Agra: Taj Mahal, Agra Fort

Village near Mehtab Bagh Park
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October 14, 2007 / Delhi – Agra

We were picked up at 5am to go to the train station for the early morning super fast air-conditioned train to Agra. The 2 hour train ride was uneventful. We were met by our guide Vipul and our driver Rakesh. Rakesh will be our driver until we take the train from jaipur to Delhi. He told us he drove President Clinton’s staff when Clinton visited India.

We took our luggage to the hotel, and headed out for our sightseeing. During this drive I noticed people living in tents along side of the road and cooking over wood. Many people were transporting goods by carrying them on their heads, or on pushcarts or bike carts. We saw some road work using bricks. Donkeys had saddle bags on their backs with bricks in the saddles. It was like something from another era.

Village near Mehtab Bagh Park
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First we visited Akbars Mausoleum. It is made of sandstone and marble and commemorates the greatest of all the Mughal emperors. The tomb is in the center of a peaceful garden where we saw deer grazing, peacocks, parakeets and moneys.

Next on to the Itimad-ud-Daulah Baby Taj which is the tomb of Mizra Ghiyas Beg, a Persian Nobleman, was built between 1622 and 1628. It is the first Mughal structure totally built from marble.

Next we went to Mehtab Bagh, a park from which you can enjoy a wonderful view of the back of the Taj. Chris climbed under the fence and walked down to the river to take pictures. This place was the planned site of a 2^nd “Black Taj” but it was never built because the shah’s son thought it was a waste of money and killed him.

Street in Agra
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We went back to our hotel to have lunch, then on to see the magnificent Taj Mahal - one of the seven wonders of the world surely the most extravagant expression of love ever created. 20,000 men labored for over 17 years to build this memorial to Shah Jahan's beloved wife. It is built of marble and inlaid black and grey onyx. It is totally symmetrical.

Lastly for the day we visited the Agra Fort – the rusty and majestic red-sandstone fort of Agra stands on the banks of the river Yamuna and the construction was started by Emperor Akbar in 1566. At the Diwan-I-Am (hall of public audience), a colonnaded hall of red-sandstone with a throne alcove of inlaid marble at the back, the Emperor heard public petitions. At the Diwan-I-Khas (hall of private audience) where marble pavilions with floral inlays lend an ethereal ambience, the Emperor sat on his gem-studded Peacock Throne and met foreign ambassadors and rulers of friendly kingdoms.

Our Hotel in Agra
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Trident Hilton: Delux garden view room http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/AGRTRHI-Trident-Hilton-Agra-hotel/index.do