The Taj Mahal

After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we headed out to see the Taj Mahal.  Ved took us to a parking area where we hired a horse-drawn rickshaw to take us the last half-mile to the gate.  Steve bought our tickets, which included 2 bottles of water (warm) and paper covers for our shoes. I was mobbed by hawkers while waiting in the rickshaw, but I'm okay with that.  After awhile they started imitating my "No thank you" refrain. 

We had hired a guide, Aboshek, who was quite knowledgeable.  He made sure we noticed the little details:  The towers -- minarets really -- on the corners are tilted slightly so they look straight from a distance.  They were once open to the public but had to be closed because they attracted too many suicidal lovers.  The black calligraphy is bigger at the top than the bottom so it looks even from the bottom.  The black-and-white chevron striping is flat, but it creates a 3-D illusion.  The marble is inlaid with precious stones that glow in light.  The whole thing is completely symmetrical except for the emperor's tomb, which was added after it was finished.

The emperor didn't want the marble workers to create another Taj when his was done, so he made them promise never to work again. According to Aboshek, he could have cut off their hands, but instead he created a village for them and provided for all their needs. Although they couldn't work themselves, they taught the stone-working arts to their children, who carry on the tradition today.  This romantic little tale turned out to be the start of a sales pitch.  We didn't buy.

It was very hot, over 100 degrees, and humid. If you look closely at the picture of us above, you'll see sweat running down my face. And that photo was taken right aftger we got there. When we got up to the monument itself we had a choice of removing our shoes or donning the shoe covers. We went barefoot; the dark stone in front of the monument was HOT but the white marble was nice and cool.

When we were finished looking at the monument itself, we put our shoes back on and strolled through a shady garden. What a relief!

Despite the free botles of water & shoe covers, I am happy to say that we saw no litter at the Taj Mahal.