India > Taj Mahal!!!

Today feels like the big day. I’m going to visit the Taj Mahal, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. When I open the curtain in my hotel room, unfortunately, the sky is cloudy. It even looks like it rained last night. Nevertheless, I want to be at the Taj Mahal at sunrise. Harry picks me up at half past five and drives me to the mausoleum. Amen also joins us. Amen introduces himself as the guide for today.

India - The Taj Mahal from its most photographed side

He arranges my ticket and explains that bags and backpacks are not allowed inside the Taj Mahal. With only my camera and a rain jacket, I enter the Taj Mahal through the East Gate a little later. Walking under the gate, I see the eighty-meter-high building. Wow! Amen wants to explain everything, but first I take photos of the Taj Mahal and its reflection in the water. It’s still relatively quiet now. As I get closer, the Taj Mahal becomes even more beautiful. I walk onto the white marble platform and see it from below. What a magnificent sight. Through the entrance, I go inside the mausoleum. The entire structure is built of white marble. The decorations are inlaid with various colored gemstones. The whole building is symmetrical in all four directions. The intricately carved white marble windows took years to complete—a true masterpiece. Right in the center under the high dome is the tomb of Shah Jahan’s wife. Shah Jahan’s own tomb was added later beside hers. After this highlight, I return to the hotel. At Costa Coffee, I order breakfast with coffee and let the early impressions sink in. At ten o’clock, Amen and Harry are ready again. This time we drive to Agra Fort. As I enter the fort, I immediately notice that it is much more beautiful than the Red Fort in Delhi. Amen explains that this fort was also built under Shah Jahan’s orders. Ironically, he spent the last years of his life imprisoned here by his own son, confined in the palace section.

India - The Taj Mahal from the river side together with the mosque and guesthouse

From there, there is a beautiful view of the Taj Mahal, a few kilometers away. I visit the palace, gardens, and the white marble mosque. In the afternoon, I go to the Baby Taj, a smaller mausoleum on the opposite bank of the Yamuna River. The Itimad-ud-Daula sits in the middle of a walled garden. On the central platform stands the tomb of Mirza Ghiyath Beg. Due to its smaller size and the beautifully inlaid colors, I find this mausoleum almost as beautiful as its larger sibling. Perhaps the sunlight shining on it adds to its charm. A little further along the road, I buy an entrance ticket for a park directly opposite the Taj Mahal. I walk to the riverbank, from where I have a beautiful view of the building. The sunlight and the picturesque clouds make the scene perfect. As the sun gradually lowers, the color of the dome keeps changing. Stunning. Today I’ve truly enjoyed the Taj Mahal from every angle. I end the evening on the rooftop terrace of Restaurant Maya in Agra.