The Taj Mahal in Agra has to be one of the classic images of India and one of the World's major landmarks. I was once told you should only really go there with a lover, but I wasn't any less in awe just because i was in a group of 20, 17 year olds. It''s one of those places, along with the Great Wall of China, that I've always thought of as a place that you have to visit at some point in your life. Admittedly I ended up there quite by accident - if you can call having a fight cancelled and then missing the flight out of Delhi an accident.... but there you go.
Agra was the centre for the Mughal emperors until they moved their capital to Delhi in 1637. And the Taj Mahal is infact a tomb. Built in 1631 by Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan as a tribute to his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, after she died giving birth to their 14th child. The Taj Mahal looks over the River Yamuna and took 22 years to build from marble that was transported from Rajasthan (500 miles away). The whole building and the grounds are symmetrical, down to the very last flowerbed, to do this they even built 2 mosques, one on either side of the Taj (although only one of them can be used due to the direction in which it is facing). In fact the only thing that breaks this symmetry is the casket of the emperor which was built beside the queen's as an afterthought. Shah Jahan, did start to build his own tomb over the other side of the River Yamuna, which you can stil see parts of, but he was imprisioned in The Red Fort and then killed by his son and so was buried by his wife's side.
Personally I think the Taj is a stunning building and very cleverly designed. Even the 4 pillers (I can't think of anything else to call them) surrounding the main tomb have been built at a very slight angle, so that in the event of an earthquake, for example, they would fall away from the tomb and not on top of it.
I even looks stunning close up. Even though you cannot see the whole building ther is an incredible amount of thought and detail. On parts of the outside, and the entire inside, the marble has been inlain with both precios and semi-precious stones, mainly taking on the forms of various flowers. No cameras are allowed into the tomb itself though so in order to see this the only way is to go and visit it. Shoes also have to be removed beforehand, but they have special storage spaces in which to keep them, so you end up walking on the marble in either socks (which is probably very slippery) or bare foot. It may sound odd, but they actually need you to do this to polish and preserve the marble as well as it being a sign of respect.
I would reccommed maybe getting a guide to lead you round, as that way you get to find more out about the place, but I wouldn't say it were neccessary. You will probably find that there are loads of men with cameras trying to take your photo (if you want you can stand on a bench with one arm above your head with your finger and thumb pinched together - apparently it creates the illusion that you are holding the Taj up), but you want to be careful as they may take your photo whilst you are posing for prehaps another member of your family, develop it incredibly quickly and then say you have to buy it.
You will probably find yourself targeted by street vendors on both the way in and way out as well. Whether you choose to do buisness with them is upto you.
"Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor's love wrought in living stones." " It is a celebration of woman built in marble and that's the way to appreciate it." (Sir Edwin Arnold)
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i would to go there but i have just brought a house so i have no chance for a while stephaniexx
torr 07.04.2006 11:59
Certainly beautiful and magnificent, but such a tourist trap! I came away with very mixed feelings, which I'm not sure I can encapsulate in a comment - may have to write my own review. Duncan
chattell 05.04.2006 22:06
This must be absolutley amazing to see, i'd certainly love to go there
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Apr 5th, 2006
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