Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Shan Jahan as a memorial to one of his most beloved wives, Mumtaz Mahal. Located in Agra, India, the mausoleum is one of the greatest landmarks of the country as well as one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world.

Since 1983 the Taj Mahal has been listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

In 1631 the emperor Shan Jahan’s third wife died in childbirth. A year later, in 1632 the foundation of a mausoleum in her memory was laid. The building process was under the management of a board of architects, including Abd ul-Karim, Ma’mur Khan, Makramat Khan and Ustad Ahmad. The whole construction work took 16 years to be done and in 1648 it was finally completed. In 1653 the mausoleum garden along with the surrounding buildings were also built.

When Shan Jahan died, his son Aurangzeb buried him in the mausoleum right next to his wife.
Over the years some part of the mausoleum’s buildings were completely neglected. At the end of the 19th century, British viceroy Lord Curzon established a major reconstruction process which was done in 1908.

The materials used in the construction of the Taj Mahal were from all over India and Asia, including white marble from Rajasthan, jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China, turquoise from Tibet, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan as well as sapphire from Sri Lanka and carnelian from Arabia.

All the façade of the mausoleum was nicely decorated with calligraphy, abstract and vegetative motifs. A great part of the decorative elements are represented by passages from the Qur’an.
The calligraphy was a work of the Persian calligrapher Abd ul-Haq which mainly consisted of florid thuluth script, made of jasper or black marble.

Abstract motifs are dominated in the plinth, minarets, gateway as well as mosque and jawab.
Decoration of the Taj Mahal’s interior is not traditionally designed at all. The incrustation work is lapidary of precious and semiprecious gemstones.

A central place in the mausoleum complex is occupied by the tomb. It’s a huge white marble structure composed of a symmetrical building on the top of which stands a large dome and finial. The Dome is really impressive with its height of about 35 metres which height is also highlighted by decorated in a lotus design the top of the dome.

Address:
Taj Mahal
Purani Mandi
Agra
Uttar Pradesh
India