"The Taj Mahal was built by giants and finished by jewellers".

Even at 6.00 am and well before dawn, the grounds outside the entrance to the Taj Mahal were brimming with people. Most were local Indian tourists although there was a considerable number of Europeans and Central Asian peoples.

Our guide Ravi had strongly advised that the best time to visit the Taj Mahal was at dawn. Travel guides all say the same. Not only is it cooler in summer and there are fewer tourists to struggle with, the changing colours during day break seem to inflect a magical life into what is popularly described as "the most beautiful building in the world".

No amount of reading or looking through photographs could have prepared us for our first view of the Taj Mahal. In the full splendour of a gentle pastel dawn, our sighting of the magnificent, beautifully proportioned towering monument took my breath away. Shivers passed through my spine. Alan was equally as spellbound.

"You know Shah Jahan,
life and youth, wealth and glory,
they all drift away in the current of time.
You strove therefore,
to perpetuate only the sorrow of your heart.
Let the splendour of the diamond, pearl and ruby vanish.
Only this one teardrop,
This Taj Mahal,
glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time,
for ever and ever"*

(Poet Rabindranath Tagore)

The Taj Mahal, undoubtedly one of the most famous building in the world, stands on the bank of the Yamuna River providing a magnificent skyline vista for the city of Agra. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in his grief stricken memory of his second and favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, a Persian Muslim Princess who died during the birth of her fourteenth child.


The construction of this fine marble tomb began in 1631 and took seventeen years to build. It is said that some twenty thousand artists and craftsmen, worked day and night to complete the building. Construction material was sourced from all over India and Central Asia.

The beauty of the Taj Mahal lies in its perfect proportions. The octagonal structure is topped by a beautiful domed mausoleum, balanced by four tapering minarets at the edge of its platform. Within the dome lies the jewel-inlaid Cenotaph of the Queen. The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on designs of both Persian and earlier Mughal architecture. While Mughal architecture traditionally made use of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, a style known as Pietra Dura. This exquisite marble inlay work is found on the inside and outside of the mausoleum walls. Unlike traditional Muslim artwork, floral designs were frequently used.

Standing in a beautiful garden embellished with water channels and fountains, the tomb is framed by sandstone walls and wonderful imposing gateways. The Taj Mahal has two identical buildings on each of its sides: the Mosque and the Mehman Khana.

The Mosque is made up of red sandstone. It was obligatory according to the Muslim law for each mausoleum to have a place of worship nearby. The mosque and a mirror image of the mosque, the Mehman Khana that stands on the opposite side of it, were built to provide a perfect symmetrical balance to the architecture of whole of Taj Mahal. Used for prayer purposes, the mosque faces the direction of the holy city of Mecca and is believed to have been built by Isa Mohammad. The Mehman Khana was used for the congregation of royal personages on the death anniversaries of Mumtaz Mahal and later for Shah Jahan.


Apparently some 30,000 people visit the Taj Mahal each day. Tickets cost 750 rupees or the equivalent of about AUS $15.00 per person.

We entered the Taj Mahal complex through the southern or Main Gate. The layout, elevation and design of the Gate was planned in such proportions as to balance the main attraction of the complex, the Mausoleum of Mumtaz Mahal.

An imposing structure, the two storey Gate towers over 30 m in height. It is almost square in design with octagonal towers on its corners and gorgeous cupolas (domes) similar in design to the main dome of the Taj Mahal and flanked by elegant pencil like towers. Built from red sandstone, the building is beautifully in-scripted with calligraphy comprising verses from the Qaran and decorated with Pietra Dura floral designs.

Even though it was very early morning the heat of the day was beginning to blast the Taj Mahal complex. Disappointingly, the central channel and its fountains were dry. It reminded me of our visit in 2011 to the wonderful city of Esfahan, Iran, where the Zyandeh River, home to one of the great sites of fine Iranian bridge architecture, was almost devoid of water. The muddy river banks greatly diminished the charm and well renowned beauty of one of the great features of the city.

