Taj Mahal? Yep...it really is all that!

It really was worth traveling about 10 hours

on mostly bumpy, slow, harrowing roads.

And arising with the moon and the stars.

And queuing in the chilly, damp, dark air.

Not your average ticket office.

We arrived at the ticket office full of anticipation,

which we could sense was shared by all around us.

My view from the queue in the forecourt.
Most of the buildings are made of this red sandstone.

Foreigners and Nationals pay different rates of admission to many places in India.

And women queue separately from men.

I ended up in the shortest of the four lines, 

although that didn't seem to make any difference in the long run!

Here's a look at the bazaar,  in which I was waiting, along the other direction.

Homeless mother sheltering in an alcove.

As I may have mentioned,

there are wild dogs all over India, 

in prolific number,

here's one with her pups,

nestled beside us in line.

Terrible photo...but, all of a sudden,
out of nowhere,
there were camels strolling by!

I whiled away the time chatting with giggling Nursing students from Shimla,

who were as excited as if they were about to see the boys from One Direction.

The Taj Mahal elicits just that sort of giddy expectation.

Security is taken very seriously here.
Visitors are only allowed a bottle of water, camera, and small handbag/wallet.

At last, we were free to wander the beautiful grounds 

and make our way to the marble wonder.

I wanted to rush to the foreground of the massive marble dome

and greedily drink it in before the tourists cluttered the view.

However, the tour guide sensibly slowed us down,

to show us the details of so many other aspects of this monument of love.

The Great Gate - quite impressive just by itself.

Like the beautiful marble tomb, 

the Great Gate is meticulously inlaid
with precious and semi-precious stones, 

and calligraphy.

You may notice that above the entrance way are eleven small domes,

these are echoed on the other side of the building,

and represent the 22 years that it took to build the Taj Mahal.

Okay, okay...I know. I was the same way...let's get on with it!

But, before we go in...just look at the sun rising - spectacular!

The sunrise that will light up the ever-changing marble tomb.

Here we go.....our first glimpse!

I actually had goose pimples.

Ethereal splendour

A study in symmetry,
although, perhaps you can see that the four minarets
bow slightly outwards,
so that if there was an earthquake,
they'd fall away from the central tomb.

Here's a look at how the light changed the view of the light-refracting marble

during the short time we were there:

Shortly after sunrise...

About 15 minutes later...

15 minutes after that...

...and about an hour and a quarter after sunrise -
vibrantly sharing its splendour.

Now we'll have a look at some of the details.

(Click on the photo to get a better look.)

Here you can see the scale of the building,

as those small dark objects at the base of the central arch 

are people.

And the filigree that you can see in that arch

is inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones,

such as:

 lapis-lazuli, turquoise, agate,

coral, sapphire, crystal,

onyx, jade, cat's eye,

bloodstone, goldstone, carnelian, & garnet.
(The finial on top used to be made of solid gold...alas, it's now brass.)

Here's a closer look at that inlay.

Looking way up from the ground beneath.

Some of the beautiful inlay and carving.

The colours are deep and rich.

The coral was truly amazing.

Inside the tomb,

(where cameras were banished)

our guide lit a flashlight at one end of a coral bloom,

and the entire piece lit up like a flame.

It just glowed.

Here's a look at one of the minarets in the morning light.

I love the way the tracery lights up the bas relief and stone inlay.
It would be interesting to see the play of light
throughout the day.

I am a sucker for symmetry,
and the Taj Mahal is consistent to that style throughout.
Here's the view from the marble tomb.

Just another view of the beauty.

Striking Mughal architecture throughout the grounds.

Of course, we mustn't forget the less famous buildings.
The mosque is only open for prayers on Fridays.
This structure stands to the left (facing) of the tomb,
and across the way,  is an identical structure...natch.

Breathtaking, balanced views whichever way you turned.

Lush and vast greenery all around.

The grounds are lovely and serene...as you'd expect.

It was terribly hard to bid adieu!