While Alex and I were visiting our friends at Incredible !ndia, we took the time to study a large picture of the Taj Mahal. I decided to look further into this magnificent mausoleum and share some random things I never knew about the Taj Mahal.

As most know, the Taj Mahal was built under the direction of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It was completed in 1648. When it was finished, however, Shah Jahan was imprisoned in Agra Fort, where he could see the Taj from his window and spent his last days there. How romantic. I wonder how his other wives felt about this. Incredible !ndia has this great advertisement. Over a large head-on photo of the Taj Mahal it reads: And these days men get away with giving flowers and chocolates to their wives. Yeah, come on, guys! Build me a mausoleum when I die.

Apparently, there is a myth that Shah Jahan had plans to build a black mausoleum instead of the pure white Taj we see today. Imagine how different that would look? Aside from its astounding size and magnificent pure white marble, the symmetry of this monument is just so perfect. It really is peaceful to look at. The marble dome is huge; it is 35 meters tall, which is about the same size as the base of the building!

How much would it cost to build such a monument? It has been estimated that the total cost of construction could have been 32 million Rupees. That translates to trillions of dollars in modern currency rates.

There is a great description of the Taj on Incredible !ndia’s website titled “The Magnificant Taj”, covering everything from history to construction and design. It is pretty cool - be sure to check it out!

-Courtney Centeno, account executive

I had one day to do sightseeing in Jerusalem, today. I started with a view from a scenic overlook, where I could see the old walled city of Jerusalem; from another I could see Bethlehem, 7 miles distant.

The walls of Jerusalem tell their story in stone, with the larger, rough-hewn ancient stones added to by layers of succeeding occupants. Like many a fortress, the walls were essentially built to keep intruders out.

The wall around Bethlehem is less attractive, and more troubling; it was built to keep people in. And it was only built in this decade. Bethlehem is a Palestinian city, mostly Christian Palestinians–unique, along with Nazareth to the north, in that regard. To the Palestinians, it is an occupied city surrounded by Israel; to the Israelis, it is Israel.

I was in Berlin just before the Wall there came down, and I found that troubling too. In that case, it was erected by a country that wanted to keep its own people in.

Robert Frost wrote, “Good fences make good neighbors.” I wonder what he would have made of the uses to which civilized nations are putting walls these days.

–Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer

Many years ago I had the opportunity to spend some time in India, and one of the most interesting aspects of the entire trip was local perception of tourists. Now I must admit that I was there prior to the tech boom and outsourcing, but I imagine much of it to still be the same in many areas. The level of poverty cannot be imagined, which of course reduces the traveler to becoming a possible source of financial gain to much of the less fortunate, and fending off hordes of begging children becomes the norm.

Let me take you back a bit first of all to let you know that I was not exactly traveling in style. I was much younger then and saw the opportunity to travel by truck and camp in tents as an adventure not to be missed. In fact, it almost gave me the sense of being a female Indiana Jones. It was wild and adventurous, and I would never do it again. At least not at this age and not in India, but looking back I’m glad I experienced it. I still advise everyone to go and see this amazing region, but I will tell you now that you must stay in a top notch hotel to at least have a bit of a respite in the evening to absorb what you have experienced during the day’s events.

Back to the perception aspect; it is difficult, in the best of circumstances, to comprehend and experience the enormity of poverty in the country and yet after a while it becomes the norm in one’s mind. You are a representative of the rich west and it cannot be ignored, but there is more to the country than this overwhelming attack on the senses.

One of the best ways to describe this is what happens when you pass through the gates of the Taj Mahal. The poverty of the India of the masses is slowly left behind as you enter a world of grandeur, history and romance. The opulence is apparent at first glance; the history intensely obvious. But the romance in the story of its creation is spellbinding; the love of one human being for another leaves you breathless. In an instant I was mesmerized and had left behind the tragedy of abject poverty less than one hundred feet behind me. I sat for hours taking photographs of the great monolith from every angle and every shade of light, all the while sensing the devotion with which it was created.

All this being said, one does have to reenter reality beyond the gates of fantasy, and no where else in the world places blunt realism before you so starkly as does India. My one piece of advice is to go with open eyes. Understand that you can find beauty in anything; the grandeur of a palace or the pleading in the eyes of a child trapped in an environment of utter destitution. Whatever you take away from this experience, understand that you will likely not change their perception of you as a rich western visitor, but they just might change your perception of the world as you know it.

-Morissa Pawl, vice president western region

For as long as I can remember, I have had a strong affinity for the color purple. Over the years, I have owned everything from purple Chuck Taylors to a purple Honda Elite Scooter. I suppose it is only natural for me to be fascinated by a hotel called the “ Purple Hotel” and located less than a mile from my home. 

It was originally built as the Lincolnwood Hyatt House in 1960. It stood at the corner of Lincoln and Touhy in Lincolnwood, Illinois, a small suburb bordering Chicago on the north. Over the years, it has also been a Ramada and a Radisson, although it has always been known as the “purple hotel,” because of its unique purple brick facade. It officially became The Purple Hotel in 2004.

Ironically, the purple bricks were a mistake. Hyatt ordered blue bricks, but purple bricks arrived instead. Not wanting to delay construction, Hyatt simply used the purple bricks. Thus a local legend was born. 

Through the ‘70s, the purple hotel was a hot spot, hosting such entertainers as Perry Como and Barry Manilow. In 1983, reputed mobster Allen Dorfman was killed in the parking lot. Michael Jordan stayed there during his first training camp with the Chicago Bulls in 1984. Finally, unfortunately, it was slated for destruction in late 2007, although legal entanglements have delayed the wrecking ball.

While I worked at the local newspaper, we held many of our functions in the purple hotel’s Grand Ballroom. One year, (currently GT’s own) Louie Atsaves won our holiday party limbo contest there. (I came in 15th place, barely edging out our 73-year-old dispatch driver). Our softball teams mourned many losses in the sports bar (aptly named “The Pressbox”).

As more modern, more luxurious hotels were built in the Chicago area, the Purple Hotel started to become a bit of a dinosaur. However, its charm and familiar purple façade endeared it to all, long after its heyday.

Once all of the legal wrinkles get ironed out, the very desirable location will probably become home to a retail-residential combo of some sort. It’s too bad. I always hate to see unique-looking buildings destroyed. Also, I think there is room for a quality hotel outside of the downtown or airport areas.

One last reason for my angst is obvious: Purple is very seldom used in architecture. Where else am I going to find a purple building, especially so close to home?

–John Wroblewski, Distribution Specialist

If you’re visiting via a link from the Oct. 23 eFlyer, welcome to Global Traveler’s blog! We welcome your comments.

The lead story in Tuesday’s eFlyer is about the neat presentation that big Dubai developer Nakheel put together in time for the annual Cityscape conference held earlier this week in Dubai. It’s a portfolio of images of Dubai from the sky–from the days when the United Arab Emirates were brand new, and mostly desert, through slow and steady development throughout the last century, to an astonishing burst of speed put on since 2000, and finally a look at where Dubai will be in as little as three years, when all the projects currently underway will be complete. The pictures tell the story, so I’ll shut up and let them do it.

In order, the images are: Dubai in 1973,

Dubai in 1990:

Dubai in 2000:

Dubai today (2007):

And finally, Dubai in the near future:

Pretty amazing, isn’t it? I’m glad the developer (all photos courtesy Nakheel) put together this portfolio so that we could share.

–Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer