DAY 23, APRIL 13, AGRA

TAJ MAHAL

A beautiful sight to see
Is this ultimate luxury.
It truly is a marvel,
All done in Makrana marble
And perfect symmetry.


AGRA FORT

Lavish it was and large
And home of the man in charge.
And you can be sure
It was very secure.
(No enemy could in there barge.)


INLAID MARBLE

The technique is highly refined.
The workmanship is fine.
If you're smart,
You'll buy this art.
Would you like a floral design?


Fortunately, I was pretty well recovered from my diarrhea by morning.

We got up early and saw the Taj Mahal essentially at sunrise. It did not disappoint. It is truly magnificent, beautiful. It's very large – larger than it looks – 243 feet tall and 176 for the towers, which are not to call prayer, but to frame the building. The whole is elevated 26 feet. There is much more to the complex than the Taj itself, and all of it is entirely symmetrical – with one little exception. There is a mosque on one side (still in use) and a mirror image mosque on the other (no longer in use). The Taj features vast quantities of exquisite inlaid marble art work.

Shah Jahan was the fifth Mughal emperor. His wife, Mumtaj Mahal, married him at 20 and died of childbirth at 39 in 1531. In those 19 years of marriage she had 14 children and 3 miscarriages. Shah Jahan started planning the Taj Mahal, as her tomb, immediately upon her death. Construction was started six months after her death and completed 22 years later in 1553. Shah Jahan had planned to build a second tomb for himself, but that never. happened. He too was interred in the Taj Mahal. Since his burial there was not originally planned, his tomb is the only nonsymmetrical aspect of the Taj Mahal and its entire complex. Actually, there are the fake burials which can be seen by tourists, and below them, in the basement where tourists can't go, are the real burials.

The Agra Fort is a splendid walled of city of two square miles in view of the Taj Mahal, built (started) by Shah Jahan in 1565 as his palace. It is very secure with an inner and an outer wall, both very high, thick and impressive. It has a moat and a drawbridge and three gates.

Shah Jahan was eventually imprisoned in this palace by his third son, Aurangzeb, who killed his brothers to become the sixth Mughal ruler.

The Mughals were Turks.

After Agra Fort, we paid a visit to Cottage Industries Exposition Ltd where we watched artisans do inlaid marble art like that in the Taj Mahal. Then we examined the inlaid marble artwork for sale in the shop, and some members made purchases of it to have sent home.

We had dinner in the hotel. This hotel was so large and spread out and laid out in such a way that Helen and I had a hard time finding our way around in it and got “lost” several times. It was very frustrating. Security was very strict coming into the hotel. They guards looked into the trunks of all the vehicles. Entering the hotel itself was much like airport security.

Bernie :-)