Agra
Agra Day 1
The
Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays so I set off to the Red Fort. What a pleasure to
walk down pavements in relative peace but sad to realise it has only been
achieved by keeping out most of the locals. Walked past the outer walls of the
Taj Mahal, impressive in their own right with their own pagodas at the corners.
Obviously there has been a lot of restoration and at the side of the road were
men chipping away at large blocks of the red sandstone; it didn't look like the
technology has changed much in 400 years.
The way to the Red Fort took me through a bit of real Agra, but it still looked very civilised compared with most of the places I have been. The Red Fort itself was as impressive on the inside as the the massive red sandstone walls were from the outside. According to Wikipedia “Some 4,000 builders worked on it daily for eight years, completing it in 1573” Guess it didn't need approval from multiple planning committees. Inside were white marble palaces and mosques including quarters for a harem, including servants, of 5000. Lots of the marble is inlaid with coloured stones to create patterns and the workmanship is incredible.
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| East Gate of the Taj Mahal. No crowds since it is closed on Fridays |
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| One of the Pavilions at the corner of the wall |
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| Glimpse of the Taj Mahal |
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| Masonry techniques don't seem to have change much |
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| Manhandling a large slab of red sandstone |
The way to the Red Fort took me through a bit of real Agra, but it still looked very civilised compared with most of the places I have been. The Red Fort itself was as impressive on the inside as the the massive red sandstone walls were from the outside. According to Wikipedia “Some 4,000 builders worked on it daily for eight years, completing it in 1573” Guess it didn't need approval from multiple planning committees. Inside were white marble palaces and mosques including quarters for a harem, including servants, of 5000. Lots of the marble is inlaid with coloured stones to create patterns and the workmanship is incredible.
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| Massive Walls |
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| Entrance |
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| Inner Entrance Gate |
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| More Red Sandstone: Jahangiri Mahal |
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| More red Sandstone |
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| Doorway |
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| White Marble |
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| White Marble |
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| White Marble |
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| Incredible Craftsmanship |
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| Incredible Craftsmanship |
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| Incredible Craftsmanship |
The fort is home to lots of small brown and cream striped squirrels who seem far more nervous than the complacent fat grey squirrels that
have taken over the London Parks. Suspect that in India complacent squirrels
end up in the cooking pot.
After seeing all that was open to the public, much of the fort is occupied by the army, I attempted to walk round the river side but found myself on a busy major road with no pavements so decided to head back, past Agra Fort Station to the hotel where I relaxed with a beer and tried to book a train to Jaipur but the payment gateway is down so after filling all the details I got nowhere. Also tried to get money out of two ATMs near the hotel but neither of them work. One doesn't even recognise a card has been inserted; there are only four ways to insert a card into an ATM and I tried all of them. On the other ATM the touch screen was screwed, so despite tapping it, stroking it and caressing it, finally it times out. I find India incredibly frustrating; unlike Singapore or Japan, nothing works, and no one seems to care. Again, I tried to extend my stay at the hotel by one night but was told they were fully booked. Booking.com gave me a room at the hotel straight away. OK, maybe they work from a different quota but why didn't the man on the desk suggest it? I keep seeing advertisements for courses in Hotel Management but none of the people in hotels seem to have gone on them. End of the rant! On the plus side my laundry came back OK and I had dinner at Bob Marley's near Bamboo where they even have beer.
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| Squirrel |
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| Tuk tuks Galore Outside |
After seeing all that was open to the public, much of the fort is occupied by the army, I attempted to walk round the river side but found myself on a busy major road with no pavements so decided to head back, past Agra Fort Station to the hotel where I relaxed with a beer and tried to book a train to Jaipur but the payment gateway is down so after filling all the details I got nowhere. Also tried to get money out of two ATMs near the hotel but neither of them work. One doesn't even recognise a card has been inserted; there are only four ways to insert a card into an ATM and I tried all of them. On the other ATM the touch screen was screwed, so despite tapping it, stroking it and caressing it, finally it times out. I find India incredibly frustrating; unlike Singapore or Japan, nothing works, and no one seems to care. Again, I tried to extend my stay at the hotel by one night but was told they were fully booked. Booking.com gave me a room at the hotel straight away. OK, maybe they work from a different quota but why didn't the man on the desk suggest it? I keep seeing advertisements for courses in Hotel Management but none of the people in hotels seem to have gone on them. End of the rant! On the plus side my laundry came back OK and I had dinner at Bob Marley's near Bamboo where they even have beer.
