New Delhi, India (July 2 to 14)

I was in New Delhi, India from July 2-14 and got to visit some places in Delhi as well as The Taj Mahal in Agra. On Saturday July 7th, I visited the Parliament building, India Gate, the Red Fort and Akshardham.

On Sunday July 8th, I woke up around 5 and left the hotel close to six am to begin the drive to Agra where I visited the Taj Mahal.

RED FORT
The Red Fort was the palace for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's new capital, Shahjahanabad, the seventh Muslim city in the Delhi site. He moved his capital from Agra in a move designed to bring prestige to his reign, and to provide ample opportunity to apply his ambitious building schemes and interests. The Red Fort stands at the eastern edge of Shahjahanabad, and gets its name from the massive wall of red sandstone that defines its four sides. The wall is 1.5 miles (2.5 km) long, and varies in height from 60ft (16m) on the river side to 110 ft (33 m) towards the city.

AKSHARDHAM
Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi epitomises 10,000 years of Indian culture in all its breathtaking grandeur, beauty, wisdom and bliss. It brilliantly showcases the essence of India’s ancient architecture, traditions and timeless spiritual messages. The Akshardham experience is an enlightening journey through India’s glorious art, values and contributions for the progress, happiness and harmony of mankind.

The grand, ancient-styled Swaminarayan Akshardham complex was built in only five years through the blessings of HDH Pramukh Swami Maharaj of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) and the colossal devotional efforts of 11,000 artisans and BAPS volunteers. The complex was inaugurated on 6 November, 2005.

Akshardham means the eternal, divine abode of the supreme God, the abode of eternal values and virtues of Akshar as defined in the Vedas and Upanishads where divine bhakti, purity and peace forever pervades.

We weren't allowed to take pictures of Akshardham since they were selling DVD documentaries of the palace. Their website has a really good video that shows how it was constructed.

TAJ MAHAL
Agra's Taj Mahal is one of the most famous buildings in the world, the mausoleum of Shah Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Its one among the New 7 Wonders of the world. One of three World Heritage Site in Agra, other being Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.

Completed in 1653 A.D., The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as the final resting place for his favourite Queen, Mumtaz. Finished in marble, it is perhaps India's most fascinating and beautiful monument. This perfectly symmetrical monument took 22 years (1630-1652) of hard labour and 20,000 workers, masons and jewellers to build and is set amidst landscaped gardens. Built by the Persian architect, Ustad Isa, The Taj Mahal is on the bank of the Yamuna river. It can be observed like a mirage from the Agra Fort from where Emperor Shah Jahan stared at it, for the last eight years his life as a prisoner of his son Aurangzeb.

It is a masterpiece of symmetry, seeming to be floating in the air from a distance, and each revealed as an illusion experienced as one enters through the main gate. The verses of Holy Koran as inscribed on it and at the top of gate 22 small domes, signifying the number of years the monument took to build.

The Taj Mahal has been built on a marble platform that stands above a sandstone one. The most elegant dome of the Taj, with diameter of 60 feet, rises 80 feet, over the building and directly under the dome is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan's tomb has been erected next to hers by his son Aurangzeb. Fantastic inlay works using semi-precious stones decorate the interiors.