Taj Mahal, Agra

The Taj Mahal in Agra India is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world. A symbol of eternal love, the Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan in 1631 in memory of his beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is known for its architectural greatness, which represents a fine blend of Mughal, Persian, Central Asian, and Islamic style. Situated on the banks of River Yamuna, the Taj Mahal is a Mughal architectural marvel in white marble, which never fails to impress its visitors with its beauty and charm. The beauty of the Taj is best described in the words of English poet, Sir Edwin Arnold, as "Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor's

love wrought in living stones." The Taj Mahal is also regarded as one of the eight wonders of the world and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's said that the beauty of the Taj Mahal was never been surpassed by any other monument in the world. Taj Tourism welcomes you to Agra India to witness the beautiful Taj Mahal in all its enchanting hues.

The Taj Mahal was built between 1631 and 1648 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal who died while delivering their 14th baby, at a young age of 38. A large number of craftsmen, sculptors and calligraphers from Persia, Baghdad, and Europe were employed to create this architectural marvel. The beauty of the Taj Mahal enhances manifold during a moonlit night when it sparks like a jewel. On a foggy morning, the Taj appears as if suspended when viewed from across the Yamuna River. The Taj Mahal also changes its colors as the day passes, because of its unique setting against the Yamuna River. The Taj Mahal looks pinkish during sunrise, golden during sunset and milky white in the moonlight.

Set in beautifully landscaped Char Bagh style lawns, between two mosques in front of a long reflective pond, the Taj Mahal stands on a raised red sandstone, square platform (186 x 186 feet) with its four corners truncated, forming an unequal octagon. A massive red sandstone gateway, ornate with marble inlay motifs and calligraphic inscriptions from the Holy Koran, leads you to the main complex. The entire tomb is decorated with intricate carvings of flowers and calligraphy using precious gems such as agate and jasper. The most impressive and remarkable features of the Taj Mahal consists of its four minarets measuring 162.5 feet in height at each corner of the structure, the black and white chessboard marble floor, and the majestic dome measuring 213 feet high and 58 feet in diameter in the middle. In addition, the uniformly encrypted Quranic verses on the archways and its highly sophisticated all round decorations never fail to mesmerize the visitors. The jewel-inlaid cenotaph of the queen lies at the lower chamber within the dome, where the tomb of Shah Jahan was added on his death. The Taj Mahal is truly a wonderful architectural masterpiece in Agra, India. Travel Agra India to see this beautiful monument of love, and appreciate its architectural charm and beauty on your Taj Mahal India Tour with Taj Tourism.

Taj Mahal History

The history of Taj Mahal is as legendary as the monument itself is. If you look into the Taj Mahal history, it will take you back into the royal grandeur of Mughal era when the art, culture and architecture in India were at its zenith. An architectural masterpiece of a kind of its own in the world, The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jehan in memory of his beloved queen Arjumand Bano Begum, popularly known as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1630 while giving birth to their 14th child at a young age of 38. According to history of Taj Mahal, it's said that Mumtaz took three promises from her husband Shah Jehan on death bed, and one was that "he would build a tomb in her memory such as the world

had never seen before". And keeping his promises Shah Jehan build Taj Mahal as an architectural wonder that never fails to enchant its visitors. You too can visit the beautiful Taj Mahal and appreciate its architectural greatness on your Agra Travel with Taj Tