Our Cramazing May, Episode LIII: The Taj Mahal

Walking through this archway was a bit surreal.  Here I was, on the other side of the world from home, with my new son on my hip, about to catch my first glimpse of a building I'd seen a thousand times in pictures.  It was really strange.  

Of course, the off-brand Dramamine might have helped make it seem more strange than it really was.

A walk through the arch, and then...

...the Taj Mahal!

It's hard to describe its beauty...at least with my limited vocabulary.  The grounds surrounding the Taj were beautiful, but the building itself was so majestic that it was hard to notice much else.

We had made it!  Our decision-making and back-and-forth had culminated in our actually being there.  And despite the troubles of the day, I certainly am glad that we had the experience, if only for this one picture, one of my favorites of the whole trip...

Before we traveled to India, I had seen photo after photo of forever families standing in this exact spot.  And now it was our turn...cramazing.  I love this photo!

Interestingly, when Tom sees a picture of the Taj, he thinks that that's where he was born.  Too funny!

What is really interesting to me about the above picture is how white everything is.  We knew it would be hot, so I suppose we all wore light colors for that reason, but in the end, we all had on white shirts, and the white stone of the Taj stands against a white sky.  I have seen pictures of the Taj at various times in the day and with various kinds of sky behind it....on this particular day, the sky and the building collaborated to match our attire!  :)

Hoffbeast getting the history of the Taj from TG...

Look how tiny the people are next to the massive building....it is positively one of the most beautiful structures I've ever seen!  It's the combination of white marble and inlaid jeweled stones that makes it so gorgeous, and I'm so glad we got to see it up close and personal.  I definitely understand its Seven Wonders status.

I wish I could remember all that TG told us about the Taj, but my poor memory on all things historical combined with the meds leaves me wanting.

Look what Tom found...a chipmunk!  I remember thinking that of all the chipmunks I've seen drawn in comics and portrayed in cartoons, I don't remember actually seeing many of them in person.  Had to go all the way to India to see a live chipmunk!

We were required to wear protective coverings over our shoes as we walked into the Taj.  Either that or take our shoes off.  No thank you.

Even with the shoe coverings, necessary for protecting the marble from dirt, mud, gum, and anything else that might get tracked in, the steps up to the Taj interior were depressed, stained forever by years and years and years of tourists walking up them.

Upon entering the tomb proper (for that is what the Taj Mahal is, after all), TG whipped out his handy dandy pocket flashlight and showed us the beauty of the Fire Stone, one of many inlaid stones used in the Taj design.

The Fire Stones adorn much of the interior....so intricate and beautiful!

At TG's urging, Rex got in on the action.  It was probably the favorite part of our day for him, my young son who knew more about the Taj upon arrival than I possibly did.  You can tell how HOT it was that day because, well, Rex hardly ever sweats, and he was sweating big time that day!

Keep in mind that Rex is a fact guy, and he had read several books already that touched upon the significance of the Taj.  (Plus, the Little Einsteins went there in their favorite Rocket ship!)

Finally, we came to the actual tombs.  Sort of.  Turns out that the bodies were actual buried way below the ground's surface.  According to TG, tradition says that the Shah and his wife were actually buried seven stories below the sarcophaguses in which most people believe their remains, uh...remain.

The larger sarcophagus (on the left) is the Shah's; the smaller one next to his belongs to his wife.

Have I said how amazing the architecture and the carvings were?  To think how long it took to build and how many people worked on it.....astounding!  I really wish we could have stayed longer and really taken it all in.  But with TG, time was a-wastin' and we had to move on!

On either side of the actual mausoleum, there was another, smaller-but-still-ornate building.  If it wasn't over two years since I'd been there by now, I could probably tell more about these buildings; as it is, I don't remember much.  

What I DO remember, however, is that it was right around the time we were looking at this building that a group of young men came up and wanted to take a picture with Rex.  Now, mind you, he had been getting A LOT of stares already, so this was kind of the last straw for me, and I went into Mama Bear mode.  "No, you can't take his picture!  You can have one of the whole family, but NOT one of just him!"  Never mind, they seemed to say.  Plus I think they were a little shocked at my tenacity.

It was strange for him to be getting so much attention.  He wasn't sure what to do with it and definitely was a little scared, especially when different people started grabbing his arms and trying to get him to pose for the camera.  It was strange for us, too, but especially for me, as Hoffbeast was busy trying to appease TG while he tried desperately to keep us on schedule--his schedule, that is.  :(

In looking back, maybe we should have just let them take the pictures.  But on that day, Rex felt protected by his mom and dad who went to bat for him and his safety, and that's a good thing!

I leave you with one last, sad picture.  In this one, we are standing on the porch of the Taj, and while the three of use were doing just fine, Tom was done.  Absolutely finished, wanting nothing more to do with our day in Agra.
Hey, at least he had a Moby wrap to relax in.

(That's a joke.  All Moby wrap wearers may now laugh hysterically at my poor effort.)