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| The fast train from Dehli |
After an 18 hour flight from the Quad Cities to Delhi, India we finally arrive in Delhi at 110:30 pm. We decided a month ago to take a tour of the Taj Mahal in Agra the next day since we had one day layover in Delhi. The only hitch is that the tour leaves our hotel at 5 am and we didn't get to sleep until 1:15 am. We met our driver at 5 am and left for Agra at 6 am, right on time. The two hour ride across the Indian countryside was enjoyable and we had a light breakfast served on the train. We were met again at the train station in Agra by the travel company, which took us to a hotel where we could freshen up. Great service by the company and a pleasant introduction to India.
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| Our guide - Sunny |
We met our guide - Sunny - and we're off to the Taj. Sunny was well - sunny- a great guide extremely knowledgeable about the Taj and the history of the Mogul empire We had great conversations about the Islamic art and architecture. One thing that impressed me is the similarity of the Taj to the Registan in
Sammarkand. The key difference is that the Registan is covered with colored tiles while the Taj is covered in a local white marble that is extremely hard and durable.
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| Sunny explains the details |
The designs are inlaid onyx and semi precious stones. The overall design is a representation of heaven from a Sufi perspective. The builder got several Sufi mystics together and had them describe what heaven is like. It is a true wonder of the world and well worth the time it took to get here. He also arranged a professional photographer to do a photo shoot. He knew alll the good spots and we ended up with an album of prints and a CD to go with it. It was reasonable - about $50. I spent more than that at JCPenny's portrait studio for 3 pictures. Anyway it was our 45th anniversary of knowing each other so now we have a souvenir.
Next up was the Agra fort of Ankbar the great. Ankbar had three wives; one was Muslim, one was Jewish, and the other Hindu. This was evident in the religious symbols carved into the sandstone and marble walls. Ankbar held a great religious conference with scholars and theologians from all over the world, who met and declared they were all using different language to describe the same faith. I asked Sunny how many followers are there today of Anbar - none was the answer. Even in Ankbar's time he only had 20 disciples.
Next up was the Agra fort of Ankbar the great. Ankbar had three wives; one was Muslim, one was Jewish, and the other Hindu. This was evident in the religious symbols carved into the sandstone and marble walls. Ankbar held a great religious conference with scholars and theologians from all over the world, who met and declared they were all using different language to describe the same faith. I asked Sunny how many followers are there today of Anbar - none was the answer. Even in Ankbar's time he only had 20 disciples.
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