Agra and around - more than just the Taj Mahal
Trip Start
Oct 09, 2008
1
7
10
Trip End
Jan 16, 2009
Agra,
Uttar Pradesh,
India
Friday, December 12, 2008
Agra, the capital of Uttar Pradesh province in India is revered and feared by travellers alike.
On one hand it houses numerous architercural and artistic treasures from the Mughal era roundabout the 17th century. On the other hand it's pesky people homebase.
But we never really had any problems of a serious nature and in fact met some very lovely Indians there.
Now we started off securing a hotel with rooftop views of the Taj. This isn't entirely necessary at this season as there are plenty of cheap eateries with Taj view (our favourite being "join us" with an enjoyable old man serving up the excellent food). Also the smog and fog tend to be so dense that even from a few 100m away you can't make out the Taj fotogenically enough for most of the day. And it's not illuminated at night either. But we were still happy with the Saniya Palace hotel in Taj Ganj. The big advantage is that we could stroll to the Taj on foot and always had a rikshaw at our doorstep that could drive us to where we wanted.
Now the Taj Mahal is truly incredible. As you can tell from the photos, Gine wore her newly tailored silk Punjabi and that together with her still quite strong Henna was the perfect foreground motive to one of the seven wonders of the world. The Taj was built roundabout 1630 as a mausoleum to Mumtaz Mahal, the favourite wife of Maharaja (meaning "great king") Shah Jahan. This chap liked to invest in white marble and so crafted this massive monument out of the substance. The architecture is ingenious, the sturdy structure likely to withstand major earthquakes and if one of the 4 minarets should collapse they're all angled outward slightly so they don't fall directly on the Taj. Light comes into the palace through pierced marble called "pietra dura": intricately patterned window screens are carved out of the marble slabs. The most beautiful such work is the fencing around Mumtaz' and Shah Jahan's marble cascets inside the tomb. Local craftsmen created marble inlay work of the most impressive nature, creating inside the tomb (where we only snuck one secret photo) the appearances of stunning three-dimensional flowers. This place is an absolute must-see and worth a trip to India alone.
We went in for the early light penetrating through the fog and were the first ones in. In the evening I came back (my ticket wasn't stamped) and so I also ended up being the last one out. Given the masses it takes a bit of patience to get a good classic snap, but we had a lot of fun in the process. Around dusk I had a little chat to the patrolling bomb disposal staff. They were going around with a classic beachside ground metal detector and a stick to poke at any unidentified objects. They did say they had more gear stashed away should they have a bomb alarm. Somewhat moe consoling than all the turned-off metal detectors at train stations and the security guards armed with bamboo sticks that so far were the hallmark of heightened national security levels...
Next stop was Agra fort, as sandstne behemoth of a palace that changed owners along with the rest of northern India through the cenuries. Most of it was built under the great Akbar with white marble (what else) additions by Shah Jahan. Sadly he'd just completed the Taj Mahal after 15 yrs of building when his son Aurangzheb usurped him (rumour has it this was because of overspending). Shah Jahan was then locked in his own ivory (i.e. marble) tower in the fort from where he could peer over the river (if there was no fog...) to his wife's grave before joining her there 8 yrs later. The fort is certainly worth a visit aespecially for the beautiful marbel inlays.
We also visited the "Baby Taj", a memorial to Mumtaz Mahal's grandfather built from (guess...) white marble with some intricate inlay work predating the glory of the Taj. Well worth a visit and much more tranquil than it's big cousin.
Then we went to Akbar's tomb, yet again a marble and red sandstone masterpiece with beautiful designs painted on the inside walls.
Not far from Agra lies Fatehpur Sikri, briefly the capital of Akbar's empire for a meagre 14 yrs it houses an impressive mosque with way too many touts, salespeople and begging children for it's own good. That's one of the disadvantages of free admission to sites. As it's a working mosque anyone can get in to prey on visitors. Nextdoor you pay entry to get into the local palace which is nice and relaxing, but not totally mind-blowing.
Next stop on the way North was Bharatpur, a small town with a fort, but most notable for it's world heritage bird park, one of the world's prime birdwatching spots. And boy was this a great place! We stayed at the friendly Kiran guest house. One of the proprietors is also an experienced naturalist and took us on a bike tour throught the park. We saw a huge python, several jackals, countless antilopes and deer, a monitor lizard and birds in a quantity and variety we have never before experienced. 3 types of stork with painted storks nesting in large colonies, sarus cranes, ibises, spoonbills, owls, eagles, peafowl and 100s of different smaller birds in such abundance throughout the various vegetation zones that we just didn't know where to look first! What a great birthday present from Regine!
Next stop Delhi, we're shivering somehwat in glum expectation expecting the epitome of in-you-face India...we shall see!
Comments
Happy Birthday
Hallo Peter,
lese gerade von 'dem schönsten Geburtstagsgeschenk'. Das klingt doch glatt als hätte ich da was vergessen. Also alles Gute und Liebe nachträglich zum Geburtstag!!!
Dicke Umarmung
Alex