We spent Monday afternoon and most of Tuesday in/around Agra, visiting several historical sites including the Taj Mahal.

We began with another UNESCO World Heritage Site, Fatehpur Sikri, built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the late 16th century. Akbar may have been a mighty emperor, but he apparently possessed a few flaws of reasoning. For one, the impressive, large Fatehpur Sikri, constructed of local red sandstone in a a style which reflected ancient Persia, lacked a reliable water source and was, therefore, abandoned shortly after construction concluded. For another, Akbar tried to create a super religion which blended together all of the teachings of Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam; apparently, the followers of the individual religions were not too impressed with the amalgamation. Fatehpur Sikri includes several impressive buildings, including a massive victory gate and the Panch Mahal, a five story structure of decreasingly sized tiers built atop 176 carved columns.

Next came the world famous Taj Mahal, created by Shah Jahan as a memorial to his favorite wife, who died at a young age. While we were impressed by the size of the structure, much larger than we had imagined, as well as the sprawling grounds which include several other excellent buildings, the delicate beauty of the carved marble, extensively inlayed with precious and semi-precious stones, is truly stunning. We were lucky enough to visit this World Heritage Site as the sun was rising, causing the white marble to change hues as the morning light reflected off in different angles. The mist off the adjacent river Yuman (supplemented by the ever-present smog) causes the Taj Mahal, completed in 1653, to float and glimmer in the early light.

We ended our time in Agra by visiting the Agra Fort, or Red Fort, which might better be described as a walled, luxurious city of intricate buildings and well planned gardens. Built of brick and sandstone by more than one million workers over a span of eight years and completed in 1573, this World Heritage Site became the final home of Shah Jahan, who was exiled by his son—an apparently common theme among the Meghals, killing and exiling family members--but Jahan's final home included a lovely tower with an excellent view of the Taj Mahal.

Tuesday afternoon, we drove north to Delhi for our last night in India—already?—and to prepare for our flight to Nepal. As we drove into Delhi, we stopped at our first western-inspired rest stop with an espresso shop and a Subway (tandoori chicken sandwich anyone? lamb salami?). Later, we saw, for the first time, a real indication of the future of India: a true expressway, free of roaming cows and three-wheeled taxis; a metro train; a KFC; a KPMG office tower; dozens and dozens of high-rise condominiums under construction. As our guide said, India is a very rich country full of very poor people; it will be interesting to witness what the future brings.