Our Trip - Part 2

After visiting the Taj Mahal which was constructed from 1631 to 1655 we went on to Agra Fort which was begun by Emperor Akbar in 1565. It is constructed of red sandstone with both a dry moat and a wet moat beside the Yamuna (?) River. Once again there was ample evidence of inlaid stone work and translucent marble. We were able to see where Shah Jahan was imprisoned until his death. One of the interesting features of the Agra Fort was the perfumed fountain. It would seem perfumed water was carried to a holding tank and then flowed down through the fountain.

After a visit to a carpet weaver we were on the road to the deserted city of Fatehpur Sikri. this fortified ghost city had been the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1571 to 1585. The many arches and fine stone work in red sand stone were quite remarkable to view. The city was abandoned due to an inefficient water supply. We had to take a tuk-tuk from the car parking lot to the city as it is classified as a Heritage Site and there are environmental concerns similar to those of the Taj Mahal.
Once back in out A/C car we were on the road to Jaipur, the Pink City, which is a real jewel and is worth a second visit. We arrived at our hotel late in the afternoon after fighting all kinds of vehicles and animals, not to mention construction, as we made our way through the city. We had a short walk and did some shopping before dusk fell at 18 h 30. After a good night's sleep and a power failure while Gigi was in the shower we were on our way again and had to wait for the 9 h 00 opening of the Jantar Mantar Observatory built by Jai Singh in 1728. The 27 m high gnomon (sundial) is accurate to within 2 seconds. On the day of our visit it was necessary to add 11 minutes to the shadow for the exact time. It was correct! Jai Singh was very interested in celestial bodies and had all kinds of different structures for viewing the constellations and other heavenly bodies.

The it was on to the Maharajah's Palace (City Palace) all in pink! Highlights were the 2 large silver vessels, 1.6 meters tall each containing over 4,000 liters of water in which Maharajah Madho Singh II took holy water from the Ganges with him when he went to England!