Entry #40

If in India...you had better see the Taj Mahal. After flying from Visakhapatnam to Delhi, we took a two-hour train trip to the city of Agra. Taj Mahal means "Crown Palace" and is the most well preserved and architecturally beautiful tomb in the world. It stands on the bank of River Yamuna. 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. Construction began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years. Twenty thousand people were deployed to work on it. The material was brought in from all over India and central Asia and took a fleet of 1,000 elephants to transport it to the site.

*

December 5, 2009

The Great Gateway prepares you to "leave chaos for order".

Inside the main gate, this arch frames the Taj. This was the "WOW" moment. You are not prepared for how large the Taj is. It symbolizes entering Paradise.

You then emerge in char bagh (four gardens) , which is how paradise is described in the Koran. You can enjoy the well-planted, walled garden divided symmetrically by water channels.

To the left of the Taj stands the Masjid (mosque).

To the right is the Mehmankhana (guest house).

Sandstone walls and octagonal pavillions at the corners surround the garden and grounds.

Interior of the guest house with detailed inlay.

View of the Taj Mahal from the gardens. The color can change during the day; pink in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden when the moon shines.

The Taj rises on a high red sandstone base topped by a 313 square foot white marble terrace on which rests the famous dome flanked by four tapering minarets. The dome is 60 feet in diameter and rises 80 feet over the building with verses of the holy Quran inscribed on it. Semi-precious stones are inlaid into the marble in beautiful patterns and with superb craftsmanship in a process known as pietra dura.

One last look.