Be the change you want to see in the world -Gandhi

The Taj Mahal

Our second day in Agra brought us to the Taj Mahal. THE one and only Taj Mahal. Still I cannot believe that I actually was there. It was absolutely as majestic as everything written about it.

We were some of the first to arrive when we got there about 6am. We wanted to go early to beat the crowds and hopefully see some beautiful sunrise colors reflected on the white marble of the buildings.

At first, we could hardly even make out the Taj Mahal through the fog,

but we positioned ourselves in prime seats on the steps at the opposite end of the reflection pool and waited.

About 45 minutes after we got there - the light is starting to build

It was a little cold waiting in the fog, but the beauty made up for the cold.

Unfortunately we didn't get much of a sunrise and the fog never totally cleared, but it was still neat to see the grounds and building emerge from the fog.

It became clearer and clearer with each passing minute

Though tourists came from every corner of the globe (including some Thais we met along the way) we soon learned that most of the tourists to the Taj Mahal are Indians.

an Indian family comes for a visit to the famous Taj Mahal

each day thousands of Indians visit the Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal was constructed between 1631 and 1654 by the Mughal Emperor Shan Jahan as a mausoleum (tomb) for his favorite wife, Arjumand Bano Begum. He loved her so much that he spent a huge amount of his kingdom's money, used thousands of workers and many years to construct this beautiful white marble tomb for his wife. The grounds is actually entirely symmetrical except for his coffin (placed to the left of hers, which is perfectly in the center) which was added after his plans for a mirror image Taj Mahal in black marble across the river were abandoned due to lack of funds.

The Taj Mahal complex actually consists of several buildings. The center building is what most people think of when they think of the Taj. The white marble building which serves as the mausoleum. On each side of this main building, however, stand mosques. They are simple and not enclosed, but beautiful.