Life in the City of Pearls: April 2014

Agra, India is most known for the Taj Mahal but another impressive destination is the Agra Fort. We made our way there after the Taj. First, I am going to back up to our journey to Agra from Delhi. So we flew into the Delhi airport and sight saw around Delhi for the Day, blog is coming for that. After we ate a late lunch we made the 3-4 hour to drive. We made good time to Agra but then sat in traffic for another 3 hours trying to get to the hotel.There was a dignitary in town and most of the major roads were closed. There was also a wedding procession going on with lights, drums, floats, basically the whole nine yards. As we were sitting in traffic, my blond hair was once again the object of stares and comments. My other group members thought it was hysterical that the "golden princess" as I was dubbed was getting hit on in a traffic jam. My favorite was "come on baby just talk to me".

But I digress, back to Agra. So after the Taj we did some souvenir shopping at a marble inlay shop. I even tried my hand at shaping/carving the marble.

I am very skeptical of what he is trying to tell me....

After this we made our way to the Agra Fort. Sometimes called the "Red Fort" due to the red sandstone. The fort was commissioned by a Mughal Emperor in 1565. The fort was later converted into a palace by Shāh Jahān.

The Amar Singh Gate into the fort

This used to be a moat

The Delhi Gate is the most monumental gate of the fort's four. It was built in 1568 both to enhance security and as the king's formal gate, and includes features related to both. It is embellished with white marble. A wooden drawbridge was used to cross the moat and reach the gate from the mainland; inside, an inner gateway called Hathi Pol ("Elephant Gate") – guarded by two life-sized stone elephants with their riders – added another layer of security. However, tourists cannot enter through it because the Indian Military still uses part of the fort.

Jahangir Palace

Jahangir Palace entrance

Fort interior

Yup, I like to pose

The marble palace portion built by Shah Jahan. Troy was a little too tall for the doorway.

View from Dīwān-e-'Ām (Hall of Public Audience)

Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son and held captive in the fort. It is rumored he died here in the Muasamman Burj.

Muasamman Burj

Dīwān-e-'Ām (Hall of Public Audience)

Dīwān-e-Khās (hall of private audience)

After leaving the fort it was time to hit the road and head back to Delhi to catch our flight. It was a quick weekend trip but packed full of Indian history and monuments. One pleasant surprise we found in the Delhi airport was a STARBUCKS! It was nice to have an amenity from home :-)

This post will mostly be pictures because I do not feel I can adequately describe the beauty and wonder of the Taj Mahal. Any adjectives I would use would not do it justice. Just a little bit of background on the Taj. The Taj is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, India (about 4 hours from Delhi).It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife.Shah Jahan liked to live beautiful things and enjoyed the finer things in life. In 1631, Shah Jahan was distraught over the death of his 3rd wife, a Persian princess, who had passed away giving birth to their 14th (yes 14th!!) child. Construction of the mausoleum began in 1632 and the principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 and the surrounding buildings/garden were finished five years later in 1653. So from start to finish it took 20 years. According to the legends, it took 20,000 people, 1,000 elephants transporting the materials, and cost about 32 million Rupees at that time. Unfortunately, by the late 19th century, parts of the buildings had fallen badly into disrepair. During the time of the Indian rebellion of 1857, the Taj Mahal was defaced by British soldiers and government official. In 1908 a remodel project was began. Okay, that is enough from me. I will let the pictures say the rest.