a scream of pain frozen in marble, a touchstone and symbol of love: a glimpse of Agra's architecture

Here are the detail shots of the sights we saw in Agra. A real post about our trip with actual pictures and the city's (astounding) history is coming soon, but  in the mean time, be sure to click "read more" after the Taj to see how beautiful the architecture is : )

Emperor Akbar's Tomb

entrance

gorgeous ceiling inside the tomb

white marble with inlaid semi-precious stones-- the calligraphy is done in jasper, and the floral designs include gems such as topaz, lapis lazuli, and jade

Taj Mahal

minaret

intricate marblework and a closeup of the inlaid gemstones in the marble

Men--supposedly descendants of people who actually helped build the Taj-- demonstrating how the Taj Mahal workers carved marble and inlay the stones. They stain the marble that terra cotta colour so that they can properly see what they're doing and painstakingly whit down the stones into the proper designs.

Islamic calligraphy of passages and verses from the Qu'ran, done in the ancient Thuluth script. 

precious door on a minaret so that muezzins could access the projecting balconies to call prayers

Agra Fort

Hall of Public Audience

looking into Shah Jahan's bedroom in Agra Fort

balcony overlooking the Yamuna River

carvings on the wall of Agra Fort's harem

arched walkway in the harem