Trip to India & Nepal- Agra Part 4- More Baby Taj

A beautiful inside door

Ceiling detail.

Another floor design.

Lots of gold detail.

Another replica.

The monument has beautiful grounds.

We saw hundreds of chipmunks all over India

Trip to India & Nepal-Agra Part 3- The Baby Taj

After we left the Taj Mahal we drove to the other side of the river to see the back of the Taj, and the Baby Taj, and passed the Red Fort on the way.

Despite having been to Agra twice before I had never heard of the so called "Baby Taj".

The Itimad - ud - Daulah is the tomb of Mirza Ghiyas and predates the "real" Taj.

Located on the left bank of the Yamuna river, the mausoleum is set in a large cruciform garden criss-crossed by water courses and walkways. The mausoleum itself is set on a base about 50 meters square and about 1 meter high. The mausoleum is about 23 meters square. On each corner are hexagonal towers, about 13 meters tall.

The walls are white marble from Rajasthan encrusted with semi-precious stone decorations - cornelian, jasper, lapis lazuli, onyx, and topaz in images of cypress trees and wine bottles, or more elaborate decorations like cut fruit or vases containing bouquets. Light to the interior passes through delicate jali screens of intricately carved white marble.

It was the first building in Mughal Agra to be faced in marble.

The paintings are spectacular but not as well preserved as the interior of the Taj.

Floor tiles.

Inside the dome.

These are replicas as the bodies are buried underneath the building.

Drying laundry by the river.

The Taj from the back.

The tuk tuk we hired and the driver.

A tea stand where we stopped.

Goats and a book seller.

A camel for hire.

It was a bit too misty for a good view.

Trip to India & Nepal - Agra Part 2

The carving all over the Taj is just exquisite.

All the flowers are inlaid semi-precious stones.

And the floor is marble. Tourists are required to leave their shoes and don plastic booties to protect the floor.

It is amazing that all this carving is in just about pristine condition after so many centuries.

The mosque. The matching building on the opposite side was put there to give the site balance.

Some of the leaves and flowers have as many as sixty stones.

Soldiers cut some of them out during occupations over the years.

Trip to India & Nepal - Agra Part 1

After the usual hassles with tuk tuks and taxis we arrived at our hotel and dropped off our bags. It was a budget affair (Tourist Rest Home) where I have stayed before and had a beautiful courtyard/restaurant. One of its attractions as the rooms are ok but not special. The owner is also very good about organizing honest tuk tuk drivers for you and is very helpful.

A goat by a shop in an alley near the entrance to the Taj. To cut down pollution cars now have to park quite a ways from the entrance.

You are now also searched in a similar fashion to boarding an aircraft.

You are not allowed to enter with food or beverage and they give you a bottle of water.

Barb and Michael in front of the Taj.

No photo ever does it justice. The building just glows.

The mosque.

One of the many carvings in the doorway of the Taj.