Agra

As it turned out, the Taj was not the only famous site to see in Agra, the city 2 hours north of Delhi. The Agra Fort, also known as the Red Fort, is a UNESCO World Heritage site about 2 km away from the Taj. It is a walled city where the Great Mughals lived with their numerous guards, wives, and concubines. In fact, it was one of the Mughals, Shah Jahan, who built the Taj in honor of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Later, he was imprisoned by his son in one of the towers at the Agra Fort that had a marble balcony with the view of the Taj. We toured the fort and learned a lot about the early history of India and the ruling Mughals.


Our next stop was a workshop and store where they make encrusted marble souvenirs in the same style as the Taj, which is a masterpiece made of white marble encrusted with precious and semi-precious stones (some rooms in the Agra Fort are made of marble as well). Making even the smallest jewelry box takes a long time. We were shown some bigger pieces made by the artisans---they were amazing!

Finally, the Taj. After going through some bustling and dirty streets and passing through extensive security (they even made me put my iPod in storage), we were immediately treated to a majestic view of the Taj Mahal, situated at the end of a walkway lined with canals.


Before going up to the Taj, we had to take off our shoes and stand in a pretty long line. Inside were the tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shan Jahan. I also realized that the Taj is actually a collection of structures with minarets and gardens of traditional Persian style, which took about 21 years to build, and what is typically referred to as the Taj Mahal is the actual mausoleum with the tombs. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the mausoleum, but could get some more close-up shots of the exterior and other structures.


Full of impressions, we went back to Delhi, stopping by a famous temple of Krishna, one of Indian gods, allowing me a chance to see a real Hindu temple.
One more shot of the Taj, reflecting in the water

The next morning on the way to the airport the driver took me around Delhi to see the famous India Gate and the beautiful Houses of Parliament (unfortunately, I had to snap the pictures from inside the car so they didn't turn out very well).
India Gate