Taj Mahal

            I know it’s cliché, but I really just have to have to go with the Taj as the most amazing thing I saw in India. It really is that amazing.

            I’m glad it was one of the last things we did so that we were able to build up to it instead of seeing it first and then having nothing quite compare to it afterwards. We also picked a great day to see it because it rained the whole way there and then stopped as soon as we got there, so we didn’t get rained on at all, and as a result of the rain, the temperature cooled off, and was just right. If it had been a lot hotter or a lot rainier maybe it wouldn’t have ended up being the greatest thing I saw, but everything just worked out so well for us.

            In addition, as we were going in, a young Indian guy offered to be our guide. We told him we were sorry but we couldn’t afford to pay a guide, but he told us that he didn’t charge, but that he did it as sort of an internship for his schooling because it gave him a chance to practice his English. At first I worried that he might end up being pushy or controlling of our experience as has happened in some of our not-so-great experiences in India, but he turned out to be a very fun and very knowledgeable person. There was so much we would have missed if he hadn’t been with us. He also happened to be an amateur photographer and had been taking photos as the Taj for so long that he knew all the best angles and shots to get, and he took a lot of our group pictures.

            I know I just wrote about how amazed I was when we stepped through the gates to the Golden Temple, but now take whatever you imagined that to be and times it by 10.  I don’t think you can even help but gasp and get goosebumps when you first see it through the gate doorway. Then when you step through the gate and out into the open grounds, it happens all over again. It’s so big! And it’s so far away still, which makes you realize just how big it really is. Up above the main dome you could see lots of birds flying around and landing on top of the dome, and for some reason I just really liked that sight…

            A little bit of information about it: The Taj Mahal is not a temple like the other Hindu and Buddhist temples we visited, but more of a tomb, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his favorite wife. We learned that he was actually going to build a second one, a replica, but in black stone instead of white, across the river, and he would be buried there. But supposedly his sons put a stop to that, took over the empire and Shah Jahan ended up being buried in the Taj next to his wife. You can see the beginning of his replica across the river, but it didn’t get much further than a wall or two.

            To either side of the Taj mahal are two buildings. Although they are exactly identical, one was used as a mosque while the other was used as a guesthouse. Two smaller buildings (also identical) standing a little closer to the entrance were a pump house for the fountains and a house for musicians to play music.

            If it hasn’t become apparent already, the Taj mahal, and just Muslim design in general is all about symmetry. If you draw a line down the center of the grounds everything to the left is a perfect mirror image of everything to the right. Then as a third dimension, the many pools provide a vertical mirrored image of everything you see.

            In the main buildings walls there is a lot of fine carving and stone work. Different colored gems from all over India are laid in the walls, and our guide showed us with a flashlight how they glow when light shines directly on them. Apparently on full moon nights they open the Taj Mahal to a limited amount of people and you can see the way the stone and gems light up in the moonlight. In fact, during times of war, the building is equipped with hooks all around it’s outside so that it can be draped in black cloth to prevent enemies from seeing it at night and trying to bomb it.

            Although the emperor who built the Taj was a Muslim, he loved all religions and put many religious symbols in the design. For example, the pools that stretch out across the grounds form the shape of a cross for Christianity. There are also many depictions of the lotus flower, which is a symbol of Hinduism.

            I could go on and on about all the things we learned, but I’m going to wrap things up. The best thing you can do is to just go and see it.  So do it.