Agra: The Taj Mahal and Agra Fort

 The forecast for the day in Agra was sunny and pleasant. It turned out to be foggy all day. (There were comments that some thought it was smog, not fog.)  The result was a different view of the Taj.


But if you were close enough you could see things fine.  And the fog kept the number of people at the site down.


We were given little blue hospital booties to wear over our shoes when we went in the mausoleum itself.

In the afternoon, I went to see Fort Agra.  Although it is called a “fort” it was really the palace compound of buildings.  There were public spaces, working spaces, and the residence of the emperors.  It reminded me of the Alhambra in Spain. 


There was a large part of the residence space set aside for the harem.


And not too far from there was the apartment where the builder of the Taj, Shah Jahan, was imprisoned by his son who seized power from him.  There is a picture of him staring out his window at the Taj, but today it looked like

The Taj is there, in the center of the photo.  With luck, Shah Jahan did not have a lot of foggy days.

After all the touring, we had an entertainment program that included turbans for the men.


We’re going to text the kids “We’ve found a guru, adopted the Indian life style, and won’t be coming home.” 

Or, maybe not…



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