When we landed in Delhi, it felt immediately different from Amsterdam. The hazy skies gave a smoky sheen to the skyline and the air felt heavy in my lungs. We had traded chilly, rainy winter for something that felt more like home with humidity and warmth in the air.
Our time in Delhi was short, though; after meeting up with two other friends for breakfast, our little crew began the trek to our first stop on our tour of the Golden Triangle of India; Agra.
It only took a moment on the road for us to realize just how different India was going to be from anything we had ever known; it’s not everyday in the United States that you pass a herd of cows barging through traffic like they own the place!
For my outdoors enthusiasts out there, it was on the first day as we traveled to Agra that we saw our first native Indian nilgai! They waited in the fields along the highway, nearly hidden in the crops and grasses growing there. Who would’ve thought that this South Texan’s first sighting of a nilgai would be halfway across the world in India! My only regret is that we couldn’t get our cameras up fast enough to snap a picture!
At first glance, Agra felt like another Delhi as we entered. That is, until you caught a glimpse of the ghostly form of the Taj Mahal in the distance, a hazy yet familiar shape hovering in the skyline.
But we wouldn’t venture to the Taj Mahal quite yet; that would be our final stop in Agra in the early hours at sunrise.
Today, we would see the home of the Empress who inspired the Taj and the Emperor who built it for her; Agra Fort. Built in the 1500’s by the Mughal kings, the enormous fort is still used by Indian military today. Our tour guide shrugged when he explained that we would only get to see 30% of the entire fort, but we didn’t know at the time that 30% was a lot of fort to see!
As we walked through the enormous gates, I suddenly felt so small; this structure had been here 500 years, and it would probably still be here for centuries after I was long gone. I had never had the sensation of being around something so ancient and it was a really unusual feeling.
Once we walked through the main gates, we came to the outside of the palace, surrounded by manicured lawns and flower beds.
In the third picture, this was a bath that was actually found in the courtyard. It was HUGE! (They’re not entirely sure how it ended up there!)
In the last picture, you can see a smaller arch above the large one at the ground level. The Emperor would ride the elephants up the ramped path you saw up above and would dismount the elephant in that small archway, where his lovely Empress would be waiting to greet him. Literally an elephant door!
As we walked through the archway above, I gasped audibly. We walked into a courtyard for the White Marble Palace and it was pretty incredible to behold. It was built by Shah Jahan for his chief wives.
This was my favorite part of the entire Agra Fort, honestly!
In some of the pictures above, you might have noticed the darker colored designs on the walls; those are actually carved into the walls and used to hold gemstone inlay! As the fort was conquered again and again through history, people pried out the gemstones until there were none left.
The pictures below are of an area that still has almost all of its gemstones inlayed on the walls, and it has been cordoned off so the gemstones will remain untouched.
If you think this is impressive, wait until you see the same kind of work on the Taj Mahal!
Next, we came out into an area that was reserved for all of the women in the harem; they could shop and sell goods to each other, like a “ladies only” market. Only the Emperor and a few select servants could go there.
This is also where Shah Jahan would’ve met the woman to inspire the Taj Mahal!
From there, we entered the pavilion and courtyard where they held the royal audiences. It was truly a beautiful place!
I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that we walked through only 30% of this enormous fort that was built before America was even discovered. How many people walked those same steps? How many times has someone gazed over those same gardens in wonder? How many times has someone leaned against the open window to get a better view of the Taj Mahal?
Again, I couldn’t help but feel so small beside this ancient structure that had endured over time. I just couldn’t imagine anything coming close to the experience we had ending the day among the spires of Agra Fort, even the Taj Mahal.
You’ll have to stay tuned for the next blog post to find out!
Jess and the Outdoors 