Too bad we only had one day to spend in Agra. The converted palace where I spent the night would have been much more appreciated if I had more time to explore the grounds. Our morning started maybe 5 or 6 hours after we arrived. We spent most of the day on the bus, going from the Taj Mahal back towards Delhi, with stops at Agra Fort and an orphanage started by Mother Theresa along the way. I’m not posting any of the photos I took at the orphanage because I think that’d be a little exploitative. I’ve got to keep something just for myself, you know?
We awoke in Agra at 3:30am. We needed to get to the East Gate of the Taj Mahal in time for
the opening of the gates at sunrise. Supposedly that’s the best time to view mausoleum. This
was my very first view of the structure, as seen through a gateway.
When the first rays of sunlight hit the Taj it was still a bit overcast. Luckily we had a good
amount of time with which to explore inside and out. Agra wasn’t really a polluted, hazy place
but this picture would imply otherwise. In fact I think it was the nicest city we visited during the trip.
When the foreground is clear I like the way that it contrasts the fog.
You can see that the sky was starting to clear here.
In order to keep the perfect symmetry of the Taj Mahal in tact, a mosque was built on one side
of the complex and an identical structure (used as a guesthouse) was built on the other side.
The sun rises behind the Taj.
You’re not allowed to take pictures inside the mausoleum, and while
I followed this rule in the crypt, I couldn’t help myself from catching
this on my way out the side exit.
The sky turns clear.
Once I resigned myself that I wasn’t going to get shots of a perfect blue sky I could focus
more on trying to just capture a really good picture that’d be unique to my visit.
Our next stop was Agra Fort, which is about a mile away from the Taj. It was lived in by Babur,
it was the site of Humayun’s crowning, Sher Shah lived there, and Akbar made it his capital.
Under the regime of his grandson, Shah Jahan (who built the Taj) some of the buildings
inside were destroyed and rebuilt. Later in his life Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son
in the fort, in a tower with a marble balcony with a view of the Taj.
On a clear day you can see the Taj from the Fort, but today was not one of those days.
Even after the sun burnt off the morning haze, visibility from the elevated fort was difficult.
That’s the balcony where Shah Jahan was imprisoned. It’s closed
to the public for some reason.
Here’s a really lame, wannabe “artsy” Photo 101 shot I took.
A different view of the balcony where Shah Jahan was imprisoned.
I got photobombed by a stray dog.
A battle took place at the fort in 1857 during the Indian rebellion, which ended with a century of direct rule by Britain.
Grouper – Alien Observer [MP3]
