Thursday 14th October Taj Mahal and Agra Fort

We had arranged with the rickshaw driver to be taken to the Taj Mahal for opening at 6am. I was surprised on our arrival at how tacky the area was with cheap souvenier shops, budget guesthouses, restaurants and even this early people selling Taj tat.
There were not many people around but on the road down to the ticket office there were lots of macaque monkeys - sitting, running, jumping all over the place, some were quite large and looked aggressive with their big yellow teeth and red bottoms.



We bought tickets at the west gate kiosk as advised then joined the queues, ladies and men separate, got searched and we were in. Along a path to a courtyard where the entrance is through a big sandstone gateway. As I approached I could glimpse the Taj, it was tantalising as people were standing and blocking the entrance and I wanted to rush through.



Yes I was there, one has seen and heard so much about this fabulous monument which left me speechless and just wanting to stand and stare. We looked down through the gardens and watercourses with the marble Taj at the end raised on high in marvelous silhoutte against the early morning sky. The sun rising on the right made it glow pearly white. We walked towards it John clicking away with the camera. A workman came over and suggested where to stand for the best shots and showed where to to get the Taj reflected in the water, then offered to take photos of us together.
We left our shoes behind and climbed up the marble staircase to the platform and just walked round and round as the day got brighter. The only backdrop was the sky behind and below that the river - Magic.




On either side of the Taj down at ground level are two matching sandstone mosques which we visited later. In the distance down the river we could see the Agra Fort where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb who siezed power in 1658. He died there in 1666 and was buried here beside Mumtaz who died in 1631. The platform around the Taj is large and all that white marble is breathtaking, it was a wonderful feeling wandering around in bare feet and wondering how many people had walked round, or stood in awe to gaze since its completion in around 1653.

We went inside to view the Cenotaphs of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan, which are surrounded by a marble screen inlaid with semi precious stones and delicate carving of plants and flowers. It was sad to see these small tombs side by side - their real tombs are locked away underneath this place. The workmanship in here and all over the monument is truly magnificent and just has to be touched, even at a distance the colours of the inset stones can be seen.


We eventually moved away to stroll around the gardens and came to the small museum containg some interesting items, including nice Mughal paintings my favourites being two quite simple pictures of Mumtaz and the other of Shah Jahan looking very young. We went back to collect our shoes and with many backward glances left this magical place, we were so glad we came early as by now many people were arriving in large tour groups. Wouldn't it be nice to be the first person to arrive in the day!





Back to the rickshaw and off to the rooftop restaurant at 'Maya' for banana porridge and chai, this place has the best toilets anywhere. Next on the itinerary was the Agra Fort a huge edifice in red sandstone, started by Akbar in 1565 with many addition added in marble by Shah Jahan. This place is vast, buildings within buildings it really was a city. We loved it we didn't bother with a guide, there was quite a lot of information and it was so full of history, much was destroyed by different inhabitants including the British.

We particularly made a visit to the tower and palace containing a private mosque overlooking the Yamuna River, where Shah Jahan was imprisoned. There was a lovely garden in the courtyard of the harem quarters, apparently there were 500 ladies here during
Akbars time.



The Hall of Public Audiences, a throne room, the Ladies Bazaar or the court ladies shopping mall, some lovely small mosques one especially for the ladies, the Gem Mosque, the Mirror Palace,a bathing pool and many rooms to walk in and gaze, walkways outside and on the walls overlooking the river and the former moat, and of course the view upriver of the Taj Mahal unfortunately seen through a haze of pollution.. The walls are so high and thick it was a real fortress. Another place where one could linger in all day and just soak up the atmosphere.

We had to leave eventually as we were hot and starving so we decided to return to 'Maya' for lunch where we enjoyed Thalis this time in the a/c restaurant. Our rickshaw driver asked whether we would like to see some carpet making (of course we knew he would get commission for taking visitors) actually it was very interesting and we made it clear straight away that we would not be buying.

We were then taken to see artisans working at the art of creating inlaid marble - the same as was used in the Taj Mahal - it was fascinating seeing this painstaking work carried out and to listen to the explanation given us by Anthony. we were of course taken to the showroom for very welcome chai, I being a fool bought a little box for 1500rs - my muddled brain thought I was paying £2.50. Ah well we could starve for the next few days but it is a pretty memento.

Then to see a jeweller, this was disappointing it was just a shop and although the prices were pretty good we were not interested. Back to the guesthouse for a rest before going out for a  somewhat expensive meal at Riao Restaurant. We ate inside as there were biting insects, all the other guests were sitting outside so we were in solitary spelendour.