The Taj Mahal is set to get a fuller's earth facial, its fourth since it was completed in 1648. (Construction commenced in 1631).

The "facial" will cleanse the mausoleum's white translucent marble of the grime and dust, even chewing tobacco stains and hand prints, left by visitors who cannot resist touching the calligraphic, floral and abstract geometric motifs, once inlaid with gemstones but now embedded with semi-precious stones.

The fuller's earth will contain other secret ingredients that authorities refuse to identify. The cleansing 'face packs' will be applied overnight and washed away in the morning, before visitors come. The step-by-step project will start with the passages inside the mausoleum, the four minarets, the riverfront terrace and the finally the main dome.

President Obama is reported to have said there are only two kinds of people - those who have seen the Taj Mahal and those who haven't. I will cheekily add - There are only two types of Pentaxians - those who have captured the Taj Mahal with their own Pentax cameras and those who haven't.

So post facial maybe a good time to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra, but don't make any plans till the summer abates - Delhi is reeling under a heat wave with the temperature having peaked at 118.4 deg C, well above a 62 year record.

[SpecialK]

Very nice shot of a true landmark. I'd Love to go there when it is only 98 C :-).

[Inexorable]

Very nice shot of a true landmark. I'd Love to go there when it is only 98 C :-).

Thank you! If you do visit, remember you have friends in Delhi you can count on.

[gmans]

Delhi is reeling under a heat wave with the temperature having peaked at 118.4 deg C, well above a 62 year record.

Wow, that is hot the water would boil.

[wtlwdwgn]

Very nice image of a historic landmark. That temp has to be in Fahrenheit as the oceans would start to boil at that temp in Celsius. At 2000Z the temp in Delhi was 33C.

[Inexorable]

Oops! Indeed, the temp peaked at 118.4 deg F, not C, mercifully!

The water coming down from our overhead tanks is scalding hot!

Wow, that is hot the water would boil.

---------- Post added 06-10-14 at 06:18 PM ----------

Thanks! Yes, me bad. That is Fahrenheit! Sorry about that.

Very nice image of a historic landmark. That temp has to be in Fahrenheit as the oceans would start to boil at that temp in Celsius. At 2000Z the temp in Delhi was 33C.

[wtlwdwgn]

Not to worry. We knew you just fat fingered the keyboard.

[gmans]

President Obama is reported to have said there are only two kinds of people - those who have seen the Taj Mahal and those who haven't

Been to India and did not see the Taj Mahal, will have to get back to complete the trip, one day.

[Inexorable]

Been to India and did not see the Taj Mahal, will have to get back to complete the trip, one day.

To any photographer visiting the Taj Mahal, I would recommend travelling to Bharatpur and camping overnight there, not Agra! Bharatpur is around 30-min short of Agra. It has the world heritage site bird sanctuary - Keoladeo National Park! Besdies, the small Rajasthan town is less chaotic and has more reasonably priced hotels.

The Taj is best seen in the morning and evening. (Early morning, the number of visitors is less. If you go well before sunrise, you might be among the first few visitors - a photographer's dream!)

Bharatpur is close enough to allow you to reach the Taj early. There is another bonus - the road from Bharatpur to Agra goes past Fathepur Sikri,

The third Mughal ruler of India, Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (1542-1605) founded the city of Fathepur Sikri in 1571 as the capital of the Mughal empire. Fathepur Sikri is historically important, being representative of a well planned medieval city constructed from scratch. The city also represents an unresolved enigma - it was abandoned in 1585 within 14 years of its foundation as the capital.

For the more adventurous, Bharatpur is also around 2 hrs drive from Jaipur. If you brave the extra travel, you can see Jaipur while staying in Bharatpur! The travelling cost is more than compensated by the reduced hotel costs. More importantly, Bharatpur hospitality is better. The city also has the Lohagarh fort, which is worth a visit.

[gmans]

This sounds great,very interesting. but alas will be awhile before get a chance to get there, but will take your thoughtful advice. thank you for the post.

[gda13]

To any photographer visiting the Taj Mahal, I would recommend travelling to Bharatpur and camping overnight there, not Agra! Bharatpur is around 30-min short of Agra. It has the world heritage site bird sanctuary - Keoladeo National Park! Besdies, the small Rajasthan town is less chaotic and has more reasonably priced hotels.

The Taj is best seen in the morning and evening. (Early morning, the number of visitors is less. If you go well before sunrise, you might be among the first few visitors - a photographer's dream!)

Bharatpur is close enough to allow you to reach the Taj early. There is another bonus - the road from Bharatpur to Agra goes past Fathepur Sikri,

The third Mughal ruler of India, Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (1542-1605) founded the city of Fathepur Sikri in 1571 as the capital of the Mughal empire. Fathepur Sikri is historically important, being representative of a well planned medieval city constructed from scratch. The city also represents an unresolved enigma - it was abandoned in 1585 within 14 years of its foundation as the capital.

For the more adventurous, Bharatpur is also around 2 hrs drive from Jaipur. If you brave the extra travel, you can see Jaipur while staying in Bharatpur! The travelling cost is more than compensated by the reduced hotel costs. More importantly, Bharatpur hospitality is better. The city also has the Lohagarh fort, which is worth a visit.

This is great information...thanks for posting this! I would hope to be able to visit such a fascinating country some day...I viewed some of your flickr postings and am intrigued by all the interesting old architectural features there are to explore. Although I must admit whenever I think of Jaipur this comes to mind ...

You Tube

You Tube

[YARADNYL]

We went to Taj Mahal during our trip to India. Very frustrating queuing outside in the dark for dawn - then watching dawn arrive while waiting for the officials to get round to opening. They did not arrive at work until the time it was supposed to open. Also do NOT carry a tripod as they are not allowed. You are frisked and the bags x-rayed (hopefully for security reasons). They found a mini tripod about 3 inches high that I had forgotten was buried in my bag. You would have thought it was an AK47 by the reaction. Once inside the place is every bit as stunningly beautiful as the guide books tell you.

[Inexorable]

I couldn't see the video immediately after your post. I saw it now and found it hilarious, unsettling, outrageous and even disgusting at the same time. But this is so India. Thanks for posting it.