Early rise today to go to the Taj Mahal, one of the highlights of the tour. As you enter the gates to the Taj Mahal, you are not disappointed. The view is breathtaking. The Taj Mahal appears in the background as an amazing white castle nestlings behind great gardens.
The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died in 1631at the age of 38 giving birth to their 14th child. On her death bed she asked Shah to built a great monument to show the world the love they had for one another. He built the Taj Mahal. You can also enter the Taj Mahal to view the Mausoleum of Mumtaz Mahal and the emperor.
The White marble of the structure remains mainly intact and is well preserved with the original calligraphic panels still in place. It is a beautiful building and something everyone should see if given the opportunity. It is difficult to described the wow factor you experience when you first see the Taj Mahal. It is truly beautiful and definitely one to see.
later in the day we visited Agra Fort. Unfortunately parts have been badly desecrated with people writing on the wall but a lot of work is being done to restore the complex to it's original glory. Agra Fort was built by emperor Akbar between 1565 and 1573 out of red sandstone. It was originally surrounded by a moat and comprises of several buildings and courtyards. It also has dungeons underneath but these were not accessible to the public. The Walls of the buildings would have been elaborately decorated in their time and there is still evidence of some of the painted ceilings and Walls. An impressive and very large complex and worth a visit to appreciate the architecture and scale.
In the afternoon we had free time from the tour group and visited the Mother Teresa missionary in Agra. Here the sisters care for the mentally challenged adults, both male and female as well as disabled children and children abandoned and looking for adoption. The centre also houses children where a parent has died Nd e surviving parent needs time to find work and get settled before being able to bring the child home. The centre is funded via charitable contributions. It receives no other financial support. There are 21 paid workers as well as the sisters. The centre sits in the back streets of Agra beside St Marys church and behind iron gates.
On our arrival, the sisters were very welcoming and were happy to show us around the centre to show us the work that the do. The first house we visited was that if the women. As we arrived a fight was breaking out between two of the women and we watched as the other women work together to separate them and assist the sisters. The women all welcomed us and we watched some of them sewing or knitting. When we visited most women were sat outside on a veranda whereas others were contained inside. Some seemed so ill that I am not sure they really knew where they were and it was sad to see. They were however well cared for and in a safe environment. The sisters explained how the doctor visited daily and they tried to help the women overcome their illness to return to their families. Sometimes they never got better and would stay at the centre for the rest of their lives but at least the sisters tried to reunite families.
The mens section seemed much sadder as many men were laid in bed unable to comprehend where they were. They seemed in need of more care in general than the women patients. The sisters look after 80 women at the centre and even more men. The mens section was made up of a series of rooms which had beds at one end and a selected ares with tables and chairs. They were all friendly and welcoming and like the women keen to shake our hands.
The children's section has an outdoor play area and inside has a room with lots of cots where the babies sleep and two other dormitories, one for disabled children and one for the able children. the able children attended school on site each day whilst the disabled went daily to a special school. The able children were very active and surrounded us wanted to touch us and shake our hands and play. The babies enjoyed the attention of smiling faces and being held and even the disabled children were happy to see us and shake hands. Some were worse than others though which was sad to see but the sisters do such a good job at caring for them the children are as happy as can be.
It is a distressing place to go, no one likes to see abandoned children or sick people but the work being done here is amazing and if in Agra, you should definitely visit and take a donation to support the sisters in their hard work. You will love the children and the attention they give you and they joy they get from seeing visitors makes it worthwhile. We took some craft supplies for the school but blankets, clothing and even things like latex clothes are welcomed. India is full of stark contasts and the are many people forgotten who need help. India is not just about the Taj Mahal? The Mother Teresa mission do what they can for some of these unfortunate people. Go and see the mission if at Agra and see something different that will make you think before going back to the plush clean hotels.
We also went into Agra town in a local tuc tuc, which is the best way to travel about, and had a meal from a local stall of a mixture of fried vegetarian snacks. For 25p each we had a bowl of delicious local food which was cooked fresh in front of us and tasted better than any hotel meal we had eaten to date. Agra town is not itself a tourist spots so it was fascinating to walk up and down the street and look at the shops and stalls used by the locals. We also avoided the hawkers and people generally ignored us.there was the occasional hello (Indians love westerners) and one boy cried with fright. His mother explained he was scared as he had never seen White people before!
To get around Agra we hired a tuc tuc for the duration. The driver stayed with us and took us from place to place. This is the best and easiest way to get about and is very cheap. A great day, busy but mixed with the wow of the Taj Mahal and the sadness of the mission. A real contast today representing the differences within the country.
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