Sjennon sees the World #41 - Visiting the majestic Taj Mahal in Agra, India

in #travel6 years ago (edited)

I guess I was part of one of the seven Wonders of the World

It is big, round, ivory, fabulous and majestic. We are talking about the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal (/ˌtɑːdʒ məˈhɑːl, ˌtɑːʒ-/; meaning "Crown of the Palace") is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra.(...) The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall. - Wikipedia

A mausoleum? I must say, I think this is one of the most prestigious graves I have ever seen.

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Before entering, you need to buy your entry ticket. If you're Indian, then you're in luck - it's 30 or 40 rupees only! If you're a foreigner, your ticket better be made of gold because that'll be 1000 rupees for you.

The upside? No, the ticket is not made of gold, but tou do not have to stand in the Indian line, which saves you about 20 minutes of waiting (at least, when I was there). Though, I had to wait for @wandereronwheels and @yesaye anyway, so in my case, I'd rather have paid 25x times less the entry price.

Upon entry, you enter a section prior to the Taj. That would be the Great gate or Darwaza-i rauza.

The main gateway (darwaza) is a monumental structure built primarily of marble, and reminiscent of the Mughal architecture of earlier emperors. Its archways mirror the shape of the tomb's archways, and its pishtaq arches incorporate the calligraphy that decorates the tomb. The vaulted ceilings and walls have elaborate geometric designs like those found in the other sandstone buildings in the complex. - Wikipedia

At one hand, you'd think you'd only be seeing the Taj, however it does leave you with suspense. I mean, it's nice to pay a ticket, go in and see directly what you came for. But going in, having to go through a gate and then pass a garden, makes the whole thing a bit more majestic.

You'll turn the gate, and this is what you'll see.

Shit's impressive yo.

The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian and earlier Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including the Gur-e Amir (the tomb of Timur, progenitor of the Mughal dynasty, in Samarkand), Humayun's Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb (sometimes called the Baby Taj), and Shah Jahan's own Jama Masjid in Delhi. While earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones. Buildings under his patronage reached new levels of refinement. - Wikipedia


Ooooo look at that impressive ish


Click on the image to enlarge


Click on the image to enlarge


We stayed until a bit later. The sun went down, which allowed for different ambience kinda-shots.

Once you reach the Taj itself, the only place to go is inside. You'd think this might blow your mind, but it doesn't. I can honestly say that the outside is way prettier than the inside.

Inside you'll be guided to the actual tomb, which is guarded by fences and guards. Whoop, no stopping or taking pictures. Just walk, move on and go outside again.

Which is where you will find everybody's shoe plastics because well.. Yeah.

Cheers ~

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My name is Shannon, I am a digital designer and I am currently on my world trip which I am exclusively blogging about on Steemit! :D There is not a specific goal to my trip other than to have fun, discover places and unravel the secrets of Thailand, Malaysia, India, Indonesia and the USA (for now). Follow me on my adventures!

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That is really beautiful. I love how white it is.a I love how it is contrasted. I also like the background. Very impressive sh*t!

Oh, the temple is impressive as well! I love every angle of it even the panoramic thingy.

panoramic thingy

I love your comment, simply because of your tone of voice. Thanks for making me laugh!

Well, I just took it from the tone of your posts :D I like how your funny and fun personality is reflected in the way you write.

So finally the irritation on your eyes...the tiredness due to bus ride vanishes with the white cool marble look of Tajmahal. @sjennon i must appreciate the angle through which you have captured the white beauty. especially the water in front ....ohh ..have you taken the camel cart ride?

Haha, yes it did. I did think it was quite impressive. When I say majestic, I really do mean majestic.

Oohyess, I tried to get the reflection in the water - I am happy you noticed!

I haven't been on camels or any animal actually.. Hhe.

Not sure if you noticed....from parking area to taj entrance camel cart used to fery people...

Great photos. I would love to visit the Taj Mahal someday. That's too bad that you can't stop and take photos inside. And... that's too bad that everyone just throws their show bags everywhere. Now in Japan they would just ask everyone to remove their shoes before going in. I guess they think they can't enforce such a rule there.

I tried a bit, but people were actually telling on other people taking photographs so that's kinda nasty..

The bags are for the shoes actually, just that there would be a lot of shoes out there, which will get lost or stolen. Besides that, there isn't any space to store them and you don't want the entire Taj platform filled with shoes.

wow ,,,, it's a wonderful trip my friend, have a nice day, I want to be like you, hope you always success yes.

this is really a very amazing place.
my peace of heart to see this place.

It was amazing!

I feel proud that you had a trip to our ancient monument.Being a Indian, still I don't get a chance to go there. The Tajmahal is an example of true love between a couple Sahajahan and Mumtaj . Now a days love is like making a transaction, there always stands a condition in love, but I think, love should be unconditional like Sahajan and Mumtaj. From the Mumtaj(wife of Sahajan) the monument named as Tajmahal.

Taj from Mumtaj and Mahal means Tomb.

Thank you. I was happy to be there. I definitely suggest going there (thought go by train) :D

That's a wonderful story!

हेल्लो

सुपरस्टीम इंडिया आपकी इस पोस्ट को रेण्डम तरीके से अपवोट कर रहे है और फॉलो भी करते है।

आइये कोरिया, इटली और रशिया की तरह स्टीमइट पर भारतीयों की कम्युनिटीको मज़बूत करे।

इस के लिए आप सुपरस्टिम इंडिया को फॉलो करे और हमारे रिस्टीम किये हर पोस्ट को अवश्य लाइक करे.

शुक्रिया।
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हम हर एक पोस्ट जिसमे कोई भी टेग "india" होगा उन सभी पोस्टर को फॉलो करेंगे और कुछ अच्छी कंटेंट वाली पोस्ट्स को रेण्डम तरीकेसे रिस्टीम करेंगे। जल्द ही हम पावर अप करने वाले है। सम्पर्क में रहे।

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I'm yet to travel beyond the borders of south India. Tajmahal is one of the places in my wishlist that I should visit once. It is a great construction and wonderful. But people tend to forget one big fact- Shajahan, The person who built this monument, wasn't actually a great lover for Mumtaz. Mumtaz was his third wife. She died right after giving birth to her 14th child!

Ethically, whether it was a love or lust is still being debated!

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