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Nathan not really awake on the train. We got up early again to catch a train. This one was a two person sleeper with no food. As you can see it is pretty roomy. We had a nice wake up ride.
This is one of the corner towers of the Jahangiri Mahal in the Agra Fort. We decided that after a couple rough experiences and the short period we had in Agra, we hired a guide and driver. This was against both our better judgments because this kind of nose-ring-lead-me-around-so-I-don’t-have-to-think tour is not our style. The tour started here, in the full album you can see photo of Mr Bubble’s as Josh named him.
Nathan and Josh pose for a photo inside the Jahangiri Mahal at the Agra Fort. Notice the intricate sandstone carvings, particularly the top of the doorway above us.
Musamman Burj is where overlooks the Taj Mahal where Shah Jahan spent the last seven years of his life placed under house arrest by his son Aurangzeb. This is part of the Agra Fort complex, yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site
These are the symmetrical gardens in front of the Khas Mahal or marble palace. A note Mr. Bubbles explained to us is that this used to be the ball room, assembly area, and used for other large gatherings. To cover this spot from sun or rain there are rings on the all the surrounding buildings about two stories up allowing a canopy to be strung.
My favorite architectural flourish in India are these carved screens or Jaali. Here is Josh standing in front of a lovely example from the Agra Fort. We are standing either in or right at the start of the Musamman Burj. It is hard to explain just how amazing the detailed marble work is in this part of the fort. It is a good warm up to what we saw later at the Taj Mahal.
Part of our tour was lunch at a high end hotel. In our case this turned out to be the ITC Mughal. It was a lovely place with great food, but the best feature by far was this huge chandelier and bright red couches dead center in the middle of the lobby. In this shot i am mimicking a Josh standard pose and I think it worked. I am not sure I will travel back to see the Taj Mahal when I return to India as there are so many other things to see, but if I do I want to stay here.
I think to avoid the issue in Slumdog Millionaire, you no longer have to remove your shoes and instead can opt for these booties that protect the marble of the monument.
Ok, so here we are at the Taj Mahal. This is a shot upward towards the top of the entrance at the front of the monument. All of the calligraphy and decorative work is all marble inlay. This is where they carve a groove in the stone and then lay in smaller cut stones to make a pattern. The base marble is translucent which causes some of the light that enters the stone to make it appear as if it were glowing. The result of all this workmanship is one of the most beautiful and spectacular things I have ever seen. It is truly marvelous and made the trip completely worth it all at once.
Detailed view of some of the marble and semiprecious stone inlay.
A photograph take to show how complete covered the monument is with marble inlay. Take a moment to scan the photograph and see that it is covered from floor to roof!
A final photo of the Taj Mahal that day which took a while to snap because of how crowded it was. This photo capped a wonderful day of tourism and a dream come true. The Taj Mahal is simply radiant. The marble it semitransparent which has the effect of making it seem to glow in the sunlight. This along with the blue back drop of the sky makes it appear almost fake – it is simply that stunning.
To browse the entire set of photographs from this trip starting with the photos of Agra please see my SmugMug album.