We honestly hesitated a little bit about going to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. It’s a tomb, after all. I was worried that the long, one-day trip down there would be too taxing on the boys just to see “a building”.
Well, the trip was even worse than we thought it would be. We rented a car and driver. The bumpy roads were under construction for the upcoming Common Wealth games. It was stop-and-go traffic and the driver was on the brake and gas pedals constantly. All 5 of us were car sick. Erik threw up twice (thank goodness outside the car). Ten and a half brutal hours total in the car. After all of that, was it worth it? Absolutely!
Even though it was a hot 1 mile walk to the monument, the temperature was cooler than what we had been experiencing in A’bad. It was about 105 degrees and with a decent breeze. Tolerable. We walked around the grounds for about two hours and then got back in the Toyota Innova rental for the return trip. A quick dip in the hotel pool was very welcome after this exhausting excursion.
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- View of the Taj Mahal from across the river
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- The Great Gateway – entrance to the Taj Mahal
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- Ceiling inside the gateway
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- View of the Taj from inside the gateway building
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- THE view. You know…the one we came for.
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- The mandatory family photo. You can tell it was a hot, tiring trip. We’re looking a little frazzled.
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- Ground’s keepers mowing the lawn in the garden. One is pushing, the other is pulling that heavy monster with a rope.
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- The outside of the tomb. The masjid (mosque) is in the background.
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- Entrance to the tomb. The whole outside of the Taj Mahal is inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones. Click the picture for the larger view. It’s a “must” to see the detail.
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- Black onyx is inlaid to form the calligraphy of verses from the Qur’an.
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- Semiprecious stones like jade, jasper, onyx form intricate flowers and vines. These cover the outside and inside of the building.
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- Bas relief white marble panels also surround the entire outside and inside of the structure.
