We’ve had a challenging time in India, but very worth it. We were planning on going to Varanasi (the place where they cremate the bodies and put the ashes into the Ganges- this city is a real ‘slap you in the face’ kind of place.) Anyways, before we did that- Jesse found a great hotel with a fun water slide. Crucial to gather some positive energy and have some fun before experiencing a place that brings up lots and lots of questions and different feelings.
This was the man’s area, the woman’s area was off to the side. There are some mosques we’ve visited that do not want women who are menstruating walking around their building. How would they check for something like that?!
The couple was all smiles until Jesse said, “Wow. She is beautiful!” They didn’t seem so happy after that and buttoned up the kids shorts so it didn’t look like a dress.
After 17 years of hard labor by more than 20,000 craftsmen and laborers, the mausoleum was completed in 1648. Mirrored by a crystal clear manmade pond in front and the slate blue Yamuna River behind, the near perfect monument was named the Taj Mahal.
Legend has it that the king cut the thumbs off of the workers so they could not go on to create another Taj, but many say that is just a myth. We went to a marble handicraft store to see how the designs were made- it is painstaking work. The attention to detail was unreal.
The man showing us how things are made said that his family has been in the marble business for over 15 generations. He also said that you have no choice but to make that your profession if you are born into it- otherwise some of the techniques might die.
marschmadness 