The Sights of Agra

After a long and bumpy bus ride, we made it to Agra where we immediately did some sightseeing before the day ended. We visited Fatehpur Sikri--a beautiful ancient palace that was built by the Mughal Empire in the late 1500's. It was built for the purpose of being the capital of Agra, but because of complications with the water system, it was abandoned and untouched for hundreds of years. It is made out of red sandstone which deteriorates easily but it has been restored over the years since it is a big tourist attraction. They also try to keep the palace under safe environmental conditions and won't allow vehicles running on gasoline nearby so we had to take a special type of bus to get to it.

Day 3

We were suppose to head to the Taj Mahal in the morning, but due to the typical dense fog of Agra, we postponed that for the afternoon in hopes that the weather would clear up by then. With that, we started the morning off at the Agra Fort which is another beautiful fortress with two mosques inside that was once home to Mughal rulers. After about the hundredth time that our tour guide said "Mughal" (it's pronounced like muggle), I asked him who they were--just to clarify that he wasn't making a weird Harry Potter reference. He explained that the Mughal Empire refers to the Muslim dynasty that were descendants of the Mongol region that ruled most of India from the 16th to 19th century. 

Our tour guide told us that from the look out point in the picture above, you could see the Taj Mahal in the distance. I laughed, thinking he was joking to make us look silly trying to squint looking for it. Thanks to the internet, I found the picture below that shows the view on a clear day...I guess he was telling the truth!

To continue to stall time in hopes of the fog disappearing, we spent some time at one of the malls in the area. I bought a traditional Indian dress--I believe it's called a kameez--and a bunch of people in the group purchased some Indian snacks to try. We also had to be curious Americans and stopped in McDonald's to scope out the beef-free menu. I wasn't feeling that daring so I just ordered some coffee. Surprisingly, everyone seemed to enjoy what they ordered.

After this, we headed towards the Taj Mahal. Before the trip, all I knew about the Taj Mahal was that it is one of the new seven wonders of the world, so it was interesting to learn the story behind the famous building. Shah Jahan, a prince, fell in love and married a Muslim princess named Mumtaz. Shah soon became the Emperor and over time, Mumtaz became extremely ill. While she was passing away, Shah promised her that he would never remarry and, in honor of her and their love, he would build the most beautiful mausoleum surrounding her grave. After 22 years and over 20,000 workers, the Taj Mahal was completed. Inside the main door under the largest gate is the grave where both tombs remain. How's that for a love story?

The symmetry of the building is perfect and is a great representation of Mughal architecture. To the left of the Taj Mahal, there is a mosque that is still used for prayer. Upon first seeing the Taj, I had complete chills. It's such an amazing experience to see something in person after hearing so much about it beforehand.

 We were not allowed to take pictures inside, so the above picture of the tombs was found online.

After the busy day in Agra, we got back on our bus and headed back towards Delhi for the night.