothers. The eldest daughter who loved her father very much, begged for mercy on behalf of her father and it was granted. Shah Jahan was allowed to live out the remainder of his life as a prisoner in his own palace, so that he could be close to the remains of the love of his life and with a view of the Taj Mahal. 
 
 We inched along the busy streets to a artisan shop where descendants of the original craftsman who carved the marble inlays at the Taj Mahal. The skilled labour required has been passed down through every generation and was used to create great works of art Fantastic. We were given a brief demonstration and then were allowed to explore the massive collection of table tops, plates and statues in the store. Some of the pieces were quite incredible. We were tempted to buy something, but nothing really caught our eyes, so we headed back to the hotel empty handed.

We had a late lunch on the balcony and broke down and paid for wifi to get caught up on the news and do some blogging. We really enjoyed our lunch and the down time. 

Sukhdev picked us up at 6:30 for the 6:45, Mohabbat The Taj Show, that was literally around the corner. I was delightfully surprised by the performance. I really enjoyed the dazzling costumes and the well choreographed dance scenes. I think taking Bollywood dance classes would be great exercise and a lot of fun!

We were tempted by the amazing buffet spread at the hotel, but headed to the room to relax instead of gorging ourselves yet again. I think we will survived until the breakfast buffet extravaganza in the morning before the 4 hour drive to New Delhi.

 

Pictures & VideosWith our Excellent GuideFlower InlaysFoggy But Still BeautifulAgra FortWe were with a Few Others at the Agra Fort TodaySome of the Forts Painting RemainsGuilded PrisonGem Cutters for the Inlay