Our Trip to Agra

As was said in the brief posting by Dan last night, we ventured out on Sunday to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. The Taj itself was exquisite! There were two things that stood out most to me and they were its size and its intricacy. Having seen so many pictures of the Taj and then actually being there is quite amazing because no picture can really capture for you its size and grandeur. The intricacy of the Taj is amazing too. It underwent construction in 1631 and it took 20,000 workers 22 years to accomplish. It is all made of white marble except for beautiful flower designs that were created using semi-precious stones. It gives the effect of paint because designs were chiseled out of the marble, semi precious stones were cut and inlaid within the marble, and then the whole thing was sanded to give the effect of one big piece of painted marble. It is amazing. Carvings in the walls were created by chiselling down whole slabs of marble to leave beautiful images of flowers. Check out the picture if you have not already by clicking on the link in Dan's previous post.
We also visited the Red Fort. We did not hire a guide for this, so we are not exactly sure what we were seeing, but it was still really neat. It was constructed of red sandstone and there were a lot of really intricate carvings there too.
With the experience of visiting these places came other experiences that weren't as fantastic. As Dan quickly referenced also, there were probably 8 or 9 groups of Indian people who wanted to have pictures taken with us. One family had me hold their baby girl in the "family photo." It was very strange. I guess it is because we are white, but it is still rather confusing. Other Hewitt people have had similar experiences, so I guess it is pretty normal.
The scenes on the ride to and from Agra were very interesting also. We have officially seen rural India and it is severely poverty stricken. We knew it would be, but nothing can really prepare you for what you see. Huts for shelter made of sticks and cloth. Some made of what looked like mud and grass. Tiny living spaces and so dirty. But still the markets and villages are so beautifully colored because the women's sarees are hand made and hand dyed and absolutely brilliant. It is so hard to describe, but look at the pictures we have of some of the tiny villages. This is where people live, and work. But it is also what they know. It is hard to make it ok in your own head, but it is their way of life. There is something beautiful about living so simply, it is just a shame it has to be so dirty and unhealthy.
On a brighter note we saw camels!! They are so huge! I had no idea they were so big. We also saw our first peacock and snake charmer. Both only in passing, so there are no pictures, sorry! Alright, I will wrap this up for now, stay tuned for more from India! :)
Love, Courtney
P.S. Post comments and e-mail us!! We love hearing from you all!