A series of Firsts: India and Xi'an, mainly thanks to AFF

[TomVexille]

Certainly bringing back memories of my whirlwind whiz around the golden triangle. The observatory was fascinating IMO

 

[RB]

Enjoying reading your report and the photos are bringing back some great memories. I still look at the claimed details of the cannon at Amber Fort Jaigarh-20 foot barrel 22 mile range & 100 kg of gunpowder on the only test.
Looking forward to reading more of your adventures & hope the currency system improves somewhat

 

[RooFlyer]

On the way back to town from the fort we stoped at the Gaitore Cenotaphs of the Maharajas of Jaipur. I learned that a Centopath was a memorial on the place where a noble or notable was cremated. The most distinguishing feature of these Centotaphs are the Chhatris - the dome-topped pavilions that we'll see so much in Indian architecture.










The next day we were off to Agra. The road was mostly good - crowded, but 2 lanes each way and I though we would make time until we hit the last 30km into Agra - the road turned into a goat track, but with the same density of traffic and hijinks of the other users!

We stopped at a Hindu temple along the way - my first here. This has been one of the disappointments of the trip - there are apparently very few of the elaborately decorated temples you might see in Singapore and elsewhere. This was a good one, and I got a tour inside where the curtains had been pulled for the perioic showing of the deities. This temple was devoted to Lord Krishna and I learned that he was the original "he's not a God - he's just a naughty boy" character. Have a read here. This being the first stop at a Hindu temple, I asked for and got the broad low-down. Fun fact. Did you know there are about 366 million gods in the Hindu sphere? :shock: Krishna is a bit of a cool dude and is usually portrayed blue and often shown playing the flute (when he's not surrounded by women).




Back to more earthly pursuits - we passed this guy as we passed a couple of the many brick kiln smoke stacks along the highway.

 

[RooFlyer]

We headed towards Agra and I was quite concerned about the weather. Both Delhi and Agra has been suffering from bad fogs (not unusual this time of year), which coupled with the smog made a good view of the Taj Mahal a dicey prospect. When we arrived in Agra, the weather was clear and my tour leader made the executive decision that we should visit the Taj immediately, and we could stay on to see it in the later afternoon light.

We were incredibly lucky. Although Agra is a very smoggy place, there was no fog that morning and the air was pretty clear. And so ... here it is.




The Taj was built for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to house the body of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth in 1631. It took about 10 years to built the main tomb and another 10 years to complete the associated structures, which are substantial.

You buy a ticket a bit away from the Taj itself (cash only, which is crazy), then go through security (different queues for men and women, also 'high value' and 'ordinary' tickets) - I used the 'high value male' line (TKWIA). You then either get crammed onto an electric mini bus for the 500m or so ride to the Taj entrance, or pay R100 or so for a more comfortable golf buggy type cart - we did the latter.

First go through the Great Gate (Darwaza-i rauza) which itself is a fantastic monument.



The Taj is framed as above, with several optical illusions - first that its closer through the gate than it is, and second that the Arabic script is physically larger towards the top than the base, so from below it looks evenly spaced.

Remember that famous pic of Princess Diana, sitting on a bench with the Taj behind her? This is the closest I got to even seeing that bench, let alone getting close to it! Some more of the exquisite decoration around the Taj entrance.




Inside are the tombs, or rather the markers above where the bodies of the Emperor (placed later of course) and his wife are buried. Some terrific carved and decorated marble filigree. It was originally inlaid with precious and semi precious stones, but they are long gone ..




On ether side are symmetrical buildings - a mosque on one side and a guest house on the other.

 

[TomVexille]

IIRC the four minarets around the main tomb were built leaning outwards so that they would fall away from the mausoleum in case of an earthquake

 

[RooFlyer]

That's right. I was amazed to learn that as earthquakes are not common here.

Anyway, a second go (its the Taj Mahal, after all!)

Full frontal:




In the late afternoon:




Some detail of carved and inlay marble:






Final parting shot from the gatehouse, and some carved sandstone detail on the gatehouse:

 

[VPS]

excellent photos - thanks

 

[shan1983]

Fantastic trip report so far!

