Itmad-Ud-Daulah

We spent Tuesday in Agra and had 3 sites on the schedule.  All I cared about was seeing the Taj Mahal, but I am so glad we had a tour guide because I wouldn't have wanted to miss seeing the Itmad-Ud-Daulah or the Agra Fort now!

This monument is a mausoleum for Mirza Ghiyas Beg and his wife.  Mirza was a Persian emir in exile, and was known as the Itmad-Ud-Daulah, "Pillar of the State" so the monument is named after him.  It was built in 1628 and is also known as the "Baby Taj" or the "Jewel Box".  Mirza and his wife were the father and mother-in-law of the fourth Mughal emperor and parents of the woman buried in the Taj Mahal.

This place is a jewel box indeed!  I have never seen such beautiful in-lay work and the whole building was covered in it!

Look at these intricate patterns.

And beautiful pictures all made out of semi-precious stone.

The inside was also adorned with beautiful paintings and carvings.

Can you see the intricacy carved into this ceiling?

How about in this ceiling that still has its paint intact?  It took my breath away with its beauty!

The bodies aren't actually inside these tiny boxes, but are buried underneath about 10 feet below.  The husband is on the left, and the wife is on the right (as my friend said, because the wife is always right, ha ha!).

One of the four corner minarets with lots of birdies in flight.

One of the four entrance gates.  There is one on each side with the mausoleum in the center of a Persian-style garden.

A detailed shot of one of the other gates.  They were all symmetrical, but none of them were identical.

Graffiti at such a place!  Though I'm not a fan of graffiti, I am a fan of love and I hope Ravi and Kavita love each other always!

More graffiti?  This was carved into the path and looks much older.  

The tomb, seen from the gate that overlooks the river (which is only at 10% normal levels and really looks like a big field...). 

There should be water from a fountain in front of the tomb flowing down the middle of all four paths.

I love this "framed" tree!

Some views of the garden.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day.  These three ladies are gardeners.  Indian culture dates back 5,000 years and I felt like I was looking back in time.

Flowers add such beauty to life and joy to my soul!

Looking sideways out the back gate at the river.  There was a flock of sheep out on the riverbed.

Looking across the river.

Lots of water buffalo grazing on the riverbed. 

I loved seeing the scarves and shoes outside this gate.  It made it look so homey.  I want to go in and have a nice visit.

Ali makes friends wherever she goes.

And we saw SO many monkeys in Agra!  It was a Tuesday which is one of the two days that followers of Hanuman feed the monkeys, so they were everywhere!

Gurdwara Bangla Sahib

The Gurdwara Bangla Sahib or Golden Temple, is a prominent Sikh holy site, especially connected to the 8th Guru, who resided here and died while caring for the sick during an epidemic of smallpox and cholera.

Sikhism is one of the richest religions in the world.  These domes and the interior ceiling are covered in 24 kt. gold.

A cool balcony.

Above the window is a symbol that looks like a butterfly to me.  It is made of two Punjabi characters and is called Ik Onkar, which means "God is One."  Sikhism is the worship of one God.  It makes me think of the new Rogue One movie, "The force is with me, I am one with the force" tweaked a little bit to "God is with me, I am one with God."

The amount of marble carving was astonishing.

And it was so beautiful!

Devanagari, the beautiful written language of Hindi.

The top right corner is the symbol of Sikhism, called the Khanda.  It consists of two curved kirpan swords, a central double bladed sword (a khanda, hence the name), and a circular throwing weapon called a chakkar.

The colorful flowers, butterflies, grapes, and birds were amazing!

On the walls or on the floors, it was so pretty.

The shrine for the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhism, and the eternal, final guru.  Just outside the picture on the right were three musicians who were playing and singing the worship service.  I was extremely touched witnessing the many patrons worshiping God.  Our guide was Hindu, but he stopped to pray here.  He told us that the holy book is worshiped the same as God.  That made sense to me because they believe it to be the word of God.

I came outside a little teary-eyed and caught the eye of an Indian woman.  I smiled at her and she returned a big, beautiful smile to me.  I felt connected to her at that moment- we are daughters of God, we are sisters!  I have to mention this pool.  The water is brought in from the Ganges River.  The Ganges River is the most sacred river to Hindus and is worshiped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism.  The Sikhs also appreciate its value as holy water.

This was a great note to finish off our adventures in Delhi!

India Gate

We drove past the India Gate, then drove around to its backside to park and explore more on foot.

While styled as a triumphal arch...

it is a memorial for the soldiers who died in the First World War and the First Anglo-Afghan War.

It was large and impressive.

We were most impressed with the eternal flame and the guard's cool uniform.

Noé found her hair-style twin!

The arch is surrounded by 3 fountains, this is the most beautiful.

A nice breath of fresh air in this crazy place!

Government Sector

The government sector of New Delhi seems like a different country compared to the rest of India.  The streets are WIDE with beautiful medians, and tree-lined avenues.  We saw Parliament House, the President's House, and many foreign embassies.

  

This was the best shot we were able to take from our van and it's of the Ministry of Finance.

This is another government ministry building, but it could be the fraternal twin of Leonard's work in Ottawa- the Lester B. Pearson building.  You can tell both India and Canada have British roots as Ottawa also has a Dalhousie Road.