Agra day 2
Got
up early and walked to what I believed was the Taj Mahal ticket counter at
Schlipgram but turned out they don't sell tickets there any more despite a big
sign saying "Tickets". So back past the hotel to the real booking
counter close to the East Gate. Buying the ticket, 1000 Rupees for foreigners, was
quick and easy apart from watching three
guys in the office studiously ignoring
me for a couple of minutes. Thought I was supposed to get a free bottle of
water and some shoe covers but only got the ticket. The hassle turned out to be
the long queue to get through the security check, pat down, bag X- ray and hand
search of the bag. But once past the security the place fully lived up to
expectation. Not only is the main Taj Mahal Mausoleum stunning in its marble
whiteness but several of the other buildings, mostly in red sandstone are
impressive in their own right. So much intricate workmanship, particularly the
inlaying of coloured stones into the marble or other base stone, must have kept
armies of craftsmen busy for decades. Apparently the technical term for this
type of inlay is “Pietra Dura”. The coloured stones came from all over India and
beyond. According to what I have read, the main mausoleum took about a decade
and occupied 20,000 artisans. Along with everyone else, I went inside the Taj
but not so much to see . The "false" tombs of the Shah and the wife
he built it for, are surrounded by an intricately carved lattice work screen, of white marble, so they are only properly
visible through a single opening. It's dark and a bit claustrophobic inside
with so many people. And somehow the pigeons got in! Apparently the real tombs
are in a basement below. The gardens are well laid out and very pleasant to
walk around. Spent a few minutes in the small museum housed in one of a relatively small “Naqqar
Khana” along one of the the outer
walls. Being a Philistine I couldn't help thinking a cafe or tea shop would be
a welcome addition and raise some extra cash to pay for more security people to
speed up the queue. By the time I left, the queues to get in seemed to stretch
forever so pleased I made the effort to get up early.
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| Just the Gateway |
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| We all end up with the same photos! |
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| It looks fantastic from any angle |
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| It looks fantastic from any angle |
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| Some More Angles |
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| Some More Angles |
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| Some More Angles |
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| More Pietra Dura |
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| More Pietra Dura |
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| Mosque facing the Taj Mahal |
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| Mosque facing the Taj Mahal |
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| Ceiling in Mosque facing the Taj Mahal |
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| Butterfly Duet in the Gardens |
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| Ox powered Cart |
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| Not a Happy Monkey |
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| Long Queue as I was Leaving |
Decided
to splurge on dinner at the Oberoi across the road. The place looks like a
palace, with fountains in the courtyard and an army of flunkies in fancy dress
to keep out the rif-raf.
Had the Murgh Makhini, a rather unadventurous choice, which was preceded by a huge selection of European style breads, various types of poppadom and chutneys, and accompanied by a lentil curry, small potatoes and a variety of naan bread. Definitely my best meal in India. But not cheap at 1600 rupees. My plan was to have a drink in the bar afterwards but it didn't look very lively or inviting.
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| Fountains in the Courtyard of the Oberoi |
Had the Murgh Makhini, a rather unadventurous choice, which was preceded by a huge selection of European style breads, various types of poppadom and chutneys, and accompanied by a lentil curry, small potatoes and a variety of naan bread. Definitely my best meal in India. But not cheap at 1600 rupees. My plan was to have a drink in the bar afterwards but it didn't look very lively or inviting.
Agra day 3
Leisurely breakfast
today and got a tuk tuk to Sikandra which proved to be quite a distance, past
the Red Fort, through the chaos of the city and then onto a new-looking main
road. Initially, after buying my ticket, all I could see was a rather sad ruin
but then found another partially ruined structure with lovely carvings. However, the
high spot was Akbar's tomb which looks more like a palace. Again the
workmanship is outstanding. Akbar wasn't the first Moghul Emperor but he expanded the empire to include almost all of the Indain sub-continent. But I do wonder whether, if the Moghul empire had
put its resources into more productive avenues than magnificent tombs, it
wouldn't have collapsed when it did.
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| Sikandra: Window of the Kanch Mahal, Built as Ladies' Quarters (Harem) but badly damaged |
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| Beautiful Carving of the Kanch Mahal, |
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| Sikandra: south gate to Akbar's Tomb |
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| Main Tomb Building |
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| Lots of Decoration |
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| One of the Tomb's. Not Akbar's |
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| Richly Decorated Ceilings |
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| One of the Subsidiary Buildings |
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| More Ornate Ceiling Decoration |
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| Mariam's tomb |
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| Itmad ud Daulah, The "Baby" Taj |
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| Itmad ud Daulah |
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| Itmad ud Daulah |
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| More Beautiful Inlay |
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| Richly Decorated Interior, somewhat the worse for wear, and pigeons |
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| Empty Tombs of Mirzā Ghiyās Beg and his Wife |
My last cultural visit in Agra was to Mehtab Bagh, a garden complex in alignment with the Taj Mahal across the river. It is supposed to have a good view of the Taj but not in the early afternoon when the North side of the Taj is in shadow. Not much to see in the gardens either. Several notice boards explaining plans to restore the gardens and maybe they look better than before but they didn't warrant much exploration. Was amused by the list of prohibitions in the gardens. Mots were fairly normal but Number 1 was "Sitting behind the shrubs of the garden is strictly prohibited".
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| The Egrets like the Gardens |
Had a late lunch of a banana pancake and mango lassi at Bamboo.
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