Our guide said that we were there early enough in the day to have missed the crowds and further, that there were fewer people there than he had anticipated.

The view was just astounding as we went through the gate. The Taj Mahal was built to be completely symmetrical, or as far as possible. There are some interesting exceptions. The minarets on the front right and left are not perpendicular. They’re are actually at 92.5º so that if there were an earthquake, they would fall outward instead of inward. The two minarets in the back are also tilted 2.5º back for the same reason.