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Today was my last full day in India and I packed a lot in! I woke up early and jogged over to the queue for the Taj Mahal bright and early. Of course this is India so randomly one of the three gates (the one I picked to go to) was closed so I ran over the other gate but it made no difference - 6:00 or 6:05 there was no way I was going to be first inside as the book suggested (so you can hear the silence in the tomb - supposed to be stunning). There were tons of people in line. But we were all still in early and it was still nice to be there before it got too hot and while the light was still beautiful from the recent sunrise.
The Taj Mahal is much hyped in all the books and poetry. I have to agree its beautiful and it is very obvious how much thought went into the design (like putting the Taj on a raised platform so when you look at it all you see behind it is blue (theoretically) sky or building the towers surrounding it just a little turned out so in case they fall they won't hurt the main mausoleum) and the detail in the marble and inlaid stonework is impressive. But it is just a mausoleum and a nice garden. Maybe I have a hard time feeling romantic about a gift of love build by a man who killed his older siblings to obtain his position. Call me unromantic. The Taj is worth seeing if you are in the area and a relaxing and tranquil place compared to the surrounding city.
After a hearty brunch and a relaxing morning by the pool, I headed out for more sightseeing. Agra was the capital long before Delhi and has some great sights. I hired an air conditioned car and driver which made a huge difference. Much less hassle by hawkers and I came back not feeling totally exhausted.
First I went out to Fatehpur Sikri which was a city built by Akbar who was the great architect and statesman who rule India in the 1500s (and the grandfather of Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal). Akbar designed many of the great temples in the area (including a tomb for his father which is said to be the inspiration for the Taj - it is located in Delhi), was the first to use marble (which is much cooler than red sandstone, by the way - good choice here Akbar!) and who moved the capital to Delhi eventually.
Before moving to Delhi, Akbar built the city of Fatehpur Sikri outside where Agra is now. It is build entirely of red sandstone and is lovely. But the city's location was Akbar's one big mistake - there was not enough water to sustain teh city and it was abandoned after only 14 years. Today it is in great shape. You can see much of the palace, the outdoor parcheesi board where the emperor played with live 'pieces' and learned much about his guests by how they played, and the mosque which is still actively used. It was beautiful and interesting at Fatehpur but extremely hot. I see why the city was abandoned. I was so hot that I didn't even sweat, I was just dehydrating from the inside out like a prune =) I think the only time I've been hotter was in Chitchinitza, Mexico.
But I had time to cool off in my air conditioned car (good choice today!) before we returned to Agra and I went to the Agra Fort. From this location many rulers ruled India over the years, most recently and famously were Akbar, his son Jahangir (apparently his wife really did the ruling though, he was reported to be a bit of a drunk), his grandson Shah Jahan (who built the Taj) and then his great grandson Aurangzeb who killed his siblings and imprisoned his father in Fort Agra for the last few years of his life. He was imprisoned in a tower in the fort so that he had a view of the Taj Mahal and could mourn his wife every day. - Great family stories huh? Makes Shakespeare look boring.
Tonight I take the train back to Delhi but I won't even be in town for 6 hours before I head to the airport in the wee hours of the morning.
I'll post some pictures and write one last journal with some memories of my trip when I get home. I do have fond memories of my time in each country and loved traveling to all of them. I learned so much from my trip, about myself (like that I don't really like traveling alone that much =) and how to be more patient) about the politics, geography, history, and social dynamics of this part of the world, and even about Australia and America. One thing about traveling is that although you go to see the interesting things abroad, you also learn alot and appreciate home. So its time for me to go home. I can't wait!
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