"A teardrop on the cheek of eternity" - Rabindranath Tagore
"The embodiment of all things pure" - Rudyard Kipling
"It makes the sun and moon shed tears from their eyes" - Emperor Shah Jahan (creator)
In reality, it is not all romance: the awful smell of holy river Yamuna, annoying touts, endless security checks and mass crowds (getting there before dawn does not help), but...once in your life, you must visit the Taj Mahal - tomb of Emperor Shah Jahan's beloved Mumtaz Mahal!
A cliche, but it is more beautiful and impressive than you can imagine.
Some facts:
- It took 22 years and 20,000 workers to built the Taj Mahal. Just when it finished, Emperor Shah Jahan was imprisoned in the (also very impressive Red Fort) by one of his sons.
- The 40m high minarets are leaning slightly outwards so that they do not crush the Taj in the event of an earthquake.
- It is a myth (or better no evidence was found) that Emperor Shah Jahan started construction of a black Taj for himself.
- Symmetry was eveything, so when a mosque was built on the west side, an identical building had to be constructed on the east side (it was used for royal guests)
- The marble is translucent and the inlaid red stones light up and sparkle in sunlight
- The guides are hopeless romantics and wannabe photographers...they make you jump, hug amd grab taj mahal....
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Agra, India
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