I am beginning to think I will need another trip in the future to check out northern India.

 

[RooFlyer]

Tell me about it! I've started planning another trip just to finish off the state of Rajasthan!

 

[RooFlyer]

In my haste to get to the Taj Mahal, I overlooked a stop we made just outside Agra. This was Fatehpur Sikri or the 'abandoned city'.

The city was founded in 1569 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar (the third emperor), and served as the capital of his empire from 1571 to 1585 (previously it was Agra). The Emperor was said to have taken a great interest in the architecture of the city fort, and its a great example of the architecture of the Mughal times. The city was abandoned after only 15 years due to the drying up of the water supply, and closeness to Rajasthan, which periodically battled with him. He moved the capital to Lahore, before moving back to Agra some time later.






Akbar was quite a liberal Emperor - he had 3 wives, one Muslim, one Hindu and one Christian. he was a great promoter of the arts and literature, as well as a successful military figure - expanding and stabilising his empire. He abolished the tax on non muslims.

The buildings are made of the same red sandstone of much of the area's buildings, and the carvings are magnificent.

 

[RooFlyer]

The Emperor's own quarters on the left; a five storey skyscraper on the right ...




As I mentioned, Akbar was very liberal. He allowed human and animal figures to be represented in carvings etc (not usually a feature is Islam). However his son, not so much, so many carbvings defaced by head removal (LH pic) ...




Screens carved out of a single piece of stone ... that's my guide Rajesh in the RH pic - encyclopaedic knowledge of Indian history (and nature and just about any topic we touched on)






On the left, a memorial tower to the Emperor's favourite execution elephant (a la mock tusks sticking out all over).

Side gates to the city.

 

[jojen]

After a couple of weeks of turmoil packing up our home for a complete change of lifestyle I have finally found time to catch up with your fantastic trip report RooFlyer.

I feel as though we are in India again. Your photos are amazing and apart from a couple of places we visited the same sights. You missed a treat in not taking the rickshaw ride around Old Delhi. It was an amazing experience that we will remember forever. However when we return to Delhi I do want to walk around, so will make sure we go when it is cooler.

Must get back to the final packing of bits and pieces. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

[RooFlyer]

No pics of Hilton in Jaipur ... don't know what happened there, but it was good.

A Doubletree in Agra ... relatively new place and I liked it a lot. I'll probably lose my Accor Plat status at the end of this year, but will retain gold, but I'll probably transition to Hilton anyway, so these were good previews.


Room was pretty standard in lay-out, but plugs etc in the right places and bed comfortable ... air con worked properly, so ticks all round.




Lobby very bright and spacious. And its always nice when there is a decent view from the room . This was the day I arrived ... it was the only time that I could see the Taj. Next day was smoggy and the day I left, foggy. We rushed out and viewed the Taj straight away!





Several restaurants in the place. not crowded - its low season in India.




It takes a bit for me to go vegetarian, but India is the place to do it. The creation on the right is Raj Kachori. In the middle is a crisp fried hollow potato shell filled with all sorts of nice veg, and pomegranate sprinkled over the top. Delicious!

 

[RB]

Lobby very bright and spacious. And its always nice when there is a decent view from the room . This was the day I arrived ... it was the only time that I could see the Taj. Next day was smoggy and the day I left, foggy. We rushed out and viewed the Taj straight away!

It takes a bit for me to go vegetarian, but India is the place to do it. The creation on the right is Raj Kachori. In the middle is a crisp fried hollow potato shell filled with all sorts of nice veg, and pomegranate sprinkled over the top. Delicious!

