The Taj and Agra Fort

after posting photos... i feel like i owe you more of an explanation. i will make it short and effective, because the sun is shining outside and it is so warm and nice and it does that for so few hours a day here in Agra in mid-December, that i want to get out in it and warm my bones.
so but the photos.... are of two locations. the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort: the Mughal palace and centre of power during their reign. Fascinating era. The Taj Mahal, of course, one of, if not THE most beautiful piece of architecture ever constructed. It is a monument of love. When Mumtaz, the empress of the Shah Jahan died giving birth to their 14th child, he built it to house her tomb, as a tribute to her and as an expression of his intense love for her. So she never saw it. And the expediture for building the monument was so great, that he was overthrown by his son and imprisoned in the palace, a short distance away, where he could never visit the Taj, but only stare yearningly at it from afar. So tragic.
The site is almost magical. Because it was built out of love, not out of a display of power, it carries an energy unlike anything i've ever seen or felt. It is the same dimensions tall as it is wide and master craftsmen were commissioned lands as far away as Persia and China, workers in marble, calligraphers (for the scripture engraved on its sides), the workmanship is amazing. Everthing hand carved and inlaid.
The palace is similar in its beauty and it is so expansive. HUGE is the word. The rooms go on and on, and there are fountains and courtyards and you can just imagine the wealth and life of the royalty that were housed their for generations. Thank you stephanie for the books, because i read all about life there, so i could imagine what it would have been like. and you can wander all over throughout. we must have taken 300 photos. it was gorgeous. here are just a few to give you a glimpse.