Monica and Rajeesh picked me up at 6 a.m. to go to the Taj Mahal. They don't allow cars near the Taj (because of the pollution they create) so you have to take a bus to the entrance. Even at 6:15 there was a line to enter.
There is a separate line for women and men. Food, religious objects and flags, among a list of other things, are prohibited.
Someone in front of me had some serious contraband. I craved nerds for the rest of the day.
Stylish shoe coverings are required.
Hooray, I finally made it inside. I'm cheating a bit. There is a ledge underneath me so I'm really not jumping too high.
The Taj Mahal was breathtaking, but the more I learned about it, the more I enjoyed my visit. They say no one will ever build anything this beautiful. The 22,000 men who worked to build it over the 20 year period worked, with a few minor exceptions, without monetary compensation-- just food and housing. The cost to build something like this and pay the workers is now unfeasible.
The Taj is the seventh wonder of the world, selected for its perfect symmetry, its strong supportive base and its ability to withstand lightening strikes. The base is composed of a well with ebony wood and red sandstone encased in marble. The wood is unique in that it becomes stronger when it is in water (I'm guessing these are the same trees I heard about in Vietnam). I asked Monica about the rumor that the Taj is sinking into the river. She said it is not sinking but it is at risk because if the river dries up, its base will not be as strong (because the wood would dry up) and could suffer structural damage.
Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal for his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Taj Mahal means crown palace, but the Taj is not a palace. It is a mausoleum and is named after his wife. His third wife was the emperor's most beloved wife and his only wife who had children. She had 14 children, but only 8 survived birth. On her death bed, she made the emperor make her three promises. The first, never to marry another woman. The second, to care for their children and the third, to build her a beautiful mausoleum. She was initially buried in another location. When the emperor began building the Taj, he had her remains transferred to Agra. He then moved her remains again when the Taj was completed. Muslims believe it is bad luck to move someone's remains, but the emperor did it anyway.
There are many optical illusions created when looking at the Taj. Walking slowly toward the Taj from the south entrance, it appears the Taj is moving away from you. When you walk backwards, it appears to follow you backwards.
The entranceway is designed to look how heaven is described in the Koran, with rivers of honey and fruit juice flowing to the gate of God.
There are fountains in the ponds. They function using gravity, with a high water tank providing the water and the gravity to make the water flow. The Archeological Survey of India had them repaired and turns them on randomly during the day. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the fountains functioning but because I didn't, I did get to see the Taj's reflection in the water.
One of the few paid workers was the Arabic calligrapher who oversaw the writing in the Taj. The higher the symbol the larger it is, giving the illusion that all the text is the same size. The calligrapher is also buried in the Taj.
The writing, from the Koran, is inlaid onyx.
The "VIP" bench, made famous by a picture of Princess Diana sitting here and later one of Bill Clinton.
Everything about the Taj is symmetrical. Regardless of which way you look down this walkway, it lines up perfectly.
The Taj's dome has a double dome system for support. The layer between the inner and outer dome can fit 10 elephants standing on top of each other. There are now metal hooks on the dome, which are remnants from when the US was bombing India. To prevent the US from bombing the Taj, India placed hooks on the dome and then covered it with a tarp so the US could not see exactly where it was located. When the light hits the Taj the right way, it shines more than a diamond. I didn't get to see this, but Monica showed me a picture of it glittering.
A building which looks like this is on each side of the main mausoleum. This one is a mosque and the other is an audience hall. The small pond in front was used for ablutions before entering the mosque.
Although the emperor was Muslim, he built the Taj in an Indonesia-Islamic style. He wanted all the people to love the Taj and to love him.
It is hard to see, but the top of the dome has a coconut with mango leaves on top of a water pot (Hindu symbols), which is supported by a crescent moon (a Muslim symbol).
This pillar, made from inlaid onyx in a Persian design, also gives an optical illusion. It looks like it has seven sides, but it only has three.
Only three sides....
A close up of the semi precious stone inlays.
A door to the basement, which houses precious gems and is open only three days per year for viewing. There are walkways and tunnels underground. The largest diamond in the world was here, but was stolen by the British when they ruled India. It is now in two pieces, half is in the Queen's crown and the other half is in a museum.
Cameras are not allowed inside the main mausoleum area. This is a picture through one of the outside windows looking inside. It is dark, but you can make out the carved marble fencing (carved from single pieces of marble) that surrounds the "tombs" of the king and queen. It is not the actual site where their remains are located--they are off to the side in a plain entranceway. It is disrespectful to walk on a person's grave, so he placed the remains off to the side and away from the double dome that has stairs where people can walk. The fencing was initially gold, but Shah Jahan was afraid it would be pilfered, so he changed it to all marble.
This is the outside window guard. The glass is original and was all imported. Each section of the window guard was carved from one piece of marble.
