The wakeup call rang at 5 a.m., so that
we could meet the group in the lobby at 5:30 for a six-minute bus ride to see
Taj Mahal at sunrise. There was already many people, dogs, other animals and
vehicles, which were honking, travelling through the streets. Once at the
parking lot, our guide bought the tickets for the mausoleum which was followed
by a shuttle bus ride to drive the 700 meters to the Taj Mahal complex
entrance. The avenue was lined with
small 200 square foot shops, selling inlaid marble wares of various types,
jewelry, postcards, books, trinket boxes, coasters and other things. Along the
way there were also smaller hotels and restaurants and people walking on the two-lane
roadway plus cows, water buffalo, pigs and of course dogs along the street.
We
were each given a 250ml bottle of water as well as shoe covers to use when we
entered the white marble Taj Mahal. To enter the main complex, each gender
entered by a separate line for the security body search. Next, we joined our guide for a brief narrative
about the reason for building the 17th century Taj Mahal, then we
posed for a group photo before wandering the grounds as we wished for 70
minutes. We could purchase the group picture, with Taj Mahal in the background,
later in the morning at a cost of 100 rupees (or $1.90 for a 5 x7 photo). It
was a lovely place to walk to get a good start for today’s steps goal. The sky was sunny, but hazy with a
comfortable temperature of about 25C at sunrise.
Raj explained that the minarets at the four corners of the main building
are on a slight tilt outwards so that, in the case of an earthquake, they would
fall away from the Taj Mahal mausoleum.
Construction of the domed white Makrana marble mausoleum building began
in 1632. It was designed by Persian architect Ustad Isa, taking 17 years to
build, plus another five years was needed to complete the sandstone outer
buildings and walls. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the
seven wonders of the world. Beside some of the multi-language signs in a few
places are metals panels with the descriptions in braille.
Mughal
Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the mausoleum as the final resting place for
his favourite wife, Queen Mamtaz Mahal. She died while giving birth to their 14th
child, a daughter, who lived to be over 70 years old. Taj Mahal is also noted
for its elegant domes, intricately carved screens and some of the best inlaid
marble ever seen. It is an exquisite
example of 17th century Islamic and Persian architecture. The design
is symmetrical and the four sides, facing north, east, north and west, are
identical in gleaming white marble and inlaid semi-precious gems. Over 30,000 workers, including gifted
craftsmen created the structure. More
than 1,000 elephants carried the Makrana marble from Rajasthan, jade from China
and other stone from parts of central Asia and the Middle East. The intricate
inlays of semi-precious gems glitter when caught by sun rays. The interior of the mausoleum has elaborate
carved lattices of marble surrounding the replica tombs of Shah Jahan and
Mamtaz Mahal. Their actual tombs are
below in a small crypt. An attendant showed people, using his small LED
flashlight, how sunlight and moonlight can illuminate the inlaid gems at
certain angles. From the plaza,
surrounding Taj Mahal, to the north is a view of the Yamuna River and looking toward
the west north west on the shoreline is Agra Fort, which we visited
yesterday. Here, as at Agra Fort, the
doorways between rooms had raised thresholds.
It reminded us of the raised thresholds to enter buildings and rooms at
the Forbidden City Museum in Beijing, China.
A bulletin board nearby read that the air quality at Taj Mahal at 3 p.m.
yesterday was 210. As we walked through
the gardens and lawns pathways, we accumulated 7492 steps before breakfast.
The group met at 8, to return to the hotel for breakfast. While gathering the people who arrived early
were entertained by shy wild monkeys playing in the trees and climbing the
walls of the sandstones gates.
It was a generous buffet with many Indian dishes and a station where
custom omelets were prepared. We sat with Jose and Magaly, Gailene, Myra and
Doris. We returned to the room to freshen up and compose this morning’s entries.
During breakfast and while writing, there were several 15 second power outages
which are not uncommon in India.
Next place to visit was Marble Art Palace. Here, descendants of the original marble
craftsman, still practice the delicate art of inlaying semi-precious gems into
the Rajasthan Makrana marble. The art is
known as Parchin kari. A beautiful 5 cm flower with red petals of the
gem stone Cornelian, exactly like the ones on Taj Mahal, take more than a day
to create and assemble the 64 tiny pieces then glue them together with the “Taj
Glue”. The thin flakes of Cornelian
stone sparkle like a flame when sunlight hits it. The secret formula for “Taj
Glue” was perfected to hold the inlaid art together though centuries of
exposure to the elements. There are no training schools for the art of inlaying
into marble. The craft is passed from father to son using the ancient
techniques to create their designs, while sitting cross legged on the floor
using tiny knives that sculpt away the space for the patterns to be inserted
into the marble. Today, skilled craftsmen,
besides repairing any damaged walls at Taj Mahal, create similar patterns to
make inlaid white marble table tops, plates, coasters, trinket boxes, small
elephants and vases. Every piece is hand made. We were ushered into a workshop
where the techniques were explained. Then the doors to a beautiful showroom were
opened and we were guided to sofas for an explanation of the different quality
of the marble table tops. Listening to
the man explain, we enjoyed glasses of lemonade or local Kingfisher beer. The
white marble comes from Rajasthan, which is the hardest in the world. Its greatest characteristic is that it is
nonporous, stain proof, scratchproof and almost indestructible. We decided to purchase an intricately
designed piece that can be used as a table top for a small end table. The design features red Cornelian flowers,
blue Lapis Iazuli and turquoise birds holding worms
of Cat’s Eye, green leaves of malachite (which first saw used on columns in the
Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia) and stems of brown Jasper Chalcedony.
It will be shipped home.
Once all the purchases were made, most of the group was taken for the
optional tour to the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula, also known as “Baby Taj”. Those people
not going returned to the hotel in automobile taxis, not the tiny three wheeled
open vehicles that are darted around the roads. It was the first marble
mausoleum, and is thought to have inspired the Taj Mahal. Overlooking the Yamuna River, it is the tomb
of Mir Ghiyas, whose daughter was a previous Mughal queen, Nur Jahan who
commissioned the memorial in 1622. It
took six years to complete. It is also
made from Makrana marble. Traditional Islamic mosaics cover the outside walls. The interior is also covered with mosaic
inlays on the walls, floors and ceilings and featuring beautifully carved
marble lattices inside the mausoleum. The 45 minutes allowed was plenty of time
for the group to explore the property. From the river side gate, there was a
view of the Yamuna River where water buffalo were wading in the water. The river water level is low, even though it
is the end of the monsoon season. We returned to hotel, through the main
streets of Agra. Our step count was 10,873.
It was midafternoon, so after updating the blog, we changed into our
bathing suits and enjoyed a swim in the outdoor pool. The sky was blue and the water was warm.
Before dinner we looked in the shops on the first floor. There was a jewelry store, a good section of marble
items, postcards, men’s and ladies clothing, much of Indian tops, trousers, shirts
and pashminas. Raj, our guide, recommended that the hotel restaurant was a good
choice, since the kitchen is used to western tastes and prepares food to a high
standard. We joined Terry and Christian in the hotel restaurant for the Indian
food buffet dinner. The two soups were a lemon coriander broth and cream of
chicken. There was a selection of over a dozen vegetarian and non- vegetarian pots
of food including naan bread. The
desserts had a choice of cakes and Indian sweets as well as made to order
crepes. After dinner, we returned to the room to organize our suitcases for
leaving tomorrow for Jaipur.
Final step count 12,048.
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