Our driver insisted on calling it mist! We had a fine morning while at the Taj-didn't know there was a partial eclipse until we watched the TV news that night when back in Delhi (confirmed when we looked closer at our photos)

Agree strongly re the vegetarian food-really enjoyed Haridhwar & Rishikesk to the north although it was a bit of shock start to our trip. In our Haridhwar hotel they had gone as far as having no eggs. Rishikesk is supposed to be a "dry" town-as with most of India there is someone "bending" the rules

 

[RooFlyer]

After seeing the Taj Mahal , I was pretty happy with Agra, but we were far from finished in that city. Originally I was planning a 'hit and run', just to see the Taj (like most people) and one night but ended up staying 2 nights and so glad I did.

The next day dawned smoggy so we had a relaxed 9am start, with the first stop Agra Fort. It wasn't properly clear until we left, but certainly good enough to appreciate its vastness and magnificence.

A fortification has been on the site since the 1000's. The pre Mughal Islamic leaders made Agra their second capital.

The first Mughal Emperor Babur stayed in the present Fort's precursor, and his son Humayn was crowned there in 1530 (we saw his tomb in Delhi). Humayn's son Akbar made Agra his capital. He started re-building the old brick fort in red sandstone, and completed it in 1573. Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan - who built the Taj Mahal - added his touch, grandly, in white marble around the 1630s.

Unfortunately for Shah Jahan, one of his sons took advantage of his illness in later life to take control, confining his father and taking a Regency. Another son, Aurangzeb, with better army support, contested his brother and defeated him, and, having then taken care of other brothers, took control. Being impatient (I was told) with his father's building profligacy, he had him arrested, and confined in Agra fort, where he spent his last days overlooking the Taj Mahal across the river. He was entombed there, next to his wife, when he died.


Entrance to the fort (actually a walled city):




Lots of terrific carved sandstone, built by Akbar.







Shah Jahan's contribution was in marble, and beautiful it is.




On the left is the pavilion where Shah was imprisoned by his son. He could look over the river towards his other fantastic monument, the Taj Mahal (impossible today!). Inside are inlaid marble screens, thin enough to be translucent.

 

[henleybeach]

Great trip report ! Brings back memories for us From last year . We stayed at the Hilton doubletree Agra as well and we thought it was a great clean hotel. And a nice view from the pool as well !

 

[amaroo]

Enjoying the TR. Looking forward to you showing me what we're missing.

India was on a final list of two destinations for a trip next year....

Enjoy and safe travels!

Just caught up. Terrific report as per usual.

You've convinced me to avoid the "fog season" ... we were planning to spend a month in India over Xmas next year. That short list is now down to one - Mexico.

 

[RooFlyer]

Just caught up. Terrific report as per usual.

You've convinced me to avoid the "fog season" ... we were planning to spend a month in India over Xmas next year. That short list is now down to one - Mexico.

Probably a good idea, although I'm not sure how widespread the fogs are. Advantage of December is the mild temperature - only high 20s the whole time I was there.

Last couple of views of Agra Fort. the Taj Mahal is out there, somewhere ...





As in Delhi Fort, the outside walls are substantial, and there is a moat.




We then went back into the traffic to the next monument. I haven't said much about the traffic, as everyone has an idea of how bad it is - but you have no idea!! If I had to describe it one sentence then the situation is: "Drive how and where you like, at whatever speed you like - its up to everyone else to get out of your way." Fortunately, they generally do. Red traffic lights appear to be mere suggestions.





Next stop was the Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah, sometimes called the "baby Taj". It was built by Nūr Jahān, the wife of Mughal Emperor Jahangir, who reighned from 1605 to 1627, and was the father of Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan was said to have carefully looked at this tomb when considering designs for the Taj.

As Usual, there is a substantial gate house, with terrific carved sandstone and marble in-lays.

 

[RooFlyer]

Although much smaller than the Taj Mahal, the 'baby Taj' is far more delicately decorated and is a real jewel box.




Unlike the Taj, inside is very prettily decorated.




But it was the outside marble inlays and decorations that I really got into. On the left is a screen carved from a single piece of marble.




I did a double take on this brown stone, forming part of the marble patterning. Its not marble, but a rock packed tight with fossils and, amazingly, conodonts!

 

[Buzzard]

Great TR RooFlyer and fabulous photos. What camera are you using?