Agra - India's Grand Finale

A few hours driving out of Jaipur, India’s Pink City, we reached a UNESCO World Heritage Site: Fatehpur Sikri was built as the capital of the Mughal emperor Akbar in the mid 1500’s. It is a ‘fort city’ encompassing administrative, residential and religious buildings, including palaces, public buildings, mosques, and living areas for the court, the army, the servants of the king and an entire city. All fortified by towers, walls and gates. 

It is hailed as one of India’s most perfect architectural accomplishments. 

Inside Fatehpur Sikri

The site was also impressive, to us, because it was nearly deserted. A few sleepy guards stood here and there in the shade. A few local visitors wandered around the vast halls and stone plaza’s and wanted their pictures taken with us.

Hay truck

Along the way, we passed amazing trucks, like giant balloons on wheels. We learned these are hay trucks. And to prevent the hay from blowing all over the place, they are wrapped in a tent… such a smart idea.

Our driver slowed down to point out cow patties. The highway was lined with these round pattycakes. We saw them drying in huts built of cowpatties… They were being sold for fuel. If you are not happy with your job, one day, think of a cowpatty producer…

Cowpatties for sale…

After yet another few hours driving along quiet roads, we reached another unesco World Heritage site and architectural wonder: Chand Baori in the village of Abhaneri is the most famous stepwell in Rajasthan. A stepwell’s purpose was to conserve a massive amount of rainwater during the monsoon season and thus provide a reliable, year-round water source for the local community in an region prone to drought. Because of the depth, the water stayed cool. This stepwell is dated to the 8th or 9th century, its oldest parts might date back to the 6th century CE. 

Chand Baori Stepwell

Standing on the top edge looking down, I felt like I was about to step into a M.C. Escher painting… 

The only thing that kept us thoroughly grounded in the 21st century was blaring Indian heavy metal music from a truck parked outside the gate to the historic monument. It seemed the entire village was there to dance. Men, women and children all swayed to the deafening music.

We continued on our way towards the last city on our itinerary: Agra. Of course we knew that Agra is the city known for the Taj Mahal - one of the seven new Wonders of the World. It is also a UNESCO Worlds Heritage site and an iconic monument to love.  Built between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of India and one of the most universally admired masterpieces of Muslim art.

We knew all that.

We had heard so much about it and seen so many images of it, that we were convinced it wouldn’t be all that spectacular… After all, we had seen the Alhambra, the great mosque of Casablanca, the skyline of Qatar and many other architectural marvels. Yet, we were in Agra so of course we had to see the Taj Mahal. We even got out of bed at 5 am to join our guide for a 20 minute walk from our hotel to the entrance gate. It was dark, humid and quiet. Only stray dogs, some monkeys and golf carts full of tourists crossed our path.

We bought our tickets and proceeds onto the grounds.

And suddenly… there it was. 

So white, so stark, so strikingly beautiful it took our breath away.

I had a lump in my throat, just looking at the immensely beautifully structure. Plain. Quiet, Imposing. It seemed to float as early morning mist slowly rose into the awakening sky.

I wracked my brain to think of a more beautiful building.

I couldn’t…

We had not expected it but we were completely overwhelmed by the serenity and otherworldliness of this building… It seemed like it had come down from heaven.

And I’m usually a pretty down-to-earth person…

It wasn’t terribly crowded as we strolled closer and closer. The sun slowly rose and with its rays came colour. The white heavenly building turned to pink and brownish. There was now colour in the arches over the doors: green and red marble inlay. With the sunshine it, somehow, became less magical.

We filed inside, mostly to say we had been inside the Taj Mahal.

But that first, early morning glimpse was the most amazing site. It should have stayed that white, that hypnotizing mysterious for ever…

© Taj Mahal by Margriet Ruurs

Finally, we drove back to New Delhi, along quiet new highways, through a dusty countryside full of farms and cows. It was time to fly home again. Our trip to India had turned out to be full of surprises, more interesting and wonderful than we had expected. Thanks to Vacation India, everything was pretty close to perfect. And now we are dreaming of returning to this fascinating country, perhaps to search for tigers, to stroll the Himalayan foothills or to see the beaches of Goa… Only time will tell.

