Have You Ever Seen a Picture of the Taj Mahal? Because We Took About 300.

To leave Delhi on a holiday weekend we ended up hiring a car to get to Agra, the city the Taj Mahal is in.  All the trains were booked up and we had a hard time booking a bus. Saturday was Raksha Bandhan, a Hindu festival celebrating the bonds between brothers and sisters, and a drive that should have taken 3-4 hours took us 7.  But the journey was well worth it.  

 A short stop on the way to Agra, ancient ghats (holy baths) in Mathara.  We opted to not take a dip. We also visited the temple and birth place of Lord Krishna.

Our first glimpse of the Taj

A peaceful sunrise at the Taj Mahal  

 The Great Gate opposite the Taj

The Taj Mahal Mosque to the right of the famous building

 Caligraphy of the Koran written beside the entrance.

Monkeys ran free all over the complex, this one hopped up on the railing beside us. 

While they appear quite cute at first, that same one soon charged down the railing at Graham. He was barring his teeth and swatting at him, but Graham managed to scare him off, but wasn’t too thrilled about having to face a monkey in bare feet (it’s a holy site so you have to take your shoes off)

 Shortly after sunrise drums started beating from beside the river. Part of the festivities for Raksha Bandhan, everyone was dancing and throwing colored powder at one another.

 As the sun continued to rise the Taj slowly started to change shades.

 Typical Streets in Agra. We were told that Agra is a particularly dirty Indian city, though the amount of trash, rubble and smells seemed to be on par with Delhi. We’ve started to get accustomed to walking around (and through traffic). While the streets don’t usually make for a pleasant stroll, it’s really not too bad.

Oh and besides trash, the streets are often filled with cows. This one found a relavtivley quite spot to lounge, but it’s not uncommon to see several cows standing contently on the median between several lanes of honking traffic.

 The Red Fort of Agra. Built during the late 1500’s it was briefly the capital of the Mughal empire.

The fort's inside was ornately decorated and carved and many rooms offered views of the Taj. 

Next up, we take a train to Jaipur for our first experience on the Indian railway.