Agra, India ~ Wondrous Love

I’ve always felt that you can’t call yourself a world traveler until you’ve visited India. I’ve been several times for business and I remember my very first trip, it was an assault on all of my senses, including my sixth sense. The sights, sounds, colors, smells, food, textures, temples and extremes in luxury and poverty. It has a beauty that is very difficult to articulate because I think it reflects the essence of humanity in all its forms.

And it’s the city of Agra that is the home to what is an extremely breathtaking reflection of Love. Agra was founded in the 16^th century and over the years it has been a regional capital for Mughal and Agra and the hub for the failed Indian Mutiny against Britain. Today, it’s best known as the home to several UNESCO World Heritage sites. Most notably, the Taj Mahal…the ultimate tribute to love.

The Taj Mahal was built in the 1,600s by the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan to house the remains of his favorite wife who died while giving birth to their 14^th child. At an equivalent cost of $800M US dollars, it took 10 years to build the Taj itself and another 10 years to build the structures and the gardens around the Taj. The original plan included building a second Taj structure in black marble for the Emperor himself that would have been connected by a bridge to the white Taj. Unfortunately, he was unable to start that project as his son deposed and imprisoned him at Fort Agra where spent his remaining days with a view of his beloved wife’s mausoleum. He would ultimately join her in the lower level of the Taj.

Arn’t these monkeys cute below?

Driving through Agra! How many monkeys do you see?

Camels in the parking lot of the Taj

Walking up to the Taj

Passing through the Gate…Whala!

The Taj

My lovely friend Mauli

You must wear booties to go inside

The Taj up close

Touching the Taj

Red Temples that flank the Taj

Artistry!

It’s rumored that the architect had his hands removed at the wrists to ensure that he would never build anything like the Taj again. And while you can see Mughal styled buildings throughout India, you won’t see anything like to Taj Mahal anywhere else in the world. It’s simply stunning and worthy of being one of the 7 Wonders of the World!

Prices change based on the time of year and whether you are an Indian citizen or not. You can get to Agra from New Dehli on the new highway that takes only two hours to and from. After all of my trips, I only stay at the Leela chain of hotels. It’s a regional chain owned by an Indian family. It’s 7 star Luxury at a reasonable price. Below is the Leela in Gurgaon, a “suburb” of Dehli.