One of things I forgot to mention yesterday was the vast area of farm land we passed driving from Ranthambhore to Agra. There were tons of structures like these to hold grain and food.
They reminded me a lot of the Monet Haystack paintings.
So, the Taj Mahal is everything people say about it. It's really remarkable to be able to see it and walk the grounds. I happened to be there on one of the 3 days of the year where they let you go downstairs to see the real tomb the King and Queen. Apparently you usually only see the replicas which are right above the real ones.
I think this is where I finally understood what a huge Islamic influence there is in India. So many of the major structures have mosque-like features. The inlaid stone work and Arabic calligraphy are amazing.
The photo below shows the palace (Agra Fort) where the royalty lived. The shot is taken from the Taj.
The palace was built by the same group of Moguls and the King (who built the Taj as a tomb for his wife). You can definitely see the influence.
We drove from Agra to Delhi, seeing a ton more of those haystack structures. Ashok, my driver took me by the US Embassy so I could see where my Aunt Janis worked for so many years. You can't see much, but it was great to at least drive by.
We ended at the National Museum before the airport
.
This was a great trip both for work and for seeing a very cool country.
They reminded me a lot of the Monet Haystack paintings.
So, the Taj Mahal is everything people say about it. It's really remarkable to be able to see it and walk the grounds. I happened to be there on one of the 3 days of the year where they let you go downstairs to see the real tomb the King and Queen. Apparently you usually only see the replicas which are right above the real ones.
I think this is where I finally understood what a huge Islamic influence there is in India. So many of the major structures have mosque-like features. The inlaid stone work and Arabic calligraphy are amazing.
The photo below shows the palace (Agra Fort) where the royalty lived. The shot is taken from the Taj.
The palace was built by the same group of Moguls and the King (who built the Taj as a tomb for his wife). You can definitely see the influence.
We drove from Agra to Delhi, seeing a ton more of those haystack structures. Ashok, my driver took me by the US Embassy so I could see where my Aunt Janis worked for so many years. You can't see much, but it was great to at least drive by.
We ended at the National Museum before the airport
This was a great trip both for work and for seeing a very cool country.
