The glorious Taj Mahal -- Saturday, 11/4/17

What's the first thing that comes to mind if you think about India's landmarks?  The Taj Mahal, of course.  We're discovering that India has many more wonderful landmarks, but the Taj still ranks highest on everybody's list.  Saturday was the only day our group could go and, too bad, it was beyond crowded.  Most folks know the love story that inspired building the mausoleum.  If not, please Google it.

Agra is like many of America’s popular national parks, being loved to death. The crowd was unbelievable -- 25,000-30,000 on Saturday, everyone jostling to get a glimpse of the Taj Mahal. The day was hot, the sun melted us. Though our Road Scholar group had clearance to enter, men and women (separate lines) had to pass through security. Women scooted in without delay. Then we waited and waited for the guys, fortunately in a patch of shade, as the men’s line seemed set in cement.

Waiting at the entrance gate for the guys in our group.

Hold on ... we see waving hands -- they're almost through,

although that took another ten minutes.

And here we are.  Here it is.  It is beautiful.
Look at the people!

Taj Mahal in the reflecting pond.

Not, where's Waldo?  It's Jimmy and Nickie at the Taj Mahal -- really!

Look at the glorious color.

Shoes are not allowed on the upper platform.  Booties were provided.

Looking back toward the entrance gate. You know I took many photos of the beautiful and immense white marble mausoleum, built near the Yamuna River between 1631 and 1648, but we weren’t able to get inside due to the masses of people.

One of the four minarets.  Hi, Jimmy!

The Taj Mahal is flanked on both sides by mausoleums.

You see the sun gaping through the smog.

The fourth side of the complex is bordered by the Yamuna River.

I cropped the hordes of people out of this because this is the only way I could get a decent photo of the wondrous Taj Mahal. Yet, you can still see lines of people (like ants) on the upper platform.

In my mind, I can imagine the joy of seeing the gleaming marble as it was hundreds of years ago: clear skies, pristine and no crowds. Wouldn't that be something! The marble was a glorious color, but smog obscured the sunset. Directly outside the gate was squalor. My written note said only this: Hugely crowded; long hot day. But: We are grateful ... we were here.