| Most of your visit to India's most-famous attraction is | | | | photographers. |
| natural and inspiring. If it is your first visit, however, it is | | | | It is a popular business to impart information and |
| easy to make the following mistakes | | | | produce a lasting memory for you at the Taj Mahal. |
| Mistake 1: Make your visit too short. | | | | Guides will ask if you want them to tell you about their |
| Buses have been known to allow as little as half an | | | | country's most famous attraction. Photographers will |
| hour to "see" the Taj Mahal, which is hardly time to | | | | want to snap shots of you during your visit. Most of |
| walk the length of the reflecting pool. If this is your | | | | them are citizens of the country you are visiting. If you |
| bus's timetable, consider finding another. Allow a | | | | have made plans that exclude your need for their |
| minimum of two hours to fully savor the "poem in | | | | services, refuse with firm courtesy. Your desire for |
| marble." | | | | personal viewing time needs to be balanced with their |
| Mistake 2: Arrive with no prior knowledge of the Taj | | | | need to work. |
| Mahal. | | | | Mistake 6: Don't take any--or enough--pictures. |
| The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum and not a palace; it | | | | The Taj Mahal is the single most photographed place |
| was created by a Mughal king in honor of his wife | | | | in India. You can add to this distinction with your own |
| who died giving birth to their fourteenth child, and it is | | | | images. Unless you are certain you will return shortly, |
| covered in real marble. There is much more to the | | | | visually record your favorite sights while within the |
| story that will enhance your enjoyment of what you | | | | walls of the Taj complex. Are you drawn to the |
| will see and feel. Do yourself a favor and enjoy some | | | | walkway? The row of shoes outside the entrance? |
| reading and research beforehand; the more you know, | | | | The black and white pattern of the platform? The inlaid |
| the richer your experience. Guidebooks, such as India, | | | | prayer rugs in the mosque? Whatever they are, |
| Eyewitness Travel Guide, are helpful. | | | | record details as touchstones for remembered |
| Mistake 3: Remain with your guide or group during your | | | | pleasure |
| entire visit. | | | | From the moment you enter through the gate and |
| After hearing what they have to tell you, leave them | | | | stroll along the dazzling, rectangular reflecting pool, the |
| and wander to a secluded spot so you can gaze at | | | | lovely mausoleum will draw you to its marble steps. |
| this wonder of marital love on your own. Carve out | | | | Slipping off your shoes, you will pass into a softly lit |
| time for solitude. Sit on a bench and contemplate the | | | | interior, and circle two richly inlaid caskets beneath a |
| grace, balance, and beauty of Shah Jahan's creation. | | | | great domed ceiling. The carvings on the walls, the |
| Mistake 4: Limit your visit to the Taj Mahal to only one | | | | spectacular dome, and the harmony of all the details |
| time of the day. | | | | are there for you to admire. |
| Throughout daylight, the marble dome reflects sunshine | | | | The truth of the matter is you could actually make all |
| with hues of pink, orange and white. Clouds and rain | | | | the mistakes above and still be touched by the Taj |
| add additional interest. In Agra, the sky provides a | | | | Mahal. It is a sight undiminished by expectations. |
| backdrop for the double dome of the Taj Mahal. See | | | | You have permission to publish this article electronically |
| as many of these variations as you can. Count | | | | or in print, free of charge, as long as the signature box |
| yourself blessed if you are able to see the Taj Mahal | | | | is included. A courtesy copy of your publication would |
| in the moonlight. | | | | be appreciated. |
| Mistake 5: Become frustrated with the guides and | | | | |