Agra! Known for the beautiful Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and as I was often reminded, 'the City of Love.'

Day One:

After tracking down a nice auto rickshaw driver, Shamu, we were off to the other side of the river. First stop: Itimad-Ud-Daulah.

Itimad-Ud-Daulah is known as the 'Baby Taj' as it is the tomb of Persian Mizra Ghiyas Beg. He was the grandfather of Mumtaz Mahal (who the Taj Mahal is for) and was chief minister for Emperor Jehangir. His daughter, who was married to the emperor, had the tomb built for him. It is absolutely beautiful and another tourist  descibed it looking like lace because of the lattice screens carved from marble. Not to be missed!

Second stop: Views of the Taj Mahal from across the river (thank you for the tip, Isabel!). While I was Mehtab Bagh (gardens), I had lots of children come up to me yelling, "Hi! hi! hi! hi! hi!" and wanting their photo taken. The view of the Taj from the other side of the river was stunning and I had a hard time pulling myself away at dusk. The one word that keeps coming to mind when I attempt to describe it: harmony...

                                  

My new friends

Day Two:

I met Shamu at 6 o'clock the next morning to go to the Taj Mahal at sunrise. Though overcast, it was still beautiful and with very few people. The Taj Mahal was created as a mausoleum for Emperor Shah Jahan's second wife Mumtaz Mahal. While giving birth to their fourteenth child, she died. Legend has it that Shah Jahan's hair turned white overnight due to grief. 

Lonely Planet couldn't have said it better:

"Rabindranath Tagore described it as ' a tear drop on the cheek of eternity', Rudyard Kipling as 'the embodiement of all things pure', while its creator, Shah Jahan, said it made 'the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes."

And, it really is beautiful. It is probably one of the most beautiful architectual structures I have ever seen. Here is an excerpt of a journal entry that I wrote almost five years ago when I first saw the Taj Mahal:

"The Taj was so breathtakingly beautiful - I just sat in the courtyard of the mosque and stared at it for an hour. As it was overcast, it was peaceful despite all the people. I liked watching the women walking past in their colourful saris of lime yellow, sherbet pink and deep blues. Timeless."

Next stop, Agra Fort:

The Agra Fort was built by the Emperor Akbar in 1565. It resides on the Yamuna River and it is made of red sandstone and it is stunning. It has a Mirror Palace, a 'Gem Mosque', a Ladies' bazaar, a Hall of Private Audiences with a Peacock Throne and gardens. I remember from my visit five years ago that the fort is decorated with imagery from different religions as Emperor Akbar had an understanding and fascination of the different ways of worshipping god. However, the fort was first used for the military and later a palace. After the Taj Mahal was completed, Shah Jahan, was imprisioned in the Agra Fort by his son Aurangzeb. When he died in 1666, he was buried next to Mumtaz in the Taj Mahal. 

Then, a quick spin around Agra with Shamu, past markets, horses pulling carts and cows, before being dropped off at the hotel to get ready for my journey to Mumbai the following day. 

Next stop: Bombay!