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Published: October 7th 2017
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The drive to the Taj Mahal was a lot easier at 6 am. The mausoleum is every bit as impressive as in its pictures (look it up on the web) and there were beautiful reflections in the watercourses that divide the gardens in front. There is a magnificent gateway in front and also two grand red sandstone buildings that mirror each other, and face the sides of the tomb. The western building is a mosque which is still in use and the other is thought to have been constructed for architectural balance although it may have been used as a guest house. When it was built the river came right up to the back of the building but is is now much shrunken. Although the Yamuna River is sacred, it is not very well looked after. Our guide was eloquent on the subject and on the unprepossessing state of Agra itself, he seemed to have quite progressive views. We walked round the replica of the tomb of the queen Mumtaz, the actual tomb is underground, but you can’t linger as even at that time there are many visitors, a lot of whom were Indian. As we walked around the huge platform
we appreciated the enormous scale of the building and its minarets.
We returned to the hotel for breakfast then went to see the famous Red Fort which is like a walled city. It was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal dynasty until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. It had two moats with crocodiles for protection and massive walls. It looks across to the Taj Mahal and is just as impressive in a different way. It was a huge complex, the outer part being built of red sandstone but much of the interior and courtyards built of white marble. There was originally elaborate interior decoration but very little of this is now visible. The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, creator of the Taj Mahal, was deposed and imprisoned in this fort.
Not long after leaving Agra we came to the area of Fatehpur Sikri where there is another large palace which our driver said we should visit. We had plenty of time so we thought we should see as much as possible while we were there. Near the palace is a parking area and you take a little bus to get there. It
is in a somewhat similar style to the Red Fort but without the large enclosing walls, and with a unique decorative style comprising mogul, hindu and christian elements as the shah who built it had three wives, one of each of these religions. They all had separate quarters of course. Unfortunately Dave began to feel unwell so he sat down while Tamara looked at some more of it, but we had to cut short our visit. The guide did his best to get us on a bus quickly, but the people in it who looked like muslims threw him and us off and we had to wait for another bus.
There was not much we could do until we got to the lunch place where Dave disappeared into the toilet and Tamara waited hopefully to be served, but they would not take an order until Dave came back and sat down, though he could not eat anything. The samosas were fine but the people only got a small tip as Tamara felt quite badly treated. This was the only place where the service was not very good. We carried on to Jaipur and by the time we arrived at
the hotel Dave was feeling rather better. It was also a very nice hotel and even had a bath.
We were staying in the new part of Jaipur which has wide tree lined streets, fine modern buildings and prides itself on being clean and green – not a cow in sight. The older part of Jaipur is the pink city and all buildings have to be built or plastered with red sandstone. Even the flyover was pink. The driver told us that Jaipur was one of the first three planned cities in India .This was another place where you had to drive through a horrible slum to get to it, and the driver said this was the home of people who were displaced at the time of the partition of India and Pakistan.
We had a good rest and then went down to dinner. Dinner and breakfast are normally buffet at these hotels, with a wonderful choice of dishes, although they also have a restaurant where you can eat a la carte. We had been told that Indian four star hotels are equivalent to western three star but that is not the case, these hotels were genuinely four
star. Dave was feeling sufficiently recovered to eat something despite dire warnings from his better half, but all was well and we had quite a peaceful night ready for lots more sightseeing the next day.
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