Taj Mahal

Everyone has seen pictures of the Taj Mahal and it’s beauty is recognized all over the world. (Remember that picture of Princess Diana looking so miserable in front of the monument?) It is a breathtaking sight. The white marble contains tiny sparkles and shines in the sun and in the moonlight. You can make a booking to see it by moonlight. I don’t think there was a full moon while we were there, so we wouldn’t have had the opportunity. What I didn’t know was that both the outside and the inside are decorated with inset precious and semi precious stones in patterns of leaves and flowers as well as verses from the Koran. The descendants of the artisans still do this work on marble and again we let ourselves be tempted by a small sample. We watched them grinding and setting in the tiny chips of coral, lapis, jade and so on. The king had three wives, one Hindu, one Muslim and one Christian. The Muslim wife is the one for whom he built the tomb. She traveled everywhere with him and bore many children (I think it was 14, but several did not survive) He intended to built himself a similar monument in black marble on the opposite side of the river and laid the foundations. What a sight that would have been! Before he could begin the construction his son, by the favourite Muslim wife, captured him and imprisoned him for several years until his death. I am going to post some pictures rather than write any more. There will be the obligatory full view, but I have added some of the stunning internal and exterior decoration. A couple of the shots are of the mosque standing alongside.