Month: August 2009

We left our hotel at 5:15 a.m. for a sunrise tour of the Taj Mahal.  After buying our tickets we zipped past the mosquitos and hawkers on an extended golf cart to the security entrance.  Unfortunately, Kelly’s Flat Stanley was confiscated at entry, they interpreted his flat paper existance as a toy.

The Taj Mahal is a Mughal mausoleum built by the heartbroken Shah Jahan after his favorite wife  Mumtaz passed away giving birth to his 14th child.

Taj facts:

• It took 22 years to complete and more than 22,000 craftsman, each focusing on a specific decorative art.
• Specialists were brought in as far away as Europe to produce the intricately carved marble screens inside.
• The marble inlaid designs are semiprecious stones, each painstakingly formed using a stone wheel.
• The four slender minarets at each corner of the Taj are designed to lean slightly away from the mausaleum so that if there is an earthquake they fall away.
• On the west side is a mosque and to the east is an identical building that was used as a guest palace.
• Shah Jahan began minor construction of an identical, but black marble Taj for himself across the river from the white marble Taj, but the Shah was imprisoned by his son and unable to complete it.  The Shah was eventually interred next to his wife in 1666.

After we toured the Taj, we drove to the domestic airport to board a plane to Bangalore, where we will stay at XIME University.

On the way to Agra, we stopped at Fatepur Sikri, a ghost city  with palaces and a mosque that were abandoned over 400 years ago after the people living there suffered from water shortages.  The mosque is actually still used for worship.  At its prime, this city was larger than London and was constructed by Akbar the Great, regarded as the greatest of the Mughals.

All of the structures we saw were intricately detailed and made out of red sandstone.  At one time the designs included precious stones and gold, but this was plundered long ago.  Some of my favorite highlights of this site were…

• The white marble courtyard had a life size parchisi court with a place in the middle for the king to sit; he would use his concubines as pawns.
• The Diwan-i-Am (Hall of Public Audience) is where Akbar dispensed justice when citizens would present their cases to him.
• Akbar was known for his respect of other religions.  He counted Christians and Hindus among his many wives and several of the pillars at this site have images of different religions on them.
• Close by, there is a monument called Hiran Minar, made to honor elephants killed in battle, stone tusks point out of the tall pillar.

Later this day we toured Agra Fort, on the bank of the Yamuna river, which was also begun by Akbar in 1565.  His subsequent generations added to this structure, some using intricately detailed white marble and colorful inlaid, painstakingly carved stones.  It was originally made as a military fort, but later upgraded to a palace.  It also served as a prison for Shah Jahan when his youngest son seized the throne after Shah Jahan made his older brother king.

When it was upgraded to a palace it was decorated with gold and precious stones, but these were plundered over the years by the Marathas, Jats, Nadir Shah and finally the British.  Some of my favorite spots included…

• The Shish Mahal (Mirror Palace) has every wall inlaid with mirrors of varying sizes.  It is said that a single lamp would illuminate all of the mirrors when properly placed.
• Musamman Burj and Khas Mahal is a white-marble octagonal tower where Shah Jahan was imprisoned during the last eight years of his life.  He could only look at the shrine to his deceased wife (Taj Mahal) using a mirror from this place as his site was failing at the time.
• The king’s bathtub (Hauz-i-Jehangir) is in front of the palace, it stands about 10 feet tall with little steps on the side to climb up; it was carved from one piece of stone.

So far India has been so increadible; elephants around every corner, snake charmers, intricate decorations (even trucks on the highway) – it’s saturated with colorful art and culture.

Hello everybody!

Today was indescribable, but I will try to pay it the justice it is due. After breakfast at one of the nicest hotels any of us have every stayed in, we drove to the ancient capital of Amber. This area is just outside Jaipur. It was here that we saw the Amber Fort. The fort was constructed in the 17^th century. Before the city palace was constructed in Jaipur, Amber was the seat of power. The fort was beautiful. There were levels of ramps leading up to the main area. It sits on a large area of land and the sun looks like it was made to cover the fort.

To reach the top of the fortress we rode an elephant up the ramps! The elephant ride was about twenty minutes long. You always think an elephant is big, but when you are riding on top of when you realize it is huge! The elephant behind us kept spraying water out of its trunk.

After being let off of the elephant we were able to see the top of the fortress which consisted of courtyards and halls. Each room was unique and beautiful. The walls had paintings and semi precious stones lay in the walls. My favorite room was the Sheesh Mahal, meaning hall of mirrors. A single lamplight is reflected in many mirrors and will light up the entire room. This also allowed the room to keep heat in during the chilly nights. This hall of mirrors was so beautiful and each mirror was imported to India to complete the room.

The day grew hotter as we visited the city of Jaipur. We visited the City Palace and the palace of winds. The day was very busy and filled with laughter, good conversation, growing bonds and most importantly an unforgettable experience.

Hello from India!

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9

The group arrived in Delhi Saturday, August 8, both very excited and very tired. We woke up Sunday morning and began our Delhi experience by visiting Old Delhi. After touring Jama Masjid, a beautiful mosque located in Old Delhi, we experienced the side streets and alleys of Old Delhi by rickshaw. The rickshaw ride was an amazing way to experience the sights and sounds of Old Delhi. Street vendors  were selling produce, monkeys were swinging from the wires, and cows were just hanging around. It was nothing if not a unique experience.

Next we visited Raj Ghat, a memorial in honor of Mahatma Gandhi. People lined up to pay their respects to late political and spiritual leader in what was a very simple, peaceful remembrance. We also stopped at India Gate, a memorial in honor of 90,000 Indian soldiers that died in World War I, and Humayun’s Tomb, a beautiful example of Mughal architecture that pre-dates the Taj Mahal. We were only able to see the president’s residence and the parliament building from the bus due to security for the upcoming Indian Independence Day. Finally, we visited  Qutub Minar, the tallest stone tower in India. Qutub Minar is not only impressive because of  its size, but because of the beautiful, intricate engravings that adorn the structure.

After returning to our hotel briefly to rest from the day’s heat, we explored Connaught place, a vibrant local business and shopping district in Delhi. We stopped briefly to have a drink at a bar called QBA and settled on a Indian-Chinese restaurant for dinner. We returned back to The Park hotel for a good night’s sleep after our long, hot day in Delhi.

MONDAY, AUGUST 10

We woke up a little early on Monday to visit Jantar Mantar, an observatory located adjacent to our hotel. Jantar Mantar dates back to the 1700s and is comprised of 13 astronomical instruments designed to compose astronomical tables and predict times and planetary movements. We then visited a Bahai temple. The building itself was designed to look like a half-opened lotus flower and was breathtaking throughout. We then said our goodbyes to Delhi as we began our 6 plus hour bus ride to Jaipur.

Upon arriving in Jaipur, a city known for many local talents and resources, we checked into the Fortune Select Metropolitan. We then proceeded to McDonalds for dinner. The Maharaja Big Mac and McVeggie were big hits. We wandered around the local mall after dinner and returned back to our hotel to get some sleep for our exciting day at Amber Fort on Tuesday.

To sum up our time in Delhi… it was hot, it was crowded, but it was a great experience!