The Taj Mahal

_We woke up at six in the morning, and it was very dark. We bundled up well, draping several shawls over ourselves, and set off for the beautiful Taj Mahal. The Taj is a shrine to Shah Jahan's third wife, who died giving birth to their fourteenth child. It took 22 years to build, yet after all that hard work of 40000 men, Shah Jahan's oldest son put him in prison. I'm not very sure why, but my only guess would be that he was the son of the first wife, and probably felt that Shah Jahan loved his third wife better than his mother. The first wife did get a shrine, but it wasn't nearly as grand as the Taj Mahal.    
    We had to wait in line for a while - even though we were the first - because the gates were still closed. We'd booked the tickets the day before so we didn't have to wait in a crazy ticket line-up. Anyway, when the gates did open, we went . . .

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_ through security and got let into the Taj Mahal area. By then the sun had half-risen. We walked through another gate, but we didn't have to do anything special. Then the Taj came into view.  White. That's always what people say it's coloured. But I disagree. Sure, at a GLANCE it's white, but when you look closely it has all different texture; bits of yellow, bits of black, bits of pink, and the occasional pure white. It's made out of white marble, which had to be transported 400 km from Jaipur by camels and elephants, but white marble also has bits and pieces of everything else. I could also see little detail designs, but I'd have to get up close for a better look.
    Naturally, we started taking pictures, before the gardens became over crowded with tourists. I had to wrap my nose in a scarf, it was so cold! It reminded me of a hockey rink; the icy sting mixed in with several smells, not all of them nice. We had been offered tour guides, but decided to hold off, since we just wanted a good look.

_We walked around and about, then into the Taj. We had to wear ridiculous white shoe covers! At least we didn't we'd have to go bare-foot, and if we did THAT our toes would fall off! Anyways, we made our way inside, and I discovered the beautiful designs of flowers. They were made out of several different stones, each from a different place, and came out with a plant of gorgeous colours; red, green, yellow and pink. Sure the pink was just a lighter part of the red, but it was my favourite. One of the yellow flowers reminded me of honey. Rich, gooey, mellow honey. There were lots of swirly pink designs, and I took lots'a lots'a pictures.

_Inside was amazing as well, with a lot of domed rooms and hallways. The main place was where they kept replicas of Shah Jahan's and the third wife's coffins (the guide told us that later). We walked around a bit more, then went out to get a guide.  When we looked behind us at the Taj Mahal after arranging an agreement with the guide, the Taj was swallowed with mist. Only one tower was visible. It was so magical! Like the Taj was shimmerring in and out of reality.
    Normally I find guides boring and hard to understand, but this time I was actually interested, and hung onto every word. The walk through the Taj with the guide was very different than without a guide. It was very educational, although I got yelled at a couple times by other people because I took a photo inside the Taj. Oops.
    One time we were in a seperate building beside the Taj Mahal, the guide showd us a trick. Start at the wall, facing the Taj, so that it's framed in one of the archways. Then walk forward 11 feet, the Taj seems to push away from you. Then, if you walk back, it seems as if the Taj Mahal is attached to you. As you walk back it gets bigger and
bigger and bigger. Wierd!

_I love the Taj Mahal, and am debating whether or not I should come back. I mean, the Taj itself is gorgeous, but Agra isn't. Agra is the city in which the Taj is located and it is so polluted. But I think I will come back when I'm older, to write books that take place in the Taj Mahal.
-Allie

Here are some facts about the Taj Mahal:

- It took 22 years  to build the Taj from 1631-1653.
- For every year it took to build the Taj they put a small dome on the Nothern gate entrance, so there's 22 domes.
- It is 243 feet tall --- 180 metres
- The brass tip and moon on top is 10 metres
- Originally the top moon spire was made from gold --- the British took the gold, replacing it with brass
- All the supplies were transported 400 km by camels and elephants
- The white marble came from Jaipur and the red sandstone came from Fateh Sikrhi
- The floral designs on the Taj --- green jade from China, black onix from Belgian
- The Taj Mahal was blackened from pollution --- cleaned it with milk, soil, cereal and lime
- Taj Mahal means Crowned Palace

Here is a corny tourist photo for you