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Jewels of Northern India Tour 2014
February 19th - March 3rd, 2014
DELHI – AGRA – BHARATPUR - JAIPUR – JODHPUR – UDAIPUR – DELHI
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February 17 - 20, 2014 |
February 20, 2014 |
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February 21, 2014 |
February 22, 2014 |
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February 23, 2014 |
February 24, 2014 |
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February 25, 2014 |
February 26, 2014 |
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February 27, 2014 |
February 28, 2014 |
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March 1, 2014 |
March 2, 2014 |
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March 3, 2014 |
Feb 22 Delhi to
Agra
We leave for Agra this morning after breakfast but a short stop
first in Delhi to visit…
Baha’i Temple
I have had the privilege of visiting three Baha’i Temples - the
one in Panama that is egg shaped, the one in Haifa, Jerusalem
which is the second most important place for the Baha’i faith
and this one in Delhi. All three are so different and it was
very interesting to find out that this one and the one in Haifa
had their gardens both designed by Canadian/Iranian Fariborz
Sahba.
The unique lotus shaped Baha’i Temple, a marvel of modern
architecture. It is made in the shape of a lotus and is one of
the major attractions for national and international tourists.
It represents the Bahai's faith which is an independent world
religion, divine in origin, all-embracing in scope, broad in its
outlook, scientific in its method, humanitarian in its
principles and dynamic in the influence it exerts on the hearts
and minds of men. All around the lotus are walkways with
beautiful curved balustrades, bridges and stairs, which surround
the nine pools representing the floating leaves of the lotus.
Those who wanted to also visited inside…
Agra is famous as being home to one of the Seven Wonders of the
World - the Taj Mahal. The architectural splendour of the
mausoleums, the fort and the palaces is a vivid reminder of the
capital in the 16th and early 17th centuries. While its
significance as a political center ended with the transfer of
the capital to Delhi in 1634 by Shah Jahan, its architectural
wealth has secured its place on the international map.
Agra is known for its superb inlay work on marble by craftsmen
supposedly the descendants of those who worked under the Mughals
on the Taj. The city is also famous for its carpets, gold thread
embroidery and leather shoes. Agra was once the capital of the
Mughal Empire and even today it seems to linger in the past. Not
surprising, for the Mughal emperors with their passion for
building, endowed the city with some of the finest structures in
the world. It is very easy to slip away here through the
centuries into the grandeur and intrigues of the Mughal court.
Agra is an old city and it is said that its name was derived
from Agrabana, a forest that finds mention in the epic
Mahabharata. In more recent times Agra came into prominence when
Sikandar Lodhi made it his capital city in 1501. The Lodi rule
was to end very soon and Agra passed into the possession of the
Mughals. It was during the time of the third emperor Akbar that
Agra came into its own. He embarked on the construction of the
massive Agra Fort in 1565. Akbar was diverted into building a
new capital at Fatehpur Sikri not far away. Agra continued to
retain its importance and Shah Jehan, Akbar's grandson
ornamented the city with that masterpiece of Mughal architecture
- the Taj Mahal and built several other beautiful buildings
within the Agra fort. So overwhelming is the exquisite beauty
and presence of this marble mausoleum that centuries later
today, even the very land where it has been located - Agra - has
been immortalized as the City of the Taj. Yet, it doesn't take
much for the roving eye to discover that there's more to Agra
than just the fabled Taj Mahal. The city is a virtual gateway to
a world of discovery… a freeze-frame from a resplendent era
that's long since gone by.
Much of the city's impressive past lives in evidence even today,
in the haunting presence inside the monuments, the majesty of
the buildings, the exquisite arts and crafts and not to forget,
the lure of an exceptional cuisine…all, cherished as priceless
legacies of a nostalgic past. The older city of Agra has
impressively retained much of its resplendent history…
captivating every visitor with fond memories to take back home.
Today, luxury and modern convenience also exist adjacent to
tradition - luxury hotels, shopping malls and plazas, wide
avenues and a superb choice of venues for recreation, business,
sports, pleasure, education and the arts.
Jaypee Palace was our hotel…The regal Jaypee Palace Hotel and
Convention Centre, a glorious structural blend of red sandstone
and marble, is spread over an unbounded 25 acres of elegantly
landscaped luxuriant greenery. Sprinkled with enormous water
bodies and endless walkways, this magical creation impeccably
blends Mughal and contemporary architecture with modern
amenities.
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