One of the 4 towers surrounding the Taj. Tourists were previously able to climb the stairs until one fell to her death. They played azan from these towers to call the Muslims to pray.
After touring the Taj Mahal, I packed up and left for Ranthambur, about a 5 hour drive. Along the way we stopped in Fatehpur Sikiri, a fortified ancient city outside Agra. The city was built by Emperor Shah Jahan's grandfather, Emperor Akbar. This ancient city is a UNESCO world heritage site.
View of the mosque from inside the courtyard.
The courtyard entrance for commoners.
Courtyard entrance for royalty. Like his grandson, Shah Jahan, Akbar wanted to be loved by the people so he built the entrance for commoners nicer than the one for royalty.
Before Akbar built here, it was just a forest area. He first came here to visit a Sufi saint who predicted that his wife would give birth to an heir to the throne. One year later, the prediction came true. Akbar then decided to build a city here and made it the capital.
Akbar built a beautiful white marble tomb for the Sufi inside the courtyard.
There are red strings tied onto the window screen inside the tomb area. It is said that if you make three wishes and tie a string here, your wishes will come true.
The gold colored tomb of Sufi inside the inner sanctuary.
This is a side entrance to the tomb area. Women were not allowed to enter through the main door. They had to use this side entrance.
Similar to the window screens on the Taj, these were also carved from single pieces of marble.
After our stop in Fatehpur, we continued our drive to Ranthambur. Around 3 p.m., we passed from Uttar Pradesh into Rajasthan, meaning Land of Kings. Rajasthan is the largest state in India and is where I'll be traveling for the majority of my time in India.
We stopped for a quick lunch.
I had some basmati rice with cottage cheese pieces in an indian tomato butter sauce. Most people in this area are Hindu and only eat vegetarian food. Strict Hindus don't eat garlic or onion. Monica told me it has something to do with bad breath. I'm pretty sure I'm missing some part to the story.
All the towns are preparing for Diwali, the festival of lights. These are piles of marigolds that will be used as offerings in the temples. Diwali is one of their biggest holidays. They exchange sweets, light their houses with candles, clean and paint their homes, and set off fireworks to celebrate. I will be in Jaipur for the main night of Diwali.
People here seem to make better use of a tank of gas than we do....
A truck traveling on the highway had people hanging on all over. This is the side view.
The view from the back.
We traveled along a paved road for about half the trip. We passed small towns interspersed with farmland--mostly rice fields that looked much drier than those in Vietnam.
A young boy herding sheep.
A street view in one of the small towns. The town itself was small in distance, but everything was packed close together.
We drove down this dusty and bumpy road for about 2 1/2 hours.
A bull hanging out on the side of the road.
Sunset....
We arrived in Ranthambur around 6 p.m. Ranthambur is in the jungle and has a national park which is famous for its tigers. I threw my bag in my hotel room and met my driver for what I thought was a trip to have dinner at a restaurant. He had mentioned something about dinner with his friend, but I didn't think much about it.
We climbed into this jeep and headed into the jungle. Rajesh's friend lives in a nearby village, so we went to visit him. My visit to the village rivaled my visit to the Taj Mahal.
The village, called Sharpur, is home to about 1,000 people. Its name means lion. There are leopards and tigers in this area, but no lions. They named it this because everyone mistakenly refers to tigers as lions. White skinned visitors do not typically visit this village, so all the kids rushed to meet me.
In their culture, it is a sign of honor to have foreign guests in their home. Everyone insisted I come into their home. Once inside this home, where six families live, the girls wanted to give me a henna painting on my arm. All the other kids filtered into the room as well.
It will last for a few weeks.
The children watching me get my henna painting.
They loved having their picture taken.
These nice ladies cooked for me. The one in yellow made me daal with bate (a ball of dense bread which is a Rajasthani food) and the one on the right made me chai. They also roasted peanuts they grew on their land for me to try.
Daal with the pieces of bate broken up in it.
Freshly roasted peanuts, hot off the grill.
I ate with Rajesh, his friend, and the village elder who represents the villagers when they have a grievance. The grievances typically involve disputes over water or electricity. I'm holding a glass of whiskey they poured for me, but I was able to politely decline it. They also offered me some well water--thank you but no thank you.
One of the women showed me how she makes the sweets used to celebrate Diwali. It looked like a lot of work....
She will fry these dough pieces stuffed with cashews, dried fruit and sugar.
I was a polite guest and removed my shoes to enter. Standing here, they described how they paint the dirt floor of their home to celebrate Diwali. They use dried cow dung as paint. The cow and even its dung are sacred.
I headed back to the hotel, inspected my bed for bugs (I only found about 5 dead ones, which it turns out is still in the acceptable range) then passed out. A jeep is picking me up at 6 a.m. tomorrow to take me on a jungle safari through Ranthambur National Park.
It was a memorable day.
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Location:Agra, India
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