Taj Mahal is an elegy in marble, a dream built with white marble by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the Indian city of Agra in 1631. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Mumtaz Mahal was the wife of Shah Jahan and she died during the birth of their 14^th child. He could not forget his loving wife and wanted to build a monument in her memory. He started to construct Taj Mahal in 1631 and it took 22 years to complete it.

Twenty thousand people were employed to build Taj Mahal and 1000 elephants were used to transport the materials that were brought from different places of the world. The Iranian architect Ustad Isa designed this building and is standing as the symbol of eternal love. The building stands on the rectangular base of 186 square feet and River Yamuna flows behind it. Taj Mahal sparkles in moonlight and it is an enticing beauty to watch it change color during different times of the day.

There are five pieces of architecture that make up the whole Taj Mahal complex namely Darwaza, Bageecha, Masjid, Naqqar Khana and Rauza. The total area spreads about 42 acres. The original door was built with solid silver. The main gate way has Arabic calligraphy containing verses from Quran. The square platform on which Taj Mahal stands is 50 meters high above the river bank. There are four detached minarets on each corner of this rectangular platform. These minarets are 137 feet high and the spherical dome has a diameter of 58 feet.

The mosque lies to the west of Taj Mahal and Naqqar Khana to its east. These two monuments are built of red sandstone. The garden covers 300 square kilometers and the pathways are divided into four quarters with many flowerbeds. The height of the main gate or Darwaza is 93 feet and if you enter the open square in the gate Taj Mahal will disappear from your site. The motifs in the gateway have a touch of Hindu culture with flowers, red lotus, vines and leaves. The tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal lie within the main building. Above the original tombs lies the false tombs. Precious and semi precious stones were studded on them.

The calligraphic inscriptions are done by Abdul Haq in 1609. These consist of verses of Holy Quran in the Thuluth script. The Arabic inscriptions were done with the black marbles. On the burial chamber of Mumtaz Mahal is written the ninety nine names of god and verses requesting the mercy of God to his servant Mumtaz Mahal. The cost of construction of the building was 32 crore rupees. 28 varieties of precious and semi precious stones were used for its decoration.

Anyone can visit Taj Mahal from 8 AM in the morning to 5 PM in the evening. Still photography is permitted free of charge and you have to pay additional cost for shooting videos. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. About 3 million people visit Taj Mahal every year.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On December 13, 2011lView All Articles

Suhaina Mazhar is a freelance content writer and blogger with five years experience in content writing. http://sumazla.blogspot.com is her blog.

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