16th September - Taj Mahal

So another early morning to ensure we were at the Taj Mahal for sunrise. We took the advice and only carried our camera and a bottle of water to avoid the queues but for some reason they only had one ladies queue so I was left queuing (under the tree with the baboons....slightly messier than birds!)
The queues were not too long and we were soon inside.

Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal for his third wife Arjumand Banu Begum, she became his favourite wife and gave her the title of Mumtaz Mahal Begum ( Chosen one of the Palace). Mumtaz Mahal had a very deep and loving marriage with Shah Jahan. Even during her lifetime, poets would extol her beauty, gracefulness and compassion. Mumtaz Mahal was Shah Jahan's trusted companion, travelling with him all over the Mughal Empire. 

She died in Burhanpur [1631 AD] during the birth of their thirtheenth child, a daughter named Gauhara Begum. She had been accompanying her husband whilst he was fighting a campaign in the Deccan Plateau. Her body was temporarily buried at Burhanpur in a walled pleasure garden known as Zainabad originally constructed by Shah Jahan's uncle Daniyal on the bank of the Tapti River. Her original grave still lies here. Burhanpur was never intended by her husband as his wife's final resting spot. As a result her body was disinterred in December 1631 and transported in a golden casket escorted by her son Shah Shuja and the head lady in waiting of the deceased Empress back to Agra. There it was interred in a small building on the banks of the river Yamuna.
Shah Jahan stayed behind in Burhanpur to conclude the military campaign that had originally bought him to the region. While there he began planning the design and construction of a suitable mausoleum and funerary garden in Agra for his wife, a task that would take more than 22 years to complete, the Taj Mahal. Today, the Taj Mahal stands as the ultimate monument to love and homage to her beauty and llife. 

It is a really stunning building which changes colour with the light. As the sun rose the building almost glowed gold but in other lights away from the sun it is glaringly white and almost translucent. Our guide enabled us to find quite corners to really view the building at its best (despite the back right minaret having scaffolding around it due to some urgent restoration to prevent water damage). Photos really do not do this beautiful building justice and it was lovely to see it in real life.