Taj Mahal

Saturday February 4th was Taj Mahal day. All was quiet after the noise and colour of last night. Thanks to the travel kettle we had a quick cup of coffee before setting out early to the Taj Mahal. It was a day of queueing thankfully not for too long as we arrived at 6 just as it was opening. There are 80,000 visitors every day so the queues can be huge. After getting our tickets we walked towards the walls of the mausoleum. We had to walk a long way from the ticket office and were then divided into Indians, visitors, men and women to go through very tight security. Luckily we had been told not to bring large bags as they were searched thoroughly. It was early in the day in Agra and very misty on the river so our first view was quite eerie with the Taj Mahal seeming to float on the mist. It is indeed a magnificent building not built from marble but covered in it with patterned inlays of semi-precious stones everywhere. The marble had been transported 300 kms over land and it was designed by architects from Persia and other places in the Middle East. What is most impressive is the setting, with water in front and lovely gardens round about, pleasantly litter free. After an introductory talk by the local guide we were free to wander round and admire the building inside and out. With such a large site it didn't seem too crowded. It was then back to the hotel to freshen up and at last have breakfast, believe it or not at Pizza Hut followed by Costa Coffee. It was really brunch and we did need sustenance by then.

The next stop was the Red Fort. We had a very entertaining local guide who told us all about the fortifications, the moat with crocodiles, the wall, the next moat which was dry and patrolled by Bengal Tigers, and finally the gates with spikes and the hill where stones would be rolled down or boiling oil poured. Luckily all this was in the time of the Moguls. It would make a great computer game though! The fort was more impressive than we would have thought from the outside. There were several large courtyards one of which had been a fishing lake but was filled in by the British so they could play croquet. From here we could see the Taj Mahal. The muslim Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan built the Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for his favourite wife Mumtaz who had already borne him 14 children when she died in childbirth. At the end of his life Shah Jehan was imprisoned in a tower of the Red Fort by his son Aurangzeb, who also killed at least two of his own brothers - not a nice person we decided. However Shah Jehan did have an excellent view of his masterpiece from his prison.

Our surprise for the afternoon was the "Baby Taj" the first building to be faced with marble. It's also a mausoleum. It was very impressive for its delicate features, more like a wedding cake or a piece of lace with the most intricate carving. The inlaid decorations are Islamic in origin but very familiar if you relate them to some patchwork designs. What a day of culture and art we had! We finished with a buffet of mostly vegetarian food. There is very little meat used in food here and some places are totally vegetarian. Many dishes use paneer, which is really cottage cheese but it seems more like tofu, a new one to try at home.

We have been having difficulties with internet access this week, which explains why we are getting a little behind, and there are no recent photographs, but all should be resolved in the next few days - we hope!