Taj Mahal for Christmas

Our third day of Christmas the Mister and I gave our three turtle doves a trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort .  From four years back when Mister took a long term work assignment here in Delhi for six long weeks and visited the Taj Mahal, he loved the experience and shared his memories with the kids.  Each of the kids expressed a desire to see the Taj Mahal when we knew we would move here.  The first thing the kids and I can cross off our "India bucket list" is *See The Taj Mahal

We had arranged for a car to pick us up at home at 7am Monday, December 27 and drive to Agra.  We met with our tour guide in Agra a little before 12noon and he told us to eat lunch later and we would go immediately to the Taj Mahal because the weather was beautiful and it was winter break from school and the crowds were sure to be huge.  We took his advice, lined up the family of five led by the tour guide and charged the Taj.

It felt surreal to actually be there in its presence.  To actually see the architecture first hand and take the pictures ourselves.  It was fun to see the kids look at the Taj Mahal and take in the fact that we are really here, looking at the structure ourselves, not just listening to a story from Dad told while looking at pictures of one of his trips.  It is truly an amazing place.  I like symmetry and balance so the architectural aspects and thought that went into the balancing of all elements really felt joyous to me.  I reveled in the symmetry throughout the entire tour.

We went from the real Taj Mahal to a restaurant called the Taj Mahal for lunch.  We had a wonderful meal of traditional south Indian foods, (south India has mostly gluten free cooking style) and enjoyed each other's company and visited with our tour guide.

Afterwards we went to a marble textile shop and toured how inlay was used at the Taj Mahal.  It was definitely a shop and I would have loved to buy up lots of marble table tops and stands but we really just arrived in India and our full shipment has not yet been placed into our home.  So I resisted the temptation to buy the beautiful work of art on a black marble table top with mother of pearl flower inlays.  A candle lit on top the the table dances light all around the room.  It was gorgeous, but it can wait for another trip.

From the Marble Inlay shop we went to the Agra Fort.  This is where we learned the story of the Taj Mahal family.  The Taj was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is widely considered as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and stands as a symbol of eternal love. 

Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble, often inlaid with gold or semi-precious gems. He destroyed some of the earlier buildings inside the fort in order to make his own.  At the end of his life, Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son, Aurangzeb, in the fort. It is rumored that Shah Jahan died in Musamman Burj, a tower with a marble balcony with a view of the Taj Mahal.  The fort was the site of a battle during the Indian rebellion of 1857, which caused the end of the British East India Company's rule in India, and led to a century of direct rule of India by Britain.

Just inside the fort's gates we saw monkeys, lots of them.  A big treat for the kids, we are always looking for monkeys, not to touch, but to see.

The fort was beautiful and the love story was heart warming.  Agra is the city of love, when you come to India, we hope you can feel the love.  Enjoy an array of pictures from our Agra tour.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Happy New Year!








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