Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal of India - "the epitome of love", "a monument of immeasurable beauty".The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It stands on the bank of River Yamuna, It is one of the seven wonders of the world. The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture..

It was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1631 in memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess. Taj mahal began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, It was designed by the Iranian architect Ustad Isa. Twenty thousand people were deployed to work on it. The materials were brought in from all over India and central Asia and it took a fleet of 1000 elephants to transport it to the site. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. the white domed marble mausoleum is its most familiar component, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures .

The Taj rises on a high red sandstone base topped by a huge white marble terrace on which rests the famous dome flanked by four tapering minarets. Within the dome lies the jewel-inlaid cenotaph of the queen. The dome is made of white marble, but the tomb is set against the plain across the river and it is this background that works its magic of colours that, through their reflection, change the view of the Taj. Like a jewel, the Taj sparkles in moonlight when the semi-precious stones inlaid into the white marble on the main mausoleum catch the glow of the moon.

The colours of Taj mahal change at different hours of the day and during different seasons; pinkish in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden when the moon shines. As a tribute to a beautiful woman and as a monument for enduring love, the Taj reveals its subtleties when one visits it without being in a hurry. Taj has a life of its own that leaps out of marble, provided you understand that it is a monument of love. As an architectural masterpiece, nothing could be added or subtracted from it.