we paid our 750 rupees (20 for indians, sigh) and were ushered through the first entrance portal. as we rounded the corner surrounded by dozens of other (mostly indian) tourists, we caught out first glimpse. it's one of those sights that you've seen so many times it doesn't feel new. what's surreal is that you're seeing this strangely familiar place for the first time.what stands out most about the building for me was the size. maybe this is what everyone says, but it really is enormous! people are just dwarfed by this massive mausoleum. other than that, i was impressed by the proportions and the beautiful simplicity - the white marble and refined designs. maybe this is blasphemous, or maybe i just have a taste for the overdone (read: extensive tiles), but i still say the dome of the rock is my favorite islamic structure.
other than enjoying the architecture itself, i enjoyed watching the indian tourists almost as much as they seem to enjoy watching me. yet again we seemed to be the objects of much attention from our fellow tourists, they surreptitiously taking pictures of me (which i felt entitled me to do the same). i spent quite a while relaxing just outside the door delighting in the colorful saris against the clean white marble.but of course there's more to agra than the taj mahal (though you certainly wouldn't know it from the postcards or tacky souvenirs). for us agra was especially meaningful because my friend manish was nice enough to drive down and join us from delhi. in addition to taking care of my mother when she finally succumbed to the heat (it was 112 that day) and helping us deal with hawkers, he showed us parts of the city we never would have seen otherwise.
he advised us against going to the red fort (as by then we had seen similar structures) and instead drove us 40 minutes away to the city of fatehpur sikri. what a treat! the complex had the typical red sandstone of indian mughal structures, and akbar himself prayed in the friday mosque. my favorite part was the smaller prayer hall, the dargah. the carved window screens (jalis) were so beautiful and delicate-looking. and to this day people tie red and yellow strings to the walls in hopes of good fortune and fertility.
our last stop the next day was the moon gardens for a rare glimpse of the taj mahal from behind. it took a surprisingly long time to get there, given their relative proximity. we ended up just across the (rather dry) river with an impressive view of the still-massive structure. parts of it were obscured by brick walls or barbed wire, which i think only made the view that much more intriguing. it was a nice parting shot to remember agra by.our next stop was delhi and, sadly, out of india. but hopefully not for long!
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