RESOURCES:

Almonds for sale

Vacation India

Hotel with a view of Taj Mahal

Chand Baori Stepwell

Fatehpur Sikri

Taj Mahal

BOOKS about India

Santiago de Cuba

Cuba’s Royal Palms are very tall and straight.

Santiago de Cuba is a historic city, the second largest in Cuba, nestled between the hills and the sea. Founded in 1515 it was, like Santiago de Compostela in Spain, named for St. James the Apostle.

Along the way, across the width of Cuba, we saw mostly horse and buggies as couples rode to town along the dusty roads. On major intersections, there were always huge crowds hoping to catch transportation into the city, or back home. They frantically waved pesos, even dollars. But also desirable items were offered to anyone who would give them a ride. With no gasoline production, fuel is hard to come by and unreliable. A taxi ride costs an arm and a leg.

Nuestra Señora de la Asunción Cathedral

Santiago’s downtown plaza and cathedral echoed a Spanish past. We visited the Nuestra Señora de la Asunción Cathedral and enjoyed strolling across the Plaza Mayor and through little side streets full of interesting little shops and colonial buildings.

Cuba under Spanish influence had been very much a catholic country. But under communism, religion was prohibited, even Christmas was band. Today, that is changing and churches are gaining more members in all faiths. We were told that many Cubans still practise a curious mixture of African faith glossed over as Catholic religion. Santeria is a fusion of Catholic practices and African folk beliefs. It emerged in Cuba during the 17th century, and has been embedded in Cuban society ever since.“People would hide wooden carvings of African origin, behind Catholic statues and pray to them instead of to the marble saints…,” our guide chuckled.

We visited San Pedro de la Roca Castle, a 17th century fortress built to protect the city and which is now a UNESCO World heritage site. A keen young, female guide told us of the history and toured us around, friendly and bubbly. Until she got us into a quiet corner and asked for money. When we weren’t ready to fork over more US dollars her friendliness quickly changed. From up above, we had a nice view of… Granma Island, now a fishing community. It was named for the boat Castro used to start the revolution. Our Cuban guide, giving us a tour of Santiago de Cuba, chuckled when he told us this, adding, “Maybe he didn’t know what the name meant, he probably thought it was more masculine…’“ But the Granma helped Castro to ultimately succeed in becoming ruler of Cuba for the next 50 some years. Now, an entire province and even the national communist newspaper are named Granma..

Plaza de la Revolución

We were also shown the city’s Plaza de la Revolución with its huge statue of city hero (and native son), Antonio Maceo, atop his horse and surrounded by 23 raised machetes. Next on the itinerary was a tour of the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery, where national guards parade in front of the memorials of many national heroes, including national poet José Marti and of course Fidel Castro himself.

This day tour of Santiago included lunch. It was served in a small restaurant in the suburbs. We were served… rice with beans and chicken. Dessert (and I wished I had taken a photo!) consisted of a small plate each with a circle squirted with a cake decorating tube, about 2” in diameter, of bright pink icing. Just that. Not cake, no icecream, just icing. I’m not sure if any of the visitors actually ate it…

But the funnest thing was, at night, when people gathered in the squares. They congregate at cement tables on the square which specifically offer a place to play dominoes. Men, old and young, play the national game to their hearts content. Many were keen to show us how to play. Here and there, someone played a guitar adding to the lively evening ambience.

Like me, the reporter of the 1999 National Geographic article wondered how Cuba could maintain its communist ideology. Today, there does not seem to be much ideology left. Unemployed people spent their days on a city squares or hung around sidewalks. Young people who live away from tourist resorts can’t find work. “We’ve lost all hope,” one young man told us. And people were afraid to speak up. Anything said against the government can result in being jailed.

When we left, we left almost all of what we brought in Cuba. Shoes, clothing, medication, toiletries, and lots of US dollars as tips. The few tourists who still come, continue to make a difference. But with no more flights from Europe, and only a few from Canada, there’s not enough tourists to really help this country in need of income. Although… in 2024 tourism from China increased by 50%.

BOOKS

RESOURCES: Not really related to Cuba, but the movie The Motorcycle Diaries is the story of Che Guevara, Castro’s friend, and quite interesting.