Traveling Tolins 2

  Almost a two-hour range of sunrises The photo above and two below were taken and shared with us by Peter, a fellow World Cruise traveler Fatehpur Sikri Built during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar, Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) was the capital of the Mughal Empire for only some 10 years. The complex of monuments and temples, all in a uniform architectural style, includes one of the largest mosques in India, the Jama Masjid. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/255 The next day was an early start, wake up call 2:30, in prep for a 7 plus-hour flight from Delhi to Mauritius, where our cruise ship will be waiting on 163 of us to arrive and continue the remainder of our 4-month cruise.

  One of hundreds of Taj Mahal Internet-available pictures https://au.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrEr8Qcr_5lmPcaTbYL5gt.;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzEEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Nj?p=Taj+Mahal The  Taj Mahal  is an ivory-white  marble   mausoleum  on the right bank of the river  Yamuna  in  Agra ,  Uttar Pradesh , India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth  Mughal emperor ,  Shah Jahan  ( r.  1628–1658 ) to house the tomb of his beloved wife,  Mumtaz Mahal ; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centerpiece of a 42-acre complex, which includes a  mosque  and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a  crenellated  wall. Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643, but work continued on other phases of the project for another 10 years. The first ceremony held at the mausoleum was an observance by  Shah Jahan , on 6 Fe...

  We "jumped ship" in Cochin (Kochi) to begin our Taj Mahal journey.  Our first stop is an all day in Cochin to take in a bit of India life. Chinese fishing net and procedures We loaded onto large canoes powered by two men Laundry on Thursday "Cooley" hats to protect from sun More fishing nets The bare footed men used long bamboo poles to push from the water's bottom (low tide about a yard deep).  They walked about half way the boat's length, pushing on the side needed to steer. Broken camera - issue with selfies More Chinese fishing nets Basket making weaver Shredding coconuts to make coconut milk for cooking Separating coconut husks for making rope Taking a break in the shade and downing some water Pottery making Spinning wheel Back to the hotel for late lunch.  We leave in the morning for our flight to Delhi to continue our Taj Mahal adventure.