Taj Mahal Eastern Gate

My passionate spirit of visiting Taj Mahal which wasn’t higher than my trifling guts of conquering cold of every drop of water which coming out from GoStops Agra’ shower, had embarrassed myself on a saturday morning.

Needle is exactly on number 7, a taxi which we rented for full-day through sharing costs arrived and the driver was waiting in hostel’s lobby while tightly holding his hands as a sign that he had been hit by a stabbing cold weather in streets.

Do you want to know our white taxi rent fare?….Sure….USD 17.8 divided by four people. So, I had to give USD 4.4 as my transportation budget that day.

Brushing my teeth without bathing, I approached and talked while waiting for 3 other tourists to come down. “No need long time to reach Taj Mahal, brother“, he said first while shaking his head in Indian style to open a conversation that morning. “Nice“, I said while busy fixing my winter jacket and syall which coiled around my neck.

Ten minutes later, his exhaust fumes began to acquiring thick fog along Agra-Bah Road. Sure enough as he said, 15 minutes later he asked us to come down and point to a bajaj with fare about for USD 2.9 to continuing our journey to Taj Majal Eastern Gate. No problem with price because we finally rode that bajaj with all of us….Oh No, we were unpolite tourist….Hahaha.

At 7:30 a.m, tourists queued to hunt for tickets with fare for about USD 7.2.

What a fool!….Blindly curiosity had closed my logic that morning. Never clearly thought since leaving my hostel that thick fog storm in Agra would perfectly close Taj Mahal courtyard….Ah, I annoyance stood with a long sigh at Taj Mahal entrance. Not able to see anything 10 meters ahead. Only a thick fog which made me slowly freeze.

There was no choice, like it or not, I had to start exploring Taj Mahal with a definite guarantee that I would never fully enjoy its beauty.

I started slowly up the stairs and entering first gate of that famous site. The first gate is named Jilau Khana.

The area around Jilau Khana or often called Forecourt.

What happened was really out of reason. I haven’t finished yet in enjoying Jilau Khana’s red bricks, my automatic footsteps were unstoppable in approaching main building. Taj Mahal like a magnet for anyone who visits it.

Connecting road between Jilau Khana and main gate

Before arriving at main building….About 100 meters later, I reached the grand Main Gate.

Its name is Darwaza-i-rauza or often called Great Gate.

Tourists complaints began to hear while blaming the mist. “I can’t take a picture“, He complained to his fellow friends. Wry smile, I didn’t care about same disappointment.

Look at carvings inside the Darwaza-i-rauza!

Then, where is Taj Mahal main building which is always hunted by world travelers?

Yup….350 meters at north of Darwaza-i-rauza is Taj Mahal location, the tomb of two legendary “lovebirds“. Shah Jahan as the king and Mumtaz Mahal as the “Persian descent” empress who have a extraordinary beauty.

Not long, I immediately put a shoe cover then I got ready to entering Taj Mahal

Shoe cover will be given when buying a ticket.

Like the commonly mosque, Taj Mahal is equipped with four minarets on each side. The greatness of Mughal kingdom is reflected in every inch of Taj Mahal which composed from white marble which was specially imported from Rajashtan and sapphires which was sent from Sri Lanka.

Minaret as high as 40 meters with a cylindrical wall.

Another intriguing thing when visiting Taj Mahal was when each visitor regularly walked to follow a path which had been made by officers to enjoy each side of Taj Mahal main room where Mumtaz Mahal tomb is located. Three heavily armed police closely watched every visitor. Sometimes they gave order to some tourists to immediately move because taking photos for a long time could make a path to be stuck.

Beautiful art of calligraphy in Taj Mahal.

Such is the fact, the 372-year-old Taj Mahal is indeed charming. No wonder, 4 million tourists are interested in visiting it every year.

After enjoying Taj Mahal, then I immediately retreated and returned to eastern gate for approaching taxi which was waiting for me.

I went back east….Which way did you choose to go back?

Gebu semangat menyongsong Taj Mahal yang tak lebih tinggi dari nyali remeh temeh dalam menaklukkan dinginnya setiap tetes air yang keluar dari shower goStops Agra telah mempermalukan diriku sendiri di sebuah Sabtu pagi.

Jarum di angka 7 persis, taxi yang kami sewa harian melalui sharing cost tiba dan si pengemudi telah menunggu di lobby hostel sembari mendekapkan erat kedua tangannya sebagai pertanda bahwa dia telah diterpa kedinginan yang menusuk di luar sana.

Mau tahu harga sewa taxi putihnya?….Boleh….Rp. 240.000 yang dibagi empat orang. So, Rp. 60.000 harus kurelakan untuk naik diatas rodanya.

