Head South: seventh wonder - taj mahal (agra, uttar pradesh, india)

I am recently returned from another MBA trip, this time to India. Before classes started, I had the chance to tour (briefly) two prime sight-seeing spots in northern India: Agra and Jaipur.

Figured I would start with photos of the prime attraction: the Taj Mahal. I got to see it in the late afternoon, and we hung around through sunset. Another one of those surreal life experiences that I have been lucky to have so many of this year.

One thing that surprised me (in a good way!) was how many of the tourists were Indian. I asked one of my Indian classmates about it, and he said that there are different prices for Indian nationals. He explained that making a visit to the Taj Mahal is still a very expensive endeavor, and some of these families might be coming for the only time in their lives.

At popular tourist activities in South Africa and other African countries, to be honest, most of the people touring are white. I just heard something on the radio yesterday about a woman writing a letter of complaint to the City of Cape Town about prohibitive pricing on attractions like Robben Island and Table Mountain. Her argument was, simply stated, that she's never seen these amazing sights because they are too expensive, and now that she is getting older, she wishes she could go. I think she makes a fair point, especially for the Robben Island museum, which is something every South African should have the chance to see. A few parks in Rwanda had "national" and "foreign" pricing, as did the Genocide Museum, and it seemed to make a difference in the number of Rwandans we saw, especially at the museum in Kigali.

A brief history of the Taj: it was built between 1631 and 1648 by Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan. He founded Shahjahanabad (Old Delhi), amassed a huge fortune, and built a lot of monuments. He built the Taj as a burial monument to his favorite wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, who died in 1631 giving birth to their 13th child. For that reason, it's interpreted as a site recognizing true love.

After he built the Taj, Shah Jehan went a little off his rocker, and was pushed out of power by his son and essentially imprisoned in his rooms in the palace at Agra Fort, across the river from the monument (he had wanted to build a black version of the Taj as a burial site for himself. Instead his son buried him in the Taj after he died). He got to look out at it every day.

I'll also post more photos from the other major sights we saw, including Agra Fort (where the Mughal Emperor who built the Taj Mahal lived), as well as Jaipur.

Walking up to the gate at the Taj Mahal. From here, you can't see any of the actual building. The small arched doorways on the right that line this big courtyard were used as hotel rooms until not long ago, for people who wanted to come and see the Taj.

Facing the gate - excitement builds!

Our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal.

This is probably my favorite picture - from much later in the evening as the sun was getting low. But it was too good to bury at the end of the blog post! Click through for more.

Our tour guide was very excited about taking this photo for each of us! Had to do it.

One of my favorite things at the Taj was getting to enjoy the gardens. We arrived just prior to a visit from a dignitary, and the crowds were being held back, so our group was one of the last to enter and wander through this section of the park. We had it to ourselves - not a common thing at this incredibly popular monument, I gather.

Our group enjoying the tree-lined walk.

The stunning inlay and script. The designs are formed from precious and semi-precious gemstones, and the white marble is non-porous, from somewhere near Jaipur.