Worth the trip

Agra's a pain to get to, but it's so worth the trip. We splurged on the hotel, spending three nights in luxury, and took it pretty easy during the day, spending a few hours at the major sites and then coming back for a swim or a nap. The life!

We started with Agra Fort, since it was a Friday and the Taj Mahal was closed. We were careful to behave sweetly toward our co-visitors. I don't think we misused any drinking water, either.

Agra Fort is gorgeous and has a fascinating history. Here we are in the Hall of Public Audiences, where Shah Jahan received "commoners."

This is Samuel's "tough" stance.

Among our fellow commoners were a Bollywood star and her family, escorted by a couple of security guards and throngs of adoring fans. Some of these fans were apparently concerned that we were unaware of the greatness before us, because people kept coming up to us and explaining in hushed tones that the woman with the green handbag was Madhuri Dixit and those were her kids and that was her husband and they'd spent some time living in America but were back in Mumbai now etc., etc. I nodded solemnly and thanked them for the information. I was a little afraid I was going to laugh, but I controlled myself. See? Sweet behaviour.

At the mention of Bollywood, John got a little excited and was able to snap this photo of the power family. We later found out that they were staying at our hotel. A brush with fame! (John says we walked right past them leaving the restaurant. How did I miss this?)

We had our own paparazzi problem to deal with, as usual. After a year of people pinching their cheeks and trying to take their pictures, the kids have lost most of their patience for all the attention. People can be pretty sly about it, though.

There was something about this family from Iran that captured Samuel's interest. The camera, maybe? We saw them again the next day at the Taj Mahal, and I was a little afraid Samuel might just head home with them.

If you look closely in the center of this photo, you can see the Taj Mahal across the river. This was part of the palace where Shah Jahan was imprisoned after his son usurped him.

Shah Jahan's harem lived in a labyrinth of rooms and tunnels under this courtyard. When Johnny heard that, he wouldn't rest until he'd tried every door in the courtyard, looking for a way inside. It's closed up, partly for safety and partly because no one's been able to make sense of the complex.

When we came in December, we had to squint and peer through the terrible winter air to see the Taj Mahal from the fort, but this time we had a clear view.

We found these carved sandstone screens in an older part of the fort, Jahangir's Palace.

We kept hearing bats inside the screens, and as we were peering in to see them one made things easier for us and came out to say hello.

On the way to lunch we passed these bulls fighting right in the middle of one of Agra's major intersections. Some people paused to watch but most just drove right around it. Nothing to see here. Just your everyday street fight.

After lunch we stopped at a shop where artisans were creating (and selling, of course) some of the marble and precious stone inlay work for which Agra is famous. The Taj Mahal and some of Agra Fort are decorated with precious and semi-precious stones inlaid into marble, mostly in floral patterns. Read about it here and here.

Two people work on each piece, one shaping the stones and one cutting the impressions into the marble.



Shaping the stones

Cutting the marble. They paint over the marble with a red or brown watercolor, trace the design in the dried paint, and then cut shallow indentations for the stones.

Here we are admiring one of the shop's marble tabletops. Very beautiful and very expensive. In fact, I was a little nervous about the kids running around this shop. The shopkeeper kept handing them pieces of marble to look at (and magnifying glasses with which to study the workmanship) and throwing smaller tabletops on the floor so Samuel could run over them and prove their sturdiness. Ack!

We did end up making a few purchases, including our anniversary gift to us. It's a beautiful tray inlaid with lapis lazuli and mother of pearl ... just the marble piece we've been watching for and gorgeous.

Day 2 in Agra was all about the Taj Mahal. I've visited it twice now and teared up (not exactly cried) both times. The view as you enter the Great Gate is breathtaking! I just love it. Here we are looking hot and tired but happy to be there.

It rained both days that we were in Agra (that's what we get for traveling during the monsoon) but only in the early morning and evening. That meant we could still enjoy the sites, and the rain cooled things down a little bit. It was insanely humid, but I guess we can't have everything.

We had hoped the crowds would be thinner, since it's not peak tourist season for Agra, but no luck there. I wonder if there's ever a time when the Taj Mahal isn't crowded?

Here we are admiring our fancy booties, getting ready to climb up to the mausoleum.

Some of the inlay work on the outside of the mausoleum

Tourism is serious business ...

We overheard a guide telling a group about this cool optical illusion on the outside of the building. There are only four flat surfaces on this column (it's clearer at the base), but the pattern of inlay work makes it look like there are eight surfaces.

Here's where some of the stones have fallen (or been pried) out. You can see the cement used to secure the stones.

We caught this unusual view from the gardens near the museum. If you ever get to the Taj Mahal, don't miss the museum. It's small, but interesting. It's also a haven from the crowds and the heat.

Here's a view from inside the Jawab, the sandstone building that was built to mirror the mosque that's on the other side of the Taj Mahal.

And this view is from the roof of our hotel. Don't worry, it was an observation deck. No one's scaling walls or anything. I love this view, because it catches some of the craziness that is Agra, crowned by the magnificence of the Taj Mahal. I think of it as a metaphor for India itself: chaos punctuated by dazzling bits of beauty, culture and history.

Speaking of beauty, check out these mustachioed marvels! We snapped this photo of two of the hotel's doormen just as we embarked on our long drive to Jaipur. More adventures to come!