Despite the crowds outside the entrance, the grounds of the Taj Mahal were surprisingly quiet. And despite the lack of water features, the splendour of the monuments and the serene surrounding gardens and monuments provided a tranquil and mystical atmosphere to the site of the most beautiful building in the world.

Ravi led the way down the main arcade toward the glorious Taj Mahal mausoleum. From here the sights back to the towering Main Gate and the flanking buildings of the Mehman Khana and the Taj Mahal Mosque were breathtaking.

A group of young men called out to Alan "Hey Grandfather!" Now, our Alan may be white headed but to be called Grandfather was just too much to take, especially from a group of strangers! These gregarious and charming young guys chatted with us for quite some time. They were students from Afghanistan, and from their designer clothing and the very fact they were international tourists, they were obviously from wealthy business families. When Alan told them that we had always wanted to visit their country, they were visibly horrified and like the Afghanistani men we had met in our guest house in Islamabad, told us: "You are mad. It is far too dangerous!".

To our friends, Alan and I have a reputation of thinking that a fun holiday is to visit countries with security issues in the league of those of Somalia or Dagestan. I must say we were quite taken aback by our new friends' comments. We had always wanted to visit Afghanistan. In fact, during a meal with friends at an Afghanistani restaurant in Islamabad in 2011, to my horror, Alan had almost lined up a trip accompanying Japanese media through the Wakhan Corridor from China and into eastern Afghanistan. Our Pakistani friend Amin had told us it was quite safe. He had led several expeditions for the Japanese journalists who had travelled through Afghanistan specifically to interview the Taliban. Then looking at Alan at a height of six foot five and me with such blonde hair, Amin sadly had to agree that unlike him, we would hardly blend with the the locals.

And like his fetish for beautiful marble fountains to say nothing of exquisite hand woven silk rugs, I just hoped these comments put even just a temporary end to Alan's long held Dangerous Travel Desires....

After a thorough investigation of the mausoleum building we were hot and tired and looking forward to returning to the coolness of our lovely haveli and enjoying a much needed breakfast. Ravi however had other plans. "It is important that you have time to ABSORB the surrounds of the Taj. I'll leave you here to take it all in and meet you at The Main Gate in one hour". Ravi obviously needed breakfast too. And we had to admit that spending some quiet time at the Taj was very special.

On our way back to the main gate where we were to meet Ravi, crowds were milling around the Masjid. Out of the blue I was vigorously pulled by the arm by a very thin elderly man who beckoned us to go inside. We knew that we would have to take off our shoes and by this time Alan had enough of painstakingly taking off his lace-up joggers. We also knew that you had to be Muslim to enter. "No, no - do not worry. Keep your shoes on. Come, come....." exclaimed my newly found obvious con-man friend.

I thought it was a great opportunity but Alan did not share my enthusiasm. For his age my friend was amazingly nimble and before I knew it, he had grabbed my camera, and skipping monkey-like deep into the inside of the mosque, he kept calling me to follow him. I had great difficulty keeping up, stumbling over sitting tourists and wondering where the hell I was going. I may have lost Alan but I was not going to lose my camera so I went along with his claims to take the BEST PHOTOS of the Taj. And indeed where he took several snaps, the Taj was simply resplendent in the now scorching sunshine, framed by elegant cupped windows of the mosque.

Needless to say, Alan was not at all amused at having to wait for me. More surprising was that my nimble friend did not ask for any money, although he gratefully accepted the rupees I pressed into his hand.

Back at the gate where Ravi was to meet us, we waited and waited. Alan stayed on one side of the gate while I searched the other, thinking that we may have missed him. Some half an hour later, he shuffled up to us without any apology, muttering an infuriating "OK, let's go..". I felt like choking him.

Back at our haveli we were delighted to see that Alan's shoes had returned, glued and looking great. A wonderful breakfast and we were soon on our way to Jaipur via the site of the regal City of Victory - Fatehpur Sikri.