Taj Mahal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Call me jaded, but I did not expect to be floored by the Taj Mahal.

We arrived in Agra by train, and tuk-tuked through grim, dusty streets to our hotel in the backpacker ghetto. We climbed up to the roof deck, and there it was, massive, yet delicate, bone white and mesmerizing. It was Friday when we arrived, the day the Taj is closed to visitors,meaning our first glimpse of it was uncompromised by the skittering masses of tourists that are on the monument from dawn till dusk.

Even at a distance, it is achingly beautiful. The semi-translucent marble changes with every type of light, delicately mirroring the color of the sky. Up close, you see the inlaid calligraphy and the myriad of tiny details that elevate it, in my opinion, above all other monuments. The walls are lavishly adorned with flowers formed from inlaid slivers of precious stones. The motif is duplicated both inside and outside the structure, ringing the minarettes and domes, transforming the entire edifice into a whimsical jewel box. Where there are not inlaid jewels, the marble is carved into flowers. Where there are not marble flowers, there are marble screens carved so finely that it looks like ivory wax.

The Taj Mahal is special because it is so uniquely feminine. Created by Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz (who died after giving birth to their 14th child), it is the only monument of its caliber that I can think of which honors a woman who was not a Greek goddess. That it seems so personalized to this woman in particular, and that after four hundered years it is absolutely pristine, is very moving. But more than that, the fact that it was created as a gesture of a great love between two humans, and not to god, country, or some other intent, that it is so powerful and unique. If we need a mark on the Earth to prove the depth and beauty of human love, you can find one, in India.


Yes, it's BIG!


Tower designed to tilt slightly outward, so in the event of an earthquake, they don't crush the world's fanciest box.


More proof that it is BIG!


Everything is marble, and every inch is decorated. You wear special booties inside to not mar the floors.



I've now come away with the strong feeling that a lot of the "Taj Mahal" Indian joints I've patronized in the past have been a bit over-reachy with their choice of nomenclature.

We've got video footage of a lot of the finer details from the Taj coming at some point in the future. Stay tuned!