India 97 Travelog : Agra, the Taj Mahal and the red fort (6/8)

<BODY BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT = "#ABCBBE"> <BR> <FONT SIZE=4> 05.15 am : it is Taj Mahal wake up time !!<BR> Unfortunately, Agra is one of the most polluted city of India, mainly due to all these diesel electricity generator which runs every time there is a global power failure (so every hour at least..)<BR> At the time of the Moghuls, (16 & 17 th Century) Agra was the capital of India and its superb monument date from that era : the old "red fort" and the world wide known Taj Mahal. This white marble mausoleum was build very quickly (22 years !) in the mid 17th century by the Emperor Shah Jahan, to honor the memory of his wife. He didn't find at the time any architect in his kingdom capable of such a construction : so he called the most famous persian architect of the time and killed his wife, so the architect could truly feel the distress of the Prince... and the result was magnificient....<BR> In Agra, we found the best restaurant ever during our trip : it is called <B>Zorba the Bouddha</B> and offer the best vegeterian food I ever ate. Do not miss the "chapati" which are delicious.<BR> From Agra, we took the night train to Benares : the train was almost on time (only 20 minutes late : this means nothing). Waiting on the station platform and travelling (even sleeping for some of us) in the train are quite interesting experience.</FONT> </BODY>