TAJ MAHAL
The Taj Mahal is a beautiful Mausoleum built by the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third and favourite wife and as a resting place for her tomb. It is believed that the name ‘Taj Mahal’ comes from the name of Shan Jahans wife, Mumtaz Mahal and means ‘crown palace’. The Taj Mahal holds the grave of Mumtaz Mahal and when Shah Jahan died in 1666, his tomb was placed next to the tomb of Mumtaz Mahals. The Taj Mahal took around 22 years to build with the building beginningin about 1631 and finishing in about 1653. Over twenty thousand artisans and craftsmen were employed to build and complete the palace during this time period. People worked day and night for around 22 years to complete the historical monument. Around 1,000 elephants were also employed to help with the construction of the palace. Elephants were used to transport materials needed to build the palace. The cost of building the palace was 320 million rupees.
The Taj Mahal is located on the banks of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India and is 73 m (240 ft) in height. It is considered one of the seven wonders of the world and people from all over the world travel to visit it. The Taj Mahal is known to showcase a very fine example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines Islamic, Persian, Ottoman, Turkish and Indian architectural styles. The architect that designed the Taj Mahal was an Afghan man named Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.
The Taj Mahal is exactly symmetrical in every way apart from the two tombs as the male tomb had to be larger than the female tomb. Many different types of marble were used to construct the Taj Mahal. The marble used for the Taj Mahal was imported from many different countries and states including Afghanistan, Arabia, Sri Lanka and China.
The Taj Mahal appears to change colour throughout the day. It appears pink in the morning, white during the day, and changes to golden in the moonlight at night. Every year the Taj Mahal attracts 3-4 million tourists, many of them being international tourists.
The Taj Mahal is exactly symmetrical in every way apart from the two tombs as the male tomb had to be larger than the female tomb. Many different types of marble were used to construct the Taj Mahal. The marble used for the Taj Mahal was imported from many different countries and states including Afghanistan, Arabia, Sri Lanka and China.
The Taj Mahal appears to change colour throughout the day. It appears pink in the morning, white during the day, and changes to golden in the moonlight at night. Every year the Taj Mahal attracts 3-4 million tourists, many of them being international tourists.