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Early morning pick up from our hotel in Delhi by Vijay! The first stop was Agra! Unfortunately it was a very rainy and misty day so we decided to start at Agra fort in the morning and leave the Taj Mahal for the afternoon.
Agra was the capital of the Mughal empire in the 16th century. It has trademark mughal architecture including the famous Taj Mahal. A number of the great emperors ruled from here. The fort is still very impressive and well preserved and normally has great views to the Taj Mahal on the opposite bank.
In the afternoon the weather improved slightly and we made our way to the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal. Building began in 1632 and it was completed around 1653. It combines Persian, Indian and Muslim architectural styles to give rise to a magnificient monument built of white marble and semi-precious stones. Legend has it that the workers hands were cut off after building was complete, so that they could not make another one as beautiful. The central focus is the tomb, and the complex is surrounded by a beautiful garden and additional monuments largely composed of red sandstone. Despite expectations from slumdog millionaire everything was run very well. At first view the Taj Mahal was stunning. The marble shone magnificently despite the dull day. We posed for lots of photos and everyone got a chance to sit on the famous bench before being moved along by a man with a whistle! Locals left their shoes outside on racks but we were given plastic covers to put on. We went inside the mausoleum to see the tomb. It was very dark and crowded, as we circled the intricately carved marble casket.
On the drive from Agra we stopped at Fatehpur Sikri which was also a capital of the Mughal empire for a while, during Akbar's reign. The Royal Palace housed public and private audience halls, seperate quaters for each of Akbar's wives from each of the 3 religions, and his own living quarters. There was even a separate vegetarian kitchen for his Hindu wife Jodh Bai. The buildings are all perfectly preserved and walking around the palace gave a real sense of life as a Mughal emperor.
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