Taj Mahal, Red Fort & Rugs!

The long awaited Taj Mahal! We arrived at opening (sunrise) and after a pretty chaotic bag scan, made our way through the floral gemstone embossed doorway. The low morning sun was streaming across giving the 3 domes a sort of halo effect. It really was an amazing sight.
We learned the Taj Mahal was built by the 5th Mughal emperor Shah Jahan Mumtaz as a last promise to his dying wife in 1631 (and symbol of his love and commitment for her). 20,000 people were employed for it’s construction, and work was completed 22 years later in 1653, costing a total of 30 million rupees, making the Taj Mahal the most expensive building of the time. It now houses the remains of them both. Interestingly, the foundation was built with 82 water wells/floating wood pieces to act as shock absorbers against earthquakes. The central dome is 82m top to bottom, and was difficult to construct due to the heavy marble blocks. In the absence of cranes and machinery, a 1km long ramp was made to get the marble to such a height, carried by camel/elephant.

After breakfast, we also visited The Red Fort before it got too hot.
Agra was the longest serving Mughal capital, and is an excellent example of the fusion of Muslim and Hindu architecture of the time. It had some really cool defensive architecture including a mote, an S curve entrance (to stop war elephants gaining speed to break down the doors), a sloped entryway for rolling rocks and pouring hot oil down to make the hill slippy, etc.

After lunch, a few of us opted to visit an authentic rug making shop, which is actually subsidised by the government to keep the hand craft alive. There’s a 500 year old tradition of rug making in Agra, and the intricacies of the craft were fascinating. Due to the complexity individuals/families usually work on 1 pattern throughout their life and memorise this. I proudly managed to resist blowing my savings on the softest most beautiful cashmere, pashmina and woollen rugs I’ve ever laid eyes on.

Fabulous evening at Molecule - amazing food and spontaneous dancing from 9pm! Bangra/Shakira mash ups, a conga line and the Macarena with new friends. A great time had by all!Read more