^ We first took a camel ride up to the western gate of the Taj. Within 30 seconds, with everyone else whizzing by in vans and on horses, we realized this was a bad idea. But a cool bad idea, if you know what I mean...
^ These are jewels and precious stones, not paint. The whole Taj is filled with beautiful shapes such as this. There are no humans or animals depicted, as per Islamic tradition. Only flowers and leaves and the like.
^ The writing around the entrance of the Taj is Arabic script, from the Koran. Here's a neat fact. The letters along the top are 1.5 times as tall as those letters down at ground level. They made them larger on the top so that they would appear to be the same size as those on the bottom, despite the difference in height. Very cool.....
^ Dusherra, a festival of the Hindus, is going on now. This was a celebratory festival march for Dusherra. Throwing colored powder is a thing Hindus do during certain festive events. You see that in these videos. And music. And dancing.
^ There are four minarets at each corner of the Taj, They are built slightly splayed out away from the actual structure. That is to prevent the minarets from falling into the main structure in the event of a lightning strike or other such calamity. You are reminded how advanced India has been for centuries.....
^ Shah Jehan and his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, are buried here. The Taj Mahal is, in essence, a very large grave.
