India 2012

Here we are on one of the most famous sites on the planet! And since today is Heritage Day, admission is free! I will still pay for my ticket because I will go back alone tomorrow morning to enjoy the sunrise...  

Once past the ticket offices, the Taj Mahal does not immediately reveal itself to your eyes; you must first pass through the red sandstone gate named Darwaza.

As soon as you exit the gate, you can already see it at the very end of the water channels.

It was Sultan Shah Jahan (Mughal emperor by status...) who commissioned the monument in memory of his deceased wife. Construction began in 1631 and lasted until around 1653. The emperor and his wife, Mumtaz Mahal (hence the name of the monument), rest here.

The 4 minarets are slightly inclined outwards so that in case of an earthquake they do not collapse onto the tomb

It was the Persian architect Ustad Ahmad Lahauri who was chosen to lead the works. In 1983, 352 years after the laying of the first stone, UNESCO added the monument to the World Heritage List.

No less than 20 thousand men were needed to complete the monument.

The materials will be transported by more than 1000 elephants!

Before any approach, it's impossible to miss your souvenir photo in front of the white marble monument. (don't look for it, I didn't put it! )

The 4 minarets and their umbrella domes are all identical to each other.

The unmissable Taj Mahal and its reflection in the water...

The pools, sometimes in the center, sometimes on the sides.

And hop, a little 360 degrees in front of the Taj Mahal!

Woohoo! My feet at the Taj Mahal!  

Hey friends: the photo is on the other side!

Let's move to the side under the trees to change the viewing angle

The flower of a powder puff tree (Calliandra haematocephala)? But I'm not sure...

The calligraphies surrounding the arches of the porches are excerpts from the Quran. And yes, the Taj Mahal is not as white as it seems when you get closer! Especially since it tends to yellow with city pollution...

And more color here, on the minarets.

We have now passed onto the immense plinth that supports the Taj Mahal; it is a tomb, so you must remove your shoes.

The Sun shows signs of weakness, clinging desperately to the minarets but not slowing its course...

In the corners of the mausoleum, the chevrons mark the edges of the cube that the monument represents.

It is only on site that you can appreciate the subtleties of the various decorations that enhance the monochrome of the whole.

The porch ceiling is not smooth either; it has been subtly sculpted.

It's not the Ganges but one of its tributaries, the Yamuna. 1,370 kilometers nonetheless!

A procession on the right bank performs sacred ritual baths to purify themselves.

Facing the left side of the Taj Mahal, a mosque was also built so that the faithful could come to pray while honoring the memory of the royal couple.

If color is used, it remains very discreet and blends perfectly with the whole.

The site is large and you don't necessarily realize how many people there are. And yet, a queue forms and the Taj Mahal, immense as it is, allows itself to be encircled by this human rope...  

You won't see photos of the tombs because the place is sacred, and it's forbidden to take pictures there (although some flashes inevitably crackle...).

The interior is very simple as only one room occupies the entire space under the dome. In the center, the 2 tombs, or rather cenotaphs as they are empty, are surrounded by a thin wall of openwork marble. The bodies themselves are present in the mausoleum but placed out of sight in a crypt.

"The minaret and the two women"

The small wooden door at the foot of each minaret.

What if we looked on the other side???

And boom, second reflection! (well, in reality, I obviously took many others  ).

In the gardens of the Taj Mahal...

All the immensity and finesse of the Taj Mahal...

The Moon facing the spire of the Taj Mahal

Night has fallen, the gates are about to close... It's time to go home but not before a quick photo of the three of us in front of one of the planet's jewels!  

We are not far from the hotel and walk back.

Here the town crier is a horse.  

We pass by the kitchens which invite us to come in and take photos.

Tuesday20November

And here I am again, after a good night's sleep, facing Agra's white marble monument. I was left wanting more regarding the sky's blue, not blue enough for my taste... So I decided to leave my companions for a good hour to satisfy my gargantuan appetite for photos.......  

So obviously, I'm taking the same photos again!  

Ha! You can see that the blue is bluer! Seriously!  

The other monument to the right of the Taj Mahal. This is the "jawab", the mirror replica of the mosque located on the left side of the monument, in order to maintain perfect symmetry of the whole.

Silhouette of the Taj Mahal at sunrise.

I'm not the only one who got up early this morning, I crossed paths with a mylabris pustulata... pffff you'll have to think about changing your name, madam...  

On the left a hibiscus, on the right a powder puff tree flower?

Beware, the lens's focal length distorts the perspective! The minarets really lean to the other side!  

Already quite a lot of people this morning.

And there you have it, I escape the way I came without forgetting one last click towards the prestigious Indian celebrity...

I rejoin my comrades because the day is just beginning. Visits to the Red Fort of Agra and the tomb of Akbar the Great await us!