Sunday, January 06, 2008
Just a little housekeeping.. Ed(my brother from Nanaimo reports that you can no longer add comments on the blog site without signing up with something or other) Google bought blogspot recently so that probably explains that. but we are receiving your email comments and thanks. and Peter says he will add a few pictures when we get to a place where we can use our own computer.
We were on the 6:15 am train to Agra!(Not often you can say that!) but it the trains simply get too crowded after according to the guide. The roads in New Delhi were absolutely traffic free and we thought this was quite lovely--never speak of these things, because then we got to about 6 blocks from the train station and there was the traffic all right . Our guide arranges the porters and out we step into the traffic to cross the street into the station. You just have to tell yourself you will not be hit by the cars, trucks, tuk tuks, or busses and just head out.
The two hour train trip was of course interesting. We were in what is called a first class cabin, but quite well organized. There are apparently some wonderful new trains in India, and this was not one of them, but I was even brave enough to use the very clean western style bathroom. The breakfast was some sort of Indian thing in tinfoil and two pieces of white bread. But there was tea. Porters up and down the aisles with thermos of hot water and tea bags the whole time.
Our guide was there to meet us and off we went to the hotel and to breakfast. And then we off for the first of our two visits to the Taz Mahal. Our little bus dropped us at a parking area and we were surrounded by the following options to proceed, busses, tuk tuks, horse pulled carriages, camel pulled carts etc. And the hawkers descend selling everything you can image. there are beggers and animals(Mary nearly had a run in with an errant cow) The children all seem to be able to hawk in English and some inventive young business man will sell you batteries and memory cards for your camera which we all agreed was very inventive!
Ah! the TajMahal It does not in any way disappoint.. it is in fact more beautiful than can even be described. Our first visit took about two hours and we learned of all the history of the times, the region, the Moguls and the Mausoleum came to be built. The white Indian marble is very hard and no porous so after 400 years it is still white. And each hour of light brings a different colour to the walls. And when it was built, the architect came from Turkey, the caligraphers from Persia etc, the carver and all the very best talent was assembled from all the regions to produce such a marvel. One thing that I learned was just how much engineering went into it. The base on on a special Indian wood which hardens with moisture, and foundations are placed in such a way to with stand earthquakes. There were all kinds of systems involving water placed to cool in very hot summer and to heat in the winter. (It is really quite cool here at this time of year. We are all in sweaters and jackets) And there are little niches place in mirrors to hold candles so that just a few can light a room. The architect promised the building would last for 1000 years..no comment.
Everything is absolutely symetrical, one side mirrors the other and even the exquisite caligraphy of the Koran is described larger at the top to seem to be the same shape and height as those at the bottom. The inlay is so delicate and again, each flower is still intact after 400 years as there have been held in with some sort of secret glue.
We were taken the next morning to see the TajMahal again, this time at day break. There were very few people there, mostly a few hardly tourists. This time the guide left us and we just watched the sun come, and had a few hours to walk, sit, and think and absorf. I reflected that it would be a much better world if we spent less time on the horrors of the Taliban and more time thanking whatever God we thank, for this wonder of Islam.
We were on the 6:15 am train to Agra!(Not often you can say that!) but it the trains simply get too crowded after according to the guide. The roads in New Delhi were absolutely traffic free and we thought this was quite lovely--never speak of these things, because then we got to about 6 blocks from the train station and there was the traffic all right . Our guide arranges the porters and out we step into the traffic to cross the street into the station. You just have to tell yourself you will not be hit by the cars, trucks, tuk tuks, or busses and just head out.
The two hour train trip was of course interesting. We were in what is called a first class cabin, but quite well organized. There are apparently some wonderful new trains in India, and this was not one of them, but I was even brave enough to use the very clean western style bathroom. The breakfast was some sort of Indian thing in tinfoil and two pieces of white bread. But there was tea. Porters up and down the aisles with thermos of hot water and tea bags the whole time.
Our guide was there to meet us and off we went to the hotel and to breakfast. And then we off for the first of our two visits to the Taz Mahal. Our little bus dropped us at a parking area and we were surrounded by the following options to proceed, busses, tuk tuks, horse pulled carriages, camel pulled carts etc. And the hawkers descend selling everything you can image. there are beggers and animals(Mary nearly had a run in with an errant cow) The children all seem to be able to hawk in English and some inventive young business man will sell you batteries and memory cards for your camera which we all agreed was very inventive!
Ah! the TajMahal It does not in any way disappoint.. it is in fact more beautiful than can even be described. Our first visit took about two hours and we learned of all the history of the times, the region, the Moguls and the Mausoleum came to be built. The white Indian marble is very hard and no porous so after 400 years it is still white. And each hour of light brings a different colour to the walls. And when it was built, the architect came from Turkey, the caligraphers from Persia etc, the carver and all the very best talent was assembled from all the regions to produce such a marvel. One thing that I learned was just how much engineering went into it. The base on on a special Indian wood which hardens with moisture, and foundations are placed in such a way to with stand earthquakes. There were all kinds of systems involving water placed to cool in very hot summer and to heat in the winter. (It is really quite cool here at this time of year. We are all in sweaters and jackets) And there are little niches place in mirrors to hold candles so that just a few can light a room. The architect promised the building would last for 1000 years..no comment.
Everything is absolutely symetrical, one side mirrors the other and even the exquisite caligraphy of the Koran is described larger at the top to seem to be the same shape and height as those at the bottom. The inlay is so delicate and again, each flower is still intact after 400 years as there have been held in with some sort of secret glue.
We were taken the next morning to see the TajMahal again, this time at day break. There were very few people there, mostly a few hardly tourists. This time the guide left us and we just watched the sun come, and had a few hours to walk, sit, and think and absorf. I reflected that it would be a much better world if we spent less time on the horrors of the Taliban and more time thanking whatever God we thank, for this wonder of Islam.
# posted by katie @ 8:15 PM 
