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We were forced to get up before sunrise by our guide 'to ensure' we got the best light to see India's most famous landmark, the Taj Mahal.
Constructed between 1631 and 1654 by a workforce of 22 000, the Taj Mahal was built by the Muslim Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his favourite wife, Arjumand Bano Begum, better known as Mumtz Mahal. Mumtz had already borne the emperor fourteen children when she died in childbirth, and it is the romantic origin of the Taj as much as its architectural splendour that has led to its fame worldwide. Actually an integrated complex of many structures, the Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, itself a combination of Islamic, Hindu, Persian and Turkish elements.
Ditching Serge who wasn't interested in this part and still very tired from his man flu! I rode one of the ubiquitous cycle rickshaws to visit the Red Fort. This walled palatial city was first taken over by the Moghuls, at that time led by Akbar the Great, in the late 16th century. Akbar liked to build from red sandstone, often inlaid with white marble and intricate decorations, and it was during his reign that the fort began changing into more of a royal estate.
However, it was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan (who would eventually build the Taj Mahal) that the site finally took on its current state. Unlike his grandfather, Shah Jahan preferred buildings made from white marble, often inlaid with gold or semi-precious gems, and he destroyed some earlier buildings inside the fort in order to build others in his own style. At the end of his life Shah Jahan was imprisoned in the fort by his son, Aurangazeb. It is said that Shah Jahan died in Muasamman Burj, a tower with a marble balcony , with an excellent view of the Taj Mahal.
The fort was also a site of one of the most important battles of the Indian rebellion of 1857, which caused the end of the British East India Company's rule in India, leading to a century of direct rule of India by Britain.
In the late morning or early afternoon we returned to nasty, smelly, noisy Delhi, via Sikandra (Akbar's Mausoleum), with one final opportunity to shop and be attacked by hawkers.
That evening we shared a final farewell dinner. Serge was brave enough to make a toast on behalf of the whole group and even thanked the guide in Hindi. A very cool end to an amazing trip!
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