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Agra the home of the Wonder of The Taj Mahal
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Our journey from Jaipur to Agra
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Our visit to this wondrous Eight Wonder of the world on 20th April | ||||
| Home Page | Delhi-arrival | Ranthambore | Jaipur | Delhi-departure | Goa |
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Our journey on 19th April to Agra
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Practically
every moment of our various journeys over many miles there was something to see. Here we were amazed to see the skill of these masons which have been handed down from generation to generation. |
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| This
wonderful entrance to Fatehpur Sikri is known as Bulland Gate - at 175 feet
the highest southern gateway in the world.
Many steps - up and up and up! |
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This
walled city was built in the late 16th century and is 37 Kms from Agra.
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| Again
the workmanship is awesome.
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As
is its design.
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| By
contrast to the grandeur of the Forts, Palaces and Temples we saw, we
were fascinated to see the traditional huts made from sculpted and
decorated cow pats!
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We
have no idea what this building is but as said above - hardly
a moment went by with our seeing something of note.
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| Raj
was a constant of surprise each evening there was something.
This was the end of a perfect day travelling to Agra where we enjoyed an al-fresco dinner and more entertainment.
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The
Taj Mahal - a Wondrous Masterpiece in every way - on our last day
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We
were at this gate to the Taj Mahal shortly before six o'clock in the
morning to be amongst the first to be admitted to see the wonders of
this fabulous and beautiful shrine.
It was built by a man's love in memory of his wife who died in child-birth.
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| Our
view of the Taj Mahal with the sun starting to glow on its right hand side from the sunrise. To think that this could be built in the early 17th Century with primitive tools, equipment and scaffolding by 20,000 men over 22 years is mind-blowing! The work was commissioned by Shah Jahan and commenced in 1631. He was devastated when his wife died in childbirth of her 14th child. It is a symbol of his love for her and his devotion to her memory.
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There
were also some other early visitors - this five striped squirrel is cute don't you think?
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| "The
Early Bird Catches the Worm".
Peaceful
co-existence between the early-bird parakeets and the squirrels
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One
for the family album.
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grounds are also so beautiful!
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Yet
another visitor - a beautiful hopoe!
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| At
this early time of the day we had the tranquillity of this
beautiful place virtually to ourselves.
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Some of the amazing carving in large sections of marble walling | ||||
| An example of the masses of inlaid semi-precious stone within the marble. |
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No this not a bevelled column on plan - the illusion has been set by the designer's and craftsmen's' skills. | ||||
| This is perhaps how the scene may have been after the work was finished in 1653. |
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Anne sat on the seat made famous in more recent times by Princess Diana. | ||||
| Shah
Jahan spent the last years of his own life imprisoned by his unpopular son with this view of the Taj Mahal across the river. |
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Shah
Jahan's view from the shade of the verandah. |
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| This too is beautifully built. |
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After
our visit to the Taj Mahal we visited a workshop and showroom of the
inlaid marble work.
Guess what happened - Anne bought Leslie his birthday present nearly four months early! |
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| This is the view of Maggie taking photos of the Delhi rush hour as we headed for our hotel - The Maidens Oberoi once again. |
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Our
superb Guide, Host, Mentor, Philosopher and good frien Raj Mathur says his concluding words of this amazing trip. He is many things. Raj is also a most knowledgeable Historian, a fascinating Philosopher who believes in Our Destiny and does a lot of work for impoverished children's and addiction charities. It was Our Destiny for him to accompany us on our Trip of a Lifetime". |
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| As our group started to go there separate ways there was a surprise for Anne as Russ presented her with the prize for having collected the largest number of elephants. |
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