Again 
Vivek and Me at the Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal was built by the ruler of Agra, the former capital of the area, for his queen as a tomb.
The Taj Mahal Area The Taj Mahal is by the river and surrounded by a large wall and gardens. There is a mosque on the left and a guest house on the right.
The Taj Garden The Taj Mahal has a huge garden and set of reflecting pools stretching from it to the South Gate.
South Gate Before entering the Taj Gardens one must pass through a large court-yard surrounded by four gates. The Taj is through the South gate.
Taj Minar The Taj Mahal is surrounded by four Minars, which is the Hindi word for minarette.
Court Around The Taj The Taj is surrounded by a square court, made entirely of marble. The four surrounding minars are at the corners of this court. The Minars lean outward, away from the Taj, at an angle of two degrees, to insure that in the event of a natural disaster they do not hit the building.
The Taj Reflected Private vehicles may not come closer than a couple kilometers from the Taj to protect it from the polution, which is beginning to turn it brown.
Taj at an Angle It is built entirely of local white marble, and inlayed all over with semi prescious stones.
Taj Close Up They say the most important stone is a local orange stone called comelian, because in the moonlight it makes the Taj glow red.
The Taj Dome The Taj is no longer open at night due to security reasons. Only security are allowed on the roof. The horned spikes at the tops of the domes are standard in Arabic architechture.
Taj Engravings Verses from the Quran are written all over the arches of the Taj in Urdu, using inlayed, semi-precious stones.
Mosque This mosque is just to the left of the Taj Mahal. It was used for Muslim services for royalty, and is still used on Fridays.
Guest House This was the royal guest house, and was built on the opposite side of the Taj from the mosque in the same style for symmetry.
Sun Set Sunset at the Taj. The river on the right flows right below the back wall of the Taj Mahal. Original plans included builing a second, black marble Taj Mahal on the other side of the river and connecting the two with a solid silver bridge.
Sikandra This is the tomb of Emperor Akbar in Agra.
Rajasthani Haveli This hotel is done in the style of a Rajasthani bungaloe complete with uniformed guard. I found glass in my dinner here.
The Qutb Minarette The Qutb Minar is a giant religious symbol in the middle of Delhi.
Qutb Minar Floors The upper floors of the Qutb Minar are now closed to tourists for fear of wear on the structure. Again, engravings in Urdu can be seen just below each floor.
Qutb Ruins The Qutb Minar is surrounded by ruins, mostly of old Mosques.
Iron Pillar This iron pillar is right next to the Qutb Minar. It supposedly never rusts, even without any maintanence. It used to be a support in a Mosque at this spot.
Alai Minar This minarette is right next to the Qutb Minarette. It was started shortly afterward and was supposed to be twice the size, but its creator died shortly after the first floor was reached.
PicoPeta Electronics, and stuff.