The Grand Tour: Abhaeri Village to Agra

After leaving Ranthambhore Park on Wednesday morning (February 26, 2014), we headed toward Agra. We took a small detour from the route to Agra into a small village called Abhaneri where we visited a step well and an ancient temple, both built in the 8th to 9th century. The step well, called Chand Baori, was fascinating. We were amazed at the skill and knowledge that was necessary for building such an elaborate water collection system. The well has 3,500 steps that lead down to the water supply. All the diagonal lines you see are steps. Amazing!


Here we are in front of the step well. Just behind us to the right, is a small palace where the royal family would stay during the summer. They could be much cooler here.










Unfortunately, the palace is not open to the public. We would have loved to have explored the ancient rooms and imagine life in the 8th and 9th centuries. The bathing areas are on the bottom level. The men's bath area is on the right (as we face it), and the women's on the left. The women's area had covers over the doorways, obviously for modesty purposes.






All the ancient sculptures and columns were intriguing. Elder Tiefenbach may be getting older, but he is very young compared to the age of this column. He is but a wee baby. Behind Elder Tiefenbach, you can see several beautifully carved stones. These are stones that have been brought to the step well area from the nearby Harshshat Mata Temple that was destroyed by invading Mughals.





This is a close up of one of the blocks. You can see the detailed and intricate carving. Remember, all this artwork was done by hand. The amount of time and effort into this is mind staggering!

This particular stone has a lotus carved near the bottom. The lotus is the national flower, and it is also the symbol of "woman." Appropriately, all the females gathered around this symbol that represents beauty.









We are always enthralled with rooms or areas filled with columns and archways, especially ancient ones.











This is the Harshshat Mata Temple that was destroyed by Mughal invaders. Many of the stones have been placed around the central structure, but they are not in their original locations. They are simply stacked around the centre. Other stones, as we mentioned earlier, are housed inside the step well area.

When the invaders destroyed the temple, they only needed to deface the statues. According to our guide, once the statues have been defaced, those who follow the Hindu tradition will no longer worship them. The defacement of the statues was a deliberate attempt to overtake the people.

We stopped for lunch before we arrived in Agra. Outside the restaurant, a man and his daughter (we presume it was his daughter, but we have no evidence of that) performed in hopes for payment from those entering and leaving the restaurant.








The eating area of the restaurant was outside. It was a beautiful day (not too hot and not too cold), so being outside was wonderful. Our tour organizer helped us order the food, and then he went to be with the driver of our van. Sister Tiefenbach ordered a grilled cheese sandwich because the food was a bit too spicy for her.

After lunch, we hit the road to go to Agra. On the way, we saw a typical sight. The truck was loaded inside  with people and things, so all the extra people had to sit on top of the vehicle or hang on the sides or back of it. Even though we have been in India for two years, we are still amazed when we see so many people in and on a vehicle! Our children and grandchildren were also amazed.








We also saw a road-side barber. We had not seen this before. So, this was a first for us.
















Here we are (Elder Tiefenbach is representing all of us) about to see one of the wonders of the world: the Taj Mahal. Just through the central opening you see lies that magnificent building. Are you ready to behold a work of beauty?
















Here it is!!! This was our first view. It indeed is magnificent, fantastic, awe-inspiring, amazing, beautiful, and breath-taking. It lived up to all our expectations. The whole grounds has an almost reverent feeling despite the large number of people walking around and taking pictures. Standing there, we knew we were in a special place.

Here is the Taj Mahal in all its splendor! No more words are needed.











This is proof that we were there. What do you think of this selfie?

This picture was taken through a stone lattice looking toward either the mosque or the building on the other side. We can't remember which way this picture this was taken. Everything (with the exception of one thing) is perfectly symmetrical with the Taj Mahal and with its entire surroundings. It is really quite amazing. As one looks to the left of the Taj Mahal, one will see a mosque. To keep the symmetry, the king had another building constructed on the other side of the Taj.



The only part of the Taj that is not symmetrical are the burial spots. The king had the queen buried in the centre. After the king died, their son had him buried to one side of her. Other than that, everything is in perfect symmetry. This picture shows the beauty of the inlaid precious and semi-precious stones. This is a wondrous work of art. Elder Tiefenbach is just as amazing as the inlaid stones, and he is more than precious!

Here is our last look at the Taj Mahal. This picture was taken around 6:00 p.m. We did not see the full effect of the setting sun on the white marble, but the colouring did change slightly. We did not do the early morning tour because the early mornings at this time of year are very foggy. The afternoon and evening viewing is a better choice at this time.

After the tour of the Taj Mahal, we went to a jewelry shop that sold beautiful jewelry made out of some of the same precious and semi-precious stones that were used in the Taj Mahal. Suffice it to say that, Sister Tiefenbach received a beautiful gift from Elder Tiefenbach. We were then taken to a shop where descendants of the original families of the artisans who masterfully inlaid the stones in the Taj Mahal continue their art. They showed us how they shape the stones, carve out the shapes in the marble, and lay the stones in the shapes. We were impressed with the talent they have. They had many marble items with inlaid stones. This particular table sells for $6,000.00. It was absolutely beautiful, but definitely out of our price range. These beautiful items are indeed precious and valuable. It reminds us that we too are precious and valuable, for "the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" (D&C 18:10).