Agra

Our visit  included the three cities of India's Golden Triangle Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur.

In Nepal we enjoyed the city of Kathmandu, the village of Khokana, and a flight over Mount Everest.

and throughout the trip we enjoyed seeing the bright colors of saris the ladies wore.

The pictures on these pages are the result of the combined efforts of the photographers who agreed to share their pictures. 
Their contributions are very much appreciated since we each captured our own unique view of the trip.
My sincere thanks to Don Fischer, Dorota Kotowska, Patricia McCleaf, and Don Sledz.


Some sights along the road from  Deli to Agra or Agra to Jaipur. 
Cows are honored by Hindus as a symbol of unselfish giving (labor, milk, and fuel for cooking and heating).
Their belief is respected by others in India. 
That means cows can be seen everywhere in towns and along the highways.

A small Hindu temple and a goddess on her lion vehicle.
I would have said this was Durga because of the lion but she is usually represented with many arms.
 

These donkeys were resting but were ready to carry clay, cement or bricks for a construction company.
The guys riding on the roof of the bus were there because no one else would fit inside.
 

Entertainers were often seen at lunch stops and places where checks were required as we went from one state to another.

More views from the bus as we passed through towns.
Stands selling little packets of tobacco and/or offering phone service.
Where the road was being widened from two to four lanes some houses were partially demolished.
These people were scavenging bricks and loading them on a tricycle.
 

The Taj Mahal, built by Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his favorite wife Mumtaj Mahal who died giving birth to their 14th child.
The first picture shows the entry gate.

Our first views of the Taj.

Some details.

The entry gate as seen from from the Taj.
 

Some other tourists.

As the sun sets.

The entrance to Agra's Red Fort with monkeys guarding the drawbridge over the dry moat around it.

Inside were massive walls and towers inlayed with stone mosaics.
Did you see the monkey on the tower in the first picture?
 

Much of the inside of the fort is filled with gardens.

The Emperor Shah Jahan spent the last years of his life here under what amounted to house arrest.
From this rooms he could see the Taj Mahal. 
When  we visited the view was poor because of air pollution.
I am sure that in the mid 17th century that wasn't nearly as big a problem.
    

A panoramic view of the central area of the fort.

Akbar's Tomb
 

These monkeys were in the garden that surrounds the tomb.

As were these antelope.

Fatephur Sikri, the deserted city.
Between 1570 and 1585, during the rein of Emperor Akbar this was the capital of the Mughal Empire.
Because the emperor had no male heir he made a pilgrimage to a saint who lived here.
The saint foretold the birth of Akbar's son and Akbar then transferred the capital to this site and built the city.
The city was eventually abandoned due to difficulty with the water supply.

An amazing place with even more restoration in progress.

We stopped at a shop were we watched the crafting of tables inlayed with semiprecious stones.
The design layout is drawn on a brown coating on the marble top.
It is then incised in the surface.
 

The stones are shaped on hand powered grinding wheels and placed together to test the fit.
 

The result can be a six by eight foot table covered with intricate designs.
If you have to ask the price there is no way you can't afford it.

Go to our page about Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Kathmandu, KhokanaMount Everest, saris

See other places we have visited here.

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