It is even surprising that in such an incredibly dirty and stinking region was born and preserved such a divine monument as the Taj Mahal. As a lotus flower, which can grow in the most dirty puddle and maintain his dazzling purity and whiteness. Yes, it is the way that he looks like a marshmallow creation, on something snow-white. Even fountains in the yard were bored, although they say, they are no longer included daily, but only for the arrival of some important people. The guide imposed to us said that it was for good luck.
They say it is even more beautiful at night, but in order to see it, we should remain in this permanent hole at night, which is not possible to present even in a nightmare. We did not go inside. In order to get there and see the tombs themselves, it was necessary to defend a two-hour boster with a barefoot on an ice marble (the temperature now in these parts, as I mentioned, Impressive +5 - +7). Common sense prevailed, health turned out to be more expensive. Plus, the people who visited there, argue that the interior is not very different from the exterior, only two marble tombs in the twilight, nothing more. Highly educated and advanced British in their time took care to plunder inside as much as possible. As I know, there are no excellent silver doors, symbolizing the entrance to paradise, they are not immantably replaced by copper. Initially, the Taj Mahal (wreath of Mughal) was called the Taj Bibika Rauza - the place of burial of the queen of the heart. The tomb is built in strict canons of Islamic architecture, so it has some kind of similarity with a mosque, which is indicated by minarets, dome, the stern colors arches, Arabic lining ornament on the walls and the facade. The taj is installed on a square platform from red sandstone with four truncated corners, and thus has the shape of an incorrect octagon. All buildings of the complex are subordinated to the strict symmetry, which only richly decorated the coffin of the emperor violates. The mausoleum is surrounded by four elegant subtle minarets, which have some angle of deviations back, from the tomb, which is not at all an error in the design, this provision of minarets would save the tomb of destruction in the event of an earthquake. 22 dome at the main gate symbolize 22 years, which the construction of the Taj Mahal was stretched. On the territory of the mausoleum you can walk endlessly and admire this miracle of the world, but after noon the number of tourists increases with every minute, and soon there will not push back there. What to talk about the calm inspection of the surroundings. We hurried further.
We certainly wanted to see the fort, although time was already seriously pressed - as I said, everything closes at five. Almost running there, we fled there, I really wanted to wander inside calmly and with pleasure, see the very prison where he spent the last nine years of his life awesome Shahdzhan, admiring the openwork stone lattice on his creation and mourning about the departed Mumtaz. Red Fort Agra is a pretty powerful structure, conceded around the perimeter with a wide moat and a double ring of impressive walls.
During the reign of the dynasty of the Great Mogolov, there were hungry crocodiles, and no less hungry tigers wandered around in reed thickets. I can not pass like wonderful gardens, stonework, ceiling winds, walls, floors and transitions. The view from Fort to the Taj deprives the gift of speech, even despite the fact that at that time of the day he was already shrouded in fog.
As it should be expected (although the hope was developed, which will be different), the good part of the palaces in the Fort is closed and not desirable for viewing. We managed to still look through the clouded window of the Mirror Palace (Shish Mahal), which, of course, was locked on Rusty (!) Castle, pinned directly to magnificent carved doors. Still, the Indians do not understand what beauty and architectural value keep their land.