Introduction :
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built of white marble and is located in the province of Uttar Pradesh in India which houses more than 200 million population. The beauty of the Taj Mahal was appreciated and recognized worldwide and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and was often mentioned as one of the Seven Wonders of the world. It contains the finest example of architecture during the Mughal Dynasty and combines elements from Persian, Ottoman, Indian and Islamic into its architectural styles. A total of 28 types of precious stones brought from China, Tibet, Arabia and Afghanistan were inlaid into the white marble.
Grand Entrance Gate into the Taj Mahal
Image attribution to Thmas Phuston @ Flickr
Garden surroundings at the entrance gate
Image attribution to Andrea 25 @ Flickr
Overview of the Taj Mahal
Image attribution to NDJ5 @ Flickr
History :
The construction of the Tal Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in honor of his deceased wife Mumtaz Mahal. The Emperor promised to build her the most beautiful tomb ever known and poured his wealth and resources into the creation of the Taj Mahal with a labour force of 20,000 workers and 1000 elephants across Northern part of India. The total estimated cost of construction was believed to be 32 million rupees at that time. The construction of the Taj Mahal took a total of 22 years and was completed in 1653 AD. Legends have said he was planning a similar structure made from black marble. Emperor Shan Jahan was soon disposed of the throne by his son Aurangzeb before the replica structure could be built. The Emperor Shah Jahan was then buried in the mausoleum next to his wife upon his death.
Close up view on one of the Domes in Taj Mahal
Image attribution to Rafael Gomez @ Flickr
How the inner part of the Dome looks like
Image attribution to Taylor and Ayumi @ Flickr
Inside the Taj Mahal
The Tomb Chamber at Taj Mahal
Getting there :
The nearest airport to the Taj Mahal is the Kheria Airport in Agra(AGR) which is only 6km from the city at Agra. The nearest international airport is the Indira Ghandi International Airport which is around 200km from Agra and can be followed by a train ride of around 4 hours.