Agra

We just got back to Neeti Bagh, from our trip to Agra. On the trip we were treated like Royalty, put up in a five star Hotel and taken to some shops where they gave us drinks while we shopped. There was a marble shop where the workers have been using the same techniques used in the Taj. While we were at that shop the owner gave us a demonstration on how they make the intricate designs on the marble. They have to use tungsten tools to scratch the surface and then cut the inlayed pieces by hand. He then took us into the shop and showed us that Indian marble was resistant to staining and cutting with out special tools. He took his key and scratched the surface of this table that was about five feet in diameter, plus he took a bottle of coke and spilled it on the surface. We all freaked out a little bit. We went to three different tourist attractions. The first was Agra Fort. This is positioned so that if you were in the fort, you would be able to see Taj Mahal from most of the rooms. Despite being attacked many times, the fort had remained unconquered for over 400 years. I wish we could have been there in the rainy season to see the moat full. But it was still pretty impressive. The next place we went was the Taj. We went early in the morning, leaving at 5:30 from the hotel, and getting there at about 6. At least the heat hadn’t gotten to the marble yet because we had to take our shoes off. Most of us just put surgical booties over our shoes because we didn’t trust the people standing around the shoes. Taj Mahal was built by Sahajahan, I’m not sure of the spelling, for his wife after her death. Now there is a man in love with his wife! He wanted to be able to see it from where ever he was, which is why he had part of Agra Fort facing the Taj. Later in the day, after we checked out of the Hotel we went to Fatehpur Shikri. This is another fort that was occupied by the grandfather of Sahajahan, Akbar. It was a fun trip but I am very glad to be back at the residence.