Seeing the Taj Mahal was like seeing a celeberty in real life. You learn about it and see pictures of it, but never really comprehend that it actually exist in this world. Well, it actually is breathtaking.
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| Ladies in India! |
The Taj Mahal is essentially a tomb, built as a symbol of love from the emporer, Shan Jahan to his queen, Mumtaz Mahal. It was built as one of the queen's dying wishes.
I was surprised to learn a few things:
1. That most of the precious metal have acutally been looted by the British. The Taj (at it's full glory) was even more extravagant with pure gold and silver doors and ornamentation.
2. The Emporer's first two wives are burried at the West and East gates, apparently his third wife was his favorite and that's who he built the main tomb for.
3. After the Taj was completed, the Emperor wanted to build a black Taj Mahal across the river. His son put a stop to it saying it was a waste of money and threw the Emperor under house arrest. The black Taj was never completed.
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| Alexis and I, walking through the Taj Mahal. |
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| The west building of the Taj Mahal |
Other highlights in Agra was riding in a rickshaw and seeing wild monkeys.
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| Our guide and the rickshaw driver. |
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| Looks are deceiving, these monkeys are fearsome. |
To finish our time in Agra, we went to The Red Fort which was the palace of the past Emperors. Again, I was impressed by the sheer scale and majesty of the palace. These people had waaaayyyy too much money.
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| Inside the gates. |
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| Details in the wall designs. |
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| Walls encrusted with semi-precious gems, like at the Taj Maha |
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| This was a room build especially for the queen to watch Elephant fights on the river. | | |
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