Bersikat gigi tanpa mandi, aku menghampiri dan mengajaknya bercakap sembari menunggu 3 turis lain turun. “No need long time to reach Taj Mahal, brother”, tutur pertamanya sembari menggeleng-geleng kepala ala India menjadi pembuka percakapan pagi itu. “Nice”, timpalku sembari sibuk membenahi winter jacket dan shall yang melingkar di leher.

Sepuluh menit selanjutnya, asap knalpotnya mulai mengakuisisi kabut tebal di sepanjang Agra-Bah Road. Benar saja katanya, 15 menit kemudian dia meminta kami turun dan menunjuk sebuah bajaj seharga Rp. 40.000 untuk melanjutkan perjalanan menuju Taj Majal Eastern Gate. Tak menjadi masalah dengan harga karena bajaj itu akhirnya kami tunggangi berempat….Dasar turis tak beradab….Hahaha.

Jam 07:30, para turis telah mengantri berburu tiket seharga Rp. 98.000

Bodoh sangat!…..Rasa ingin tahu yang membabi buta telah menutup logikaku pagi itu. Tak pernah berfikir jernih sedari berangkat meninggalkan hostel bahwa badai kabut tebal kota Agra akan menutup pelataran Taj Mahal secara sempurna….Ah, aku berdiri lama menghela nafas panjang kesal di gerbang masuk Taj Mahal. Tak mampu melihat apapun 10 meter didepan. Hanya kabut tebal yang membuatku perlahan membeku.

Tak ada pilihan, suka tak suka, aku harus mulai menjelajah Taj Mahal dengan jaminan pasti bahwa aku tak akan pernah menikmati kemolekannya secara sempurna.

Aku mulai menaiki tangga perlahan memasuki gerbang pertama situs termasyhur itu. Gerbang pertama ini bernama Jilau Khana.

Area sekitar Jilau Khana atau sering disebut *forecourt*. Bahasa Jawanya “halaman depan”.

Yang terjadi sungguh di luar nalar. Belum juga selesai menikmati merah batanya Jilau Khana, langkah kaki otomatisku tak terbendung mendekat ke bangunan utama. Taj Mahal bak magnet bagi siapa saja yang berkunjung.

Jalan penghubung antara Jilau Khana dan gerbang utama

Sebelum tiba di bangunan utama….Sekitar 100 meter kemudian, aku mencapai gerbang utama nan agung.

Namanya Darwaza-i-rauza atau sering disebut *Great Gate*

Mulai terdengar keluhan para bule itu sembari menyalahkan sang kabut.”I can’t take a picture!”, keluhnya kepada sesama temannya. Kecut tersenyum dengan sunggingan sebelah bibir, aku tak memperdulikan kekecewaan yang sama.

Lihatlah ukiran di bagian dalam Darwaza-i-rauza itu!

Lalu dimana bangunan utama Taj Mahal yang selalu diburu para traveler dunia?

Yup….350 meter di utara Darwaza-i-rauza adalah letak Taj Mahal, makam dua sejoli yang melegenda. Shah Jahan sang raja dan Mumtaz Mahal sang permaisuri keturunan Persia yang konon cantik luar biasa.

Tak berlama waktu, aku segera memasang penutup sepatu untuk kemudian bersiap memasuki Taj Mahal

*shoe cover* akan diberikan saat membeli tiket.

Layaknya masjid, Taj Mahal dilengkapi dengan empat minaret di setiap sisinya. Kebesaran kerajaan Mughal tercermin dari setiap jengkal Taj Mahal yang tersusun dari marmer putih yang didatangkan khusus dari Rajashtan dan batu safir yang dikirim dari Sri Lanka.

Minaret setinggi 40 meter dengan dinding silinder.

Hal menggelitik lain ketika mengunjungi Taj Mahal adalah dikala setiap pengunjung berjalan teratur mengikuti alur yang sudah dibuat petugas untuk menikmati setiap sisi ruang utama Taj Mahal dimana makam Mumtaz Mahal berada. Tiga polisi bersenjata lengkap mengawasi setiap pengunjung dengan cermat. Terkadang mereka berseloroh ke beberapa turis untuk segera melangkah karena keasyikan mengambil photo dan membuat alur jalan menjadi macet.

Begitulah adanya, Taj Mahal yang berusia 372 tahun ini memang mempesona. Tak khayal, 4 juta wisatawan tertarik mengunjunginya setiap tahun.

Selesai menikmati Taj Mahal, maka aku segeran undur diri dan kembali ke eastern gate menuju taxi yang menungguku.

Tag: Taj Mahal Eastern Gate

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