Taj Mahal - March 6

We were picked up at ten minutes before eight by our driver Ravi for the trip to Agra to see the Taj. This used to be a nasty 5 hour drive, but three years ago India completed a modern six-lane superhighway, the Yamuna Expressway, and now it’s an easy 3 hour drive including 30 minutes for rest stops at the service plazas.

The route is along the path of the oldest road in India, which ran from Lahore in Pakistan through Agra and Delhi and on to Kolkata.

We had great expectations for the Taj Mahal and they were exceeded.

Main gate of the inner wall surrounding the Taj grounds.

The Taj as seen through the main gate arch.

The Taj as seen after passing through the main gate.

OK, so our guide suggested this pose, but we didn't mind.

Our guide Sanjay explained that the Taj is such a gleaming and sparkling white because it was built with non-porous white marble brought in at great expense. Then the Persian technique of stone inlaying was used to embed thousands of precious and semi-precious stones in the surface. It needs to be cleaned with soap and water from time to time (three of the four minarets were getting a bath while we were there) but it does not have to be cleaned by sandblasting as porous stone would need to be.

The Arabic writing framing the main entrance is from the Koran and is done with stone inlaying.

We had a champagne lunch at a rooftop restaurant from which we could see the Taj across the city.

Finally, we toured the Agra Fort, which more than a fort is royal palace and residence inside a castle fortress (think Game of Thrones) with 40 foot outer walls with a wet moat and 70 foot inner walls with a dry moat. Inside were the royal residence of the Mogul Emperor, his wives, and his concubines. The two main royal palaces of the Mogul Emperors were the Agra Fort here and the Red Fort in Delhi. Both are made of red sandstone, as are the outer walls of the Taj Mahal.

Outer walls of the Agra Fort.

Forecourt of the Emporor's residence

There were smaller individual rooms for 260 concubines build around a garden.

Persian stone inlay work on palace columns

The Taj as seen across the River Yumana from the Royal Palace. The Taj was purposefully sited such that there was a beautiful view from the royal palace across the Yamuna River.

This is the prison of the emporer who built the Taj. He was deposed by one of his sons a few years after the Taj was completed. The prison allowed him a perfect view of his monument to the love of his life. She died giving birth to their 14th child. The Usurper killed all of his brothers when he took the throne.

The palace residence of the wife for whom the Taj was built.

 Palace residence of the first wife of the first Mogul Emporor, Akbar the Great (yes, that is redundant). She was Hindu and the marriage was a political alliance that cemented the throne for Akbar. She was treated very well all her life.