Tāj Mahal - This famouos mausoleum was built by the Mughal emperor Shāh Jahān as the final resting place for his beloved wife, Mumtāz Mahal. A wonder built in White Marble, it is the most well known building of India. It took 20,000 workers, masons and jewellers, and 22 years of hard labour, to complete this perfectly symmetrical monument, which has one of the most beautiful landscape all around. Ustād 'Īsā from Persia was the main architect of the building. It is built on a raised paltform and can be clearly observed from the Agra Fort. Emperor Shāh Jahān gazed at it for the last eight years of his life, while he was held as a prisoner by his son Aurangzeb.
All around the bulding, one can find verses of Quran inscribed beautifully on the marble inlays. There are twenty-two small domes at the top of the gate, which were built to signify the number of years it took to complete the monument. The central dome of the building has a diameter of 60 feet (18 m), and rises to a height of 80 feet (24 m).
Lying directly under this dome is the tomb of Mumtāz Mahal. Shah Jahān's tomb was erected next to hers by his son Aurangzeb. The tombs on the ground are not the actual resting places. The actual graves are beneath the surface and the entrance to that part of the Taj Mahal has been closed and no one is allowed there. The interiors of the building have been decorated by fine inlay work, incorporating semi-precious stones.
Do visit our site http://www.atriptodelhi.com
Do visit our site http://www.atriptodelhi.com
