Onsite Seminar II

Despite yesterday was a long and exhausting day we got up really early today. Everyone was ready at 6 am for the sunrise tour to the Taj Mahal. Even though everybody had seen pictures of the famous mausoleum before it still seemed a little like in a fairytale when we looked at it in the sunrise. The Taj Mahal is an impressive building build out of white marble. It is located in Agra, Utter Pradesh  and was build by Mughal emperor Shar Jahan. Before it became his mausoleum it was originally a monument for his wife Mumatz i-Mahal who died while she was giving birth to their 14^th child. The early hour gave us the chance to explore the beauty of Taj Mahal before it was getting crowded and also the enormous heat arrived. After the visit it was time to take the impressions in during a rich breakfast. Reinvigorated, we then started the visit of Agra Fort. This fort is like a walled city and has been home to several generations of Mughals. It is therefore of enormous historical importance for the Indians. The building was also home to Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife. It is sad that he died in one of the towers with a white marble balcony facing the Taj Mahal. After his death he was transported to Taj Mahal by boat and was buried there.  Forth Agra combines Hindu and Islamic architecture and in the way the walls are painted shows traditional arts of both cultures.

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Kathrin Gründner