Did you know that the Taj Mahal was built as a symbol of eternal love? Before last weekend, I knew nothing about it, just that it is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and that it's the thing to see when you are in India. But after visiting I've learned that it's more than just a beautiful piece of architecture.
It was built over a 22 year period (11 years is good luck, so was a multiple of 11) from 1631-1653. It is a mausoleum that houses the remains of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's wife. She died giving birth to her 14th child and on her deathbed she asked him to build something to remember her by and to never marry again. He took this to heart and spent the rest of his life fulfilling her request. The purpose for which it was built was eternal love, but the way it was built is also very interesting.
It is located on the banks of the Yamuna River in Agra, right after a bend in the river. There is no coincidence to the location or how it was built. At the time, this location in Agra was said to be the most geologically sound in India. The ground was said to be more stable because it on the strongest part (curve) of the river. The basement contains wells filled with wood and stone, which are to help absorb shock in the event of an earthquake. Also the outer minarets are at a 91 degree angle outward, in the event of an earthquake they wouldn't fall on the dome. Quite fascinating if you think about it, because this was all architected and built by hand. Each piece of marble was carefully carved and inlayed with local stone. An art form that is still practiced today.
We visited on a Saturday afternoon along with thousands and thousands of other tourists, most of them from India. If you look close you can see them all lined up along the base of the platform.
This is one of my favorite pics from the side of the building, showing all the colors of India and the people waiting to go inside.
We spent a couple hours just walking around, taking pictures and learning the history from our guide. The line to go inside was wrapped all the way around the building, so we decided to not go inside and enjoy the sunset instead. It was quite beautiful, with the marble reflecting the pink and orange colors and the silhouette of the building and minarets against the sky being so distinct. Definitely a highlight of my trip here, a magical place.
And of course, a weekend wouldn't be complete without people asking to take my picture (or just taking it thinking I didn't know about it). It is very amusing to me. A man walked up with his baby daughter and pointed to her and asked if I would take a picture with her. They must have been from a small village and aren't used to seeing "foreigners". Of course I said yes, and only one picture, but then he introduced me to his wife and then somehow the whole family was in the picture. Me towering over them. Too bad I didn't get their email address (hehe) to see how it turned out.
The rest of the weekend was okay, we visited the Red Fort in Agra and another fort on the way back to Jaipur, but the Taj Mahal visit was the best.
Here are some of the pics from the weekend.
https://picasaweb.google.com/sachagoodson/TajMahalTrip?authkey=Gv1sRgCLTJmsS_opDdnQE#
We stopped at a UNESCO World Heritage bird sanctuary on the drive up for a couple hours. This was awesome! Charo, Pawel and I rented bikes and had a guide take us around. We saw a python in the wild, lots of birds, parakeets, cows, egrets, storks, antelope. It's on the edge of the desert, but in the rainy season is flooded. It's a migratory point for a lot of large birds from Russia to escape the cold winters. It was probably in the upper 90s but felt great to ride a bike and get out of the city and best of all not to hear any cars honking!
It was built over a 22 year period (11 years is good luck, so was a multiple of 11) from 1631-1653. It is a mausoleum that houses the remains of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's wife. She died giving birth to her 14th child and on her deathbed she asked him to build something to remember her by and to never marry again. He took this to heart and spent the rest of his life fulfilling her request. The purpose for which it was built was eternal love, but the way it was built is also very interesting.
It is located on the banks of the Yamuna River in Agra, right after a bend in the river. There is no coincidence to the location or how it was built. At the time, this location in Agra was said to be the most geologically sound in India. The ground was said to be more stable because it on the strongest part (curve) of the river. The basement contains wells filled with wood and stone, which are to help absorb shock in the event of an earthquake. Also the outer minarets are at a 91 degree angle outward, in the event of an earthquake they wouldn't fall on the dome. Quite fascinating if you think about it, because this was all architected and built by hand. Each piece of marble was carefully carved and inlayed with local stone. An art form that is still practiced today.
We visited on a Saturday afternoon along with thousands and thousands of other tourists, most of them from India. If you look close you can see them all lined up along the base of the platform.
We spent a couple hours just walking around, taking pictures and learning the history from our guide. The line to go inside was wrapped all the way around the building, so we decided to not go inside and enjoy the sunset instead. It was quite beautiful, with the marble reflecting the pink and orange colors and the silhouette of the building and minarets against the sky being so distinct. Definitely a highlight of my trip here, a magical place.
And of course, a weekend wouldn't be complete without people asking to take my picture (or just taking it thinking I didn't know about it). It is very amusing to me. A man walked up with his baby daughter and pointed to her and asked if I would take a picture with her. They must have been from a small village and aren't used to seeing "foreigners". Of course I said yes, and only one picture, but then he introduced me to his wife and then somehow the whole family was in the picture. Me towering over them. Too bad I didn't get their email address (hehe) to see how it turned out.
The rest of the weekend was okay, we visited the Red Fort in Agra and another fort on the way back to Jaipur, but the Taj Mahal visit was the best.
Here are some of the pics from the weekend.
https://picasaweb.google.com/sachagoodson/TajMahalTrip?authkey=Gv1sRgCLTJmsS_opDdnQE#
We stopped at a UNESCO World Heritage bird sanctuary on the drive up for a couple hours. This was awesome! Charo, Pawel and I rented bikes and had a guide take us around. We saw a python in the wild, lots of birds, parakeets, cows, egrets, storks, antelope. It's on the edge of the desert, but in the rainy season is flooded. It's a migratory point for a lot of large birds from Russia to escape the cold winters. It was probably in the upper 90s but felt great to ride a bike and get out of the city and best of all not to hear any cars honking!
Hi Sacha, I really enjoyed your descriptions and photographs of the Taj Mahal......and your bike trip to the bird sanctuary. Just the thought of it brings me a nice feeling. That would certainly be my joy instead of honking cars! I am so happy for you that you are experiencing this amazing adventure. Are you still working with impoverished people? I think that this is your reason for being there, right?
ReplyDeleteI see that you checked out my blog. I really hate the original page and title. I don't know if you checked out the new one which has a new title
and address. connectionsinlife.blogspot.com I've figured out how to edit BEFORE I post.....and I am certainly editing and editing. (hehe) I am working on my second post.