When we woke this morning and found it pouring rain we thought we could not go to the Taj in such weather. Upon checking with Deepa, the owner of delhimagic.com the company that we worked with to plan this trip and who has provided our car and driver and guides, we learned that the Taj is not open tomorrow, Friday, the Muslim holy day. It was today or never. So off we went.
The Taj Mahal is actually a tomb built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died after the birth of their 14th child.. More than 20,000 workers from India, Persia (Iran), Europe and the Ottoman Empire, along with some 1,000 elephants, were brought in to build the mausoleum complex which took 20 years to complete.
I'm sure most of us have seen many pictures of the Taj Mahal and I realized today I had only seen pictures of it in bright sunlight. I was amazed at how mystical and beautiful it was rising in the mist.
The Taj Mahal is actually a tomb built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died after the birth of their 14th child.. More than 20,000 workers from India, Persia (Iran), Europe and the Ottoman Empire, along with some 1,000 elephants, were brought in to build the mausoleum complex which took 20 years to complete.
I'm sure most of us have seen many pictures of the Taj Mahal and I realized today I had only seen pictures of it in bright sunlight. I was amazed at how mystical and beautiful it was rising in the mist.
Once you pass through security you enter the outer court. The entrance to the inner court is what you see in the distance.
One side of the inner courtyard.
My first glimpse of this magnificent building rising out of the mist.
Looking back at the entrance to the inner court
As we came closer, it became clearer in the mist.
To each side is a building that looks like this. One is a mosque and the other simply for balance.
The front entrance with verses from the Quran above and on each side.
Each view is filled with balance and intricacy
The main entrance . Visitors enter and circle the center "tombs" though the bodies of Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal, are actually buried at ground level under this entry. Non Indian residents pay a higher entrance fee. There is a perk with this. A separate line much shorter than for Indian Nationals.
The back of the Taj faces the Yamuna River.
I remember going to the Taj Mahal in the month of June when it was 46 degrees celsius outside. It felt so hot on the white marble. And we were so incredibly thirsty. But what a beautiful experience. And then the presence of the Jumna (or Yamuna river), sacred of course, with time having stopped there... :-)
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