Day 37 Delhi to Agra

Early morning train 6am from New Delhi to Agra which takes 2 hours, but meant we had to get up at 4am to get to the station in good time.
The train was an experience,  the car was full of tourists and locals. The station was crowded and dirty but that’s India! On board the train it was not much better –  I advise against using the bathrooms on the train!  We were sitting backwards so changed our seat which seemed to upset the porters and we were not given any food or drink, although I don’t think we’d have eaten anything anyway!
Not much to see on the journey, but interesting to see people living along the tracks getting ready for their day as we passed by.

At the station in Agra we were met by our driver and he took us to our hotel where we checked in and had breakfast, then tried to get a nap as we were exhausted!  We met our next guide Ashish in the afternoon who turned out to be a bit on the boring side and unenthusiastic,  it was like listening to a textbook.  He seemed to be trying to rush us a bit, but we continued on at our rather lazy pace so we could absorb and observe everything.

Our first stop was the old red fort in Agra, a huge complex with a double moat system, one filled with water including alligators and the other with wild animals.
It was originally Hindu, built in the 10th century but in the 15th century after the Muslim takeover there were some renovations and additions, it is now a mixture of Hindu and Muslim architecture. Mostly red sand stone but also includes white marble buildings. Symmetry was an integral part of the architecture during that era.

The Koh-i-Noor Diamond:  Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal emperor, had the stone placed into his ornate Peacock Throne. In 1658, his son and successor, Aurangazeb, confined the ailing emperor at nearby Agra Fort. While in the possession of Aurangazeb, it was cut by Hortenso Borgia, a Venetian lapidary, so clumsy that he reduced the weight of the stone from 793 carats (158.6 g) to 186 carats (37.2 g). For this carelessness, Borgia was reprimanded and fined 10,000 rupees
That diamond that is now part of the Crown Jewels!

Side note: During our visit we watched a Indian visitor just throw his empty plastic bottle over the wall into the empty moat.

Next was the Taj Mahal, built from 1631-1653 by the Shah Jahan as a memorial to his wife Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum) who died after giving birth to the couple’s 14th child.  The grieving Shah Jahan, known for commissioning a number of impressive structures throughout his reign, ordered the building of a magnificent mausoleum across the Yamuna River from his own royal palace at Agra. Construction began around 1632 and would continue for the next two decades. The chief architect was probably Ustad Ahmad Lahouri, an Indian of Persian descent who would later be credited with designing the Red Fort at Delhi. In all, more than 20,000 workers from India, Persia, Europe and the Ottoman Empire, along with some 1,000 elephants, were brought in to build the mausoleum complex.

The Taj Mahal is one of the most outstanding examples of Mughal architecture, which combined Indian, Persian and Islamic influences.It is built of shimmering white marble that seems to change color depending on the sunlight or moonlight hitting its surface. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983, it remains one of the world’s most celebrated structures and a stunning symbol of India’s rich history.

Security is taken quite seriously everywhere in India and particularly at The Taj, so after leaving all our belongings in the car, apart from camera and cell phone, we passed the security check point and after a short walk the magnificent mausoleum comes into view and it is stunning!

The white marble is some of the hardest ever found and is translucent and changes color with the light. All of the designs and Arabic writing are inlaid and at least 1 inch deep. It was exquisite craftsmanship. The entire building inside and out is covered with this artwork. And you have to wear overshoes or remove shoes to go inside!