Yesterday, Olu and I travelled to Agra to see the famous Taj Mahal and other breathtaking sites. Agra, known as the “City of Love” because of the Taj, is a wonderful city and quite different from the pace Delhi. It was a 4-hour drive to getting there, although we did stop for breakfast at a lovely park where we were also fortunate enough to see some incredible animals.
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| Breakfast of eggs, spicy potato cake, and sandwiches |
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| An elephant! I got to pet it :) |
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| Adorable and talented monkey |
Once we arrived in Agra, the first place we visited was Sikandra (Akbar’s Tomb). Akbar, who was an Emperor from the mid 1500’s to early 1600’s, commenced the construction of this mausoleum for himself, however, after his death, his son – Jahangir – commenced the construction. The architecture of these buildings is a combination of Hindu, Muslim and Persian.
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| Olu and I outside the elaborate south gate entrance of Sikandra |
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| Standing outside Akbar's Mausoleum |
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| The Mausoleum |
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| Inside where Akbar's tomb lies |
After exploring the grounds of Sikandra, we proceeded further into the city of Agra and made our way towards the Taj Mahal. This experience was absolutely incredible and was the biggest crowd I am yet to see in India. Not only do people all over the world come to visit this incredible ‘World Wonder’, people from all over India travel to visit this most sacred site. Built with all white marble to symbolize peace and inlaid with semi-precious stones which add the incredible details in design, the Taj Mahal is known as the “Temple of Love”. Grief stricken Emperor Shah Jahan had this mausoleum constructed for his third wife after she died giving birth to their 14th child. This most elaborate tomb which took 20 years to construct is a true testament to love.
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| Entrance gate to the Taj Mahal |
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| Taj Mahal - Can you see me? |
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| Well I can check that off my bucket list |
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| Olu and I |
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| Front of the building - if you look closely you can see the calligraphy writing around the edge |
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| Beautiful - you can see why its one of the Seven Wonders of the World |
After leaving the Taj, we had lunch at a wonderful restaurant “Indiana” within Agra, before heading to our next, and final attraction, the Agra Fort.
Olu and I, along with our guide, head into the huge Agra Fort. Over 400 years old, this fort was built by approximately 4 generations spanning 100 years of construction. Used as a site for Emperors, the Agra Fort compliments the Taj Mahal and the two structures are keenly located across the Yamuna River from one another.
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| Walking into Agra Fort |
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| Entrance |
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| Palace inside |
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| Another palace inside, along with the wine garden! |
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| View of the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort |
To top off an already wonderful day, Olu and I ran into Joanna, Tali, Warren and Julie just outside the entrance of Agra Fort!! We will all be meeting in Ahmedabad on Sunday to begin our residency, but as fate would have it, we somehow manage to bump into each other in Agra just days before. What are the odds?
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| Joanne, Tali, Me, Olu, Warren and Julie |
great photos!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like them! I really loved the city of Agra, I thought it was so romantic that it was known as the "city of love". Apparently to this day, this notion is still so strong that individuals will come to the Taj Mahal to propose to their loved one :)
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