Agra, Home of the Taj Mahal

How could you not be excited visiting the home of one of the seven modern wonders of the world?!

In the morning we headed off to visit the Agra Fort which was primarily a military structure (with enough room for the Emperor’s 500-strong harem), later converted into a palace and then to a prison. Today, a quarter of this gigantic complex is open for tourists and the remainder is used by the Indian Army. It is constructed out of red sandstone and white marble with little alleyways all through it, making it like a maze and the ideal location for playing hide-and-seek. There is also an aspect where you are able to catch beautiful views from the fort windows over to the Taj Mahal.

Five o’clock came around and it was time to see what we had come for. Being around other excited people and catching slight glimpses as we headed through the gates turned me from being the ‘mature young traveller’ into a ‘kid in a candy shop’. This structure deserves its name, ‘Beautiful Palace’; it is truly breath-taking. Its creator, Emperor Shah Jahan who built it for his wife who died giving birth to their 14th child said it made “the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes”. We stood and marvelled for some time and then the photo challenge began – managing to snap photos without a million tourists blocking your frame! A few of us decided to brave the crowd and go inside the main dome – such a mistake! The disorderliness was frightful and getting up and down the stairs being pushed into masses of people resembled a rock concert mosh pit, not sightseeing at a religious monument – I definitely regretted going up there. However, all in all, it was amazing and definitely a trip worth making at least once in a lifetime.