The End! FInally....the Taj!

The end of the blog!  

Finally got around to finishing posts from the last trip, ending with the Taj Mahal.  Certainly a different kind of visit to the Taj from the other visits over 40 (!) years.  Much more expensive, much more controlled, lots more people, and a now a three hour visit time limit (!).  Makes sense for controlling the numbers on the tomb grounds, but, to me, the time limit was a bit frustrating.

Lots to say about what an amazing place it is.  A bit of a hassle, but worth the visit.  A massive tourist infrastructure has necessarily evolved to support the huge number of visitors - local and foreign - that visit the place.

Please click on the pics to embiggen - best viewed on a larger screen, IMHO.

Got any questions....leave a comment!

The main gateway to the grounds.

Looking from the Main gate to the Taj.

The colour of the building changes through the day quite a bit.  Mornings and evenings generally
with an orange or even red tinge, but because of the heavy pollution it seems to have a colour cast all day.

A detail of one of the entrance doors.

Lots and lots of visitors, especially families, come to visit.
Of course kids get dressed to the nine's and do a lot of picture posing.

Pic by Anne.  Up on the plinth lots of pics, selfies, and just sitting to take it all in.
However, with only three hours we tended not to sit around much, while local visitors could take
their time over multiple visits.

Anne with some new 'selfie-friends.'

Doug with some poor captive worker, who unfortunately let Doug know he could speak a bit of English. 
Note the chic booties on Doug - I could point out that they didn't want Doug's feet touching any
of the monument, but I will truthfully have to say they have all the visitors wear these over their shoes or go barefoot. 

Maintenance and repair going on continuously, a good part by hand.

Supervising the workers (when not chatting with Doug).

Collecting firewood from garden maintenance.

The Mosque on the grounds.

Same building, broader view.

Looking back at the main entrance and reflecting pool.

A final look.

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A short visit to the Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah, known as the 'Baby-Taj.'  It's a much more compact building and grounds.  Few people seem to visit it - a mistake not to visit this wonderful example of pietra dura inlays - precious and semi-precious stones set in marble.  It was built before the Taj Mahal, and proved a bit of a 'dry run' for the techniques on the Taj (the tomb was for the grandfather of Mumtaz Mahal, who the Taj was built for).

The gates at the four cardinal directions of the tomb grounds.

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Some pics on our way back to Delhi (then on to Goa, which I've blogged about already).

Hanging out with buddies at a rickshaw stop..

Doug thought this guy was selling cashews!  Turns out (easy to tell) that he was selling peanuts....
...so Doug bought a couple of bags then complained  (well, whined 😋) about it all the way back!

Some of my usual voyeur pics of people (lots of students) taking transport!

A couple of signs on walls next to the road leaving town.

Ok.....done.

Running around the Red Fort

Another place that's worth spending some time in is the Red Fort in Agra, which like the Taj Mahal is on the Yamuna river.  The fort dates back to the 15th century (during which it was the capital of the Delhi Sultanates), but it's present form dates back to the late 16th/early 17th centuries.

The grounds and structures are large enough that it doesn't - unlike the Taj Mahal - get quite so packed with visitors.  Some areas of the structures are cordoned off and inaccessible now - of course these areas unfortunately have the best views of the Taj down the river (from past visits).

These pics are mostly of the forts' architecture....  Like other sites, this was designed to have a lot of running water features, but for a variety of reasons these spots are dry.  It would be amazing to see these places with water running through them as originally envisioned.

Editing these pics took a bit longer than expected, so I may do two more posts to cover the Taj Mahal and other spots around Agra.

As usual, please click on a pic to embiggen.

Main entrance gate:

Part of the zenana, the Harem area.  This must have just been stunning with marble pools, fountains, and water running though the spaces

The buildings and grounds are always being maintained and renewed.
You can see damage of years - from attackers, visitors and pollution - being repaired.

A view through the haze and pollution to the Taj.