Agra.
From Jaipur it took another 5 hours to drive to Agra. I drove for about an hour and Barb was
a little nervous as people walking and animals crossing and cars coming the
wrong way were all potential disasters.
The secret to driving in India is using your horn early and often to
warn those around you of where you are.
No one is offended when you use the horn. All people have the same expression and no one displays any
anger, surprise or indignation.
Road rage seems to not be in their nature.
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| Scott driving in India! It was out on a highway and not in town, thank goodness! |
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| Pilgrimage of people walking down the highway to a temple |
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| This car is not very full |
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| Trucks, cars, camels, elephants-wherever you can catch a ride and they are going 60 MPH with people on the roof! |
You go to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Our Oberoi hotel has an expansive view
of the Taj from every room. That
night we have Chakra massages where they use singing bowls to harmonize the 7
Chakra points in your body.
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| Singing Chakra bowls used in massage |
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| In our Hotel room |
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| At the hotel pool |
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| From our balcony (See the Taj Mahal in the background) |
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| Scott at the pool |
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| Barb makes friends with the bamboo flute player at the hotel |
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| Beautiful grounds |
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| From our balcony |
We
arrange for a guide at 5:15 am so that we can see the sunrise light up the
beautiful white building if we are lucky enough to have a clear day. The day was clear and we took a golf
cart to the entrance where men and women have to enter separately in order to
be searched. There were about 30
people in line ahead of us and we wait about 20 minutes before they open the
gates. The buildings just inside
the gates are made of sandstone with white marble inlaid designs. By comparison to the Taj they are
ignored but they are beautiful.
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| Beautiful inlaid marble in sandstone with Arabic writings |
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| Building leading into the Taj Mahal |
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| First view of the Taj Mahal |
You walk through a second gate and the Taj comes into full
view. It is a perfectly balanced
and pleasing design. It is said
that the four minarets on the outside are leaning slightly out in order to
cause them to fall away from the main Taj in the event of an earthquake.
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| Minarets on all four sides |
Our guide takes us to some beautiful viewpoints.
The marble on the outside is from 6 to 18 inches thick and
covers the exterior made of brick.
The building was built in 22 years and was patterned after a similar
building in Delhi. The Moghul Shah Jahan who built the Taj was the great grandson of the Moghul who built the
similar building in Delhi 80 years before. The architects of the two buildings were also related.
The carving on the marble is very delicate and beautiful. The building has no rival in the world for its beauty. The proportions and shapes are beautiful. The craftsmanship leaves you wondering how such beauty could be created in the 1600s. The craftsman used sand to smooth the outside of the building.
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| Carved Marble |
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| Inlaid semi-precious stones |
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| 3D or 4D |
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| I wanted to walk without shoes across the smooth marble |
The Shah built the Taj for his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal,
who died giving birth to their 14th child. It was built to display his love and devotion to his
favorite wife. After she died it
is said he went completely grey very quickly.
The Shah named his oldest son as the next ruler and his 3
brothers began to fight and plot to kill the oldest son. So, the oldest son seized power and
killed his brothers and imprisoned his father in the Red Fort where he lived
out the remaining 8 years of his life with the view of the beautiful Taj out of
his cell window.
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| The red fort, where the Shah was imprisoned by his son |
The Taj glistens in the morning sunshine.
The backdrop to the Taj is the blue sky, which enhances the
outline of its beauty.
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| This shows the scale |
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| Seen from our Hotel |
Delhi
Delhi was more or less a stopping point for us to get to Varanasi and then to Bhutan. Not much time was spent, but we did see the India Gate, from WWI and drove through town. The government buildings are in a nice open park like area.
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| India Gate |
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| Government building |
Humayun's Tomb is the tomb of Mughal Emperor Humayun. Commissioned by his wife in 1562 AD, it is made out of red sandstone. He was the great grandfather of the Shah Jahan and the tomb seems to be the inspiration for the Taj Mahal, and was built just 80 years prior to the Taj.
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| Red Sandstone inlaid with marble |
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| Alcoves like the Taj Mahal |
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| The architect of this was also the relative of the architect of the Taj Mahal |
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| Inside |
Our Oberoi Gurgaon hotel was a very nice modern hotel.
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| Lobby |
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| Pool |
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| Our room |
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| Having dinner served in our room |
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