Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is one of the official seven world wonders and it is considered a must-see. 

Several friends that had already visited the place had told me that it is indeed a beautiful building and site, but also very touristic.

I agree with them. It is beautiful and of course very interesting to learn about the history of the building. But is it so much more beautiful then e.g. the Red Fort in Delhi? No, not really, not for me at least. 

Let's have a look, shall we?

So for this afternoon we got ourselves a guide:

Talking to the guide.

He was supposed to lead us fast around the tourist traps and inside the Taj Mahal. And he did.

The last 500 meters before the entrance are filled with people and children trying to sell you camel rides and souvenirs.

No line for us, thanks to the guide.

And there she is, then, the Taj Mahal.

Ofcourse the place is very touristy and crowded and everybody tries to make the same cliche pictures. We normally don't do that, but our guide had different ideas, as you will see in this post;-).

It was a cloudy day. Not so nice for the pictures, but at least not so hot;-).

A bit of history, before we move on:

The Taj Mahal , the "crown of palaces", also "the Taj", is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".

Taj Mahal is regarded by many as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian,Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles.

In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest prosperity, was grief-stricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their 14th child. Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632. The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later. (Source: Wikipedia)

Fortunately our guide did indeed know a lot about the building, the decorating techniques that were used and about the Mughal history. If you want to know more, then there is a lot of info to be found on the web.

Piedra dura technique and marble carving.

There are more buildings on the premises and the gardens are huge.

Looking back to the entrance gate.

Regularly I am a popular picture subject for the Indians, but they are for me as well, of course. With their beautiful sari's and colors!

Tomorrow I take you along to Agra's fort. Have a nice day!