At first light of dawn, when a cool breeze fills the air and the morning sun shines on the palace, Taj Mahal is at its height of beauty. Set against the azure skyline, it looks like a mirage in a desert - the greatest monument to love.

It was exactly like this when, on an early December morning, I made my first visit to the legendary monument. It is certainly also true that it is a very special view to see the early morning sun rays embrace this absolutely magnificent white marbled tomb.

The story has been told many times - of Shah Jahan's favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal,

who died at the age of 39 when delivering a child and the greif that then made the Shah immortalize their love by building the 'dream in marble' - 22 years in the making with the help of over 22.000 craftsmen.

History tells that when Shah Jahan started to plan for his OWN mausoleum to be built in black marble across the river Yamuna, his son had just about enough of his fathers spending and locked him up in the Agra Fort. And there he sat until the day he died, gazing at the distant tomb of his long-lost wife. Almost makes you want to shed a tear, right..?