September 11, 2010

Saturday, we decided that we would wear our saris and the men would wear Sherwani, which is what Indian men wear during weddings for special occasions when we visited the Taj Mahal. So we got up really early yo get dressed. We were going to the Taj from 6-8am since at 8am admission is free and there are also prayers at the mosque. Since admission is free from 8-10am everyone starts showing up so we decided to go earlier and avoid the huge crowds. It was so nice going when it wasn't crowded. It was nice to be there again because no matter how many times you see it, it is still beautiful. Also, this time I didn't take as many pictures and I was able to enjoy it more. After the Taj we went back to the hotel to eat breakfast. After breakfast four of us went shopping since we had two & 1/2 hours of relaxing. I got 8 sets of bangles for friends. The guy wanted 200 Rupees for a set of 12 bangles & I bargained with him and only paid 40 Rupees for each set. After that we came back & I took a nap for an hour and then packed up my stuff.

We left the hotel around 12:30 and we went to the Agra Fort. This was another place I visited before. The Agra Fort was built by Akbar between 1565 and 1573. Akbar's son Jehangir built a building also in the Fort, and Shah Jahan (had the Taj built for his wife) also had his own building in the Fort. Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in the fort. However the building he stayed in was made out of marble, so it wasn't much of a prison. It is rumored that he died in Muasamman Burj, a tower with a marble balcony with an excellent view of the Taj. All around the Fort you can see the Taj across the Yumana River.

After the Agra Fort we went to eat lunch at a nice South Indian Restaurant. Then we went to Itmad-ud-Daula's Tomb. The tomb was commissioned by Nur Jahan, the wife of Jahangir, for her father Mirza Ghiyas Beg. The Tomb is made of marble and it is sometimes called the "Baby Taj" since both are made out of marble. The Tomb it beautiful and behind it is the Yumana River. After the Tomb we went to the Mehtab Bagh or Moonlight Garden. The garden is north of the Taj across from the Yumana River. You can see great shots of the back of the Taj and the Yumana River. It is also peaceful, however when we were there, there were a lot of locals because it was Id. After that we went to the train station and our train left around 8:30 and we got to Delhi around 10:40pm. It was a tiring but great weekend.