You must see the Taj Mahal. If you can't GO, then look at this site. It has great panoramic shots with commentary. Next best after that is to read this blog. (heehee)
First step, divide up by sex and nationality. Here's Silje in the foreign women's line. There were lots fewer foreigners than Indians there. Could be because it was the day before a holiday. Or the fact that it costs about 10 times less to get in if you are Indian.
The absolutely required pictures in front of the gate. Here are Lise and May Britt, and Emil, Silje and Adrian. the 11 little domes are matched by 11 on the back side, one for each year it took to build.
Walk through the gate, and Wow! There it is!
Emporor Shah Jahan's beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died in childbirth in 1631. In 1653, the whole Taj Mahal complex is completed, as a mausoleum and memorial.
This is Madelein, me and a stranger, having our beauty overshadowed. In 2002, the Taj was spruced up with multani mitti, a blend of soil, cereal, milk and lime once used by Indian women to beautify their skin.
Elna, Olav, Lise, Madelein, Emil, me, Silje with Adrian, May Britt. From here on, no videos are allowed.
Dear family, remember all the pictures like this that we took as kids? Such fun.
In 1658, the Shah's son Aurangzeb killed his brothers and laid siege to his father in his home, the fort. The big problem with the fort was the lack of water, so it didn't take a long siege. Aurangzeb kept his father in part of the fort, overlooking the Taj Mahal, for the next eight years, till he died.
The Taj Mahal and Agra Fort were a 5 hour drive. Each way! We left at 6 am, and got back at 10 pm. I'll make a separate post about our tourist experiences in Delhi.
Emporor Shah Jahan's beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died in childbirth in 1631. In 1653, the whole Taj Mahal complex is completed, as a mausoleum and memorial.
Semiprecious stones are inlaid seamlessly into the white marble
Our guide showed us the beautifully carved flowers, carved right into the marble
The descendants of the workers are keeping the marble inlay techniques alive.
Blue lapislazuli, orange red cornelian, brown jasper, dark red garnet, green jade. shiny white mother of pearl, dark green malachite, light blue turquoise are used at Marble World Exhibitors.
After lunch, we visited Shah Jahan's final prison, Agra Fort.
The sandstone is intricately carved
A whisper corner! Whisper here, and your mother can hear you across the room.
Renovating the ceiling moldings
The Shah's view
Beautiful inlay work
After all that beauty, here's the flip side. The air quality in India is the unhealthiest in the world, at least among the countries in this study. You can see, smell and even taste the air in Delhi. I was so happy to get back to Norway, which has the third best air in the world. Even though Bergen was having a bad air alert, it was a relief. Warm sunshine is good! But it is so dry there that the dust is everywhere. Even though all the cars in Delhi use CNG (compressed natural gas), the sheer number of vehicles overwhelm the city.
The other part of the flip side is the traffic! Even out in the country, lanes are ignored while pedestrians, cyclists, autorickshaws, and cars weave around each other. Every vehicle is loaded down with people or loads. Incredible loads! Bicycles can carry more than I would have believed. I thought Norwegian drivers were overboard safety conscious when I got to Bergen, but on the other extreme, I had a hard time not screeching during the drives in India. My so-called friends kept putting me in the front seat, until I got wise and leaped into the taxi first so I could get a back seat.
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