Mansingh Palace, Agra

Advantages: Be the one to explore this Wonder of World.
Disadvantages: None

...It is believed that the original name of Taj Mahal was MUMTAAZ MAHAL and it is unclear when the historians changed it to Taj Mahal. It is a deserving resting palace for the Emperor's Empress. It stands on the banks of the river Yamuna, which served as a wide moat defending the Great Red Fort of Agra, the center of the Mughal emperors until they moved their capital to Delhi in 1637. It was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1631 in memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess. She died while accompanying her husband in Burhanpur in a campaign to crush a rebellion after giving birth to their 14th child. THE LAST WISH of EMPRESS: ------------------------------------------- As Mumtaz lay dying she demanded four promises from the emperor as her dying wish. 1. Build the Taj. 2. Marry Again 3. Be kind to the children 4... Read review

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Advantages: ROMANCE
Disadvantages: Time your first view for the less crowded times.

...snack. The Fort is decorated with Ground Down Precious Stones. Latticed windows so the women could view without being seen. It has a sunken purfumed garden. A room of mirrors and mirror work. A Parterre built on the lake. So the Queen could assend to the top, there is a tunnel system that is large enought so a Rickshaw can make the climb to save the Ladies Legs. The afternoon was a Tour of The City Palace , Public Audience Hall, Observatory where a 30 foot high sundial is accurate to the second. And then the Palace of the Winds. Jailpur is known as the Pink City as this was the colour it was painted in 1976 for the Visit of the Prince of Wales. Anyway back to the subject of the Review the TAJ. Next day the coach Left Jaipur for Agra, what I remember most of this Journey was the Green Countryside, so Green it seemed English... Read review

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Advantages: One of the Seven Wonders of the World
Disadvantages: Beautiful from outside but an empty shell inside

...I have just come from Agra and am disgusted by the inflated admission costs for foreigners to the Taj Mahal. When I went there a few years ago the cost to enter was the same for everybody - Indian or foreign visitors, Rs 5. The Government has now revised the costs so that if you are Indian you pay Rs 10 - about 15p and if you are a foreign tourist you now have to pay $30 US. I know the the Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world but this is outrageous and just another way of fleecing the foreign tourists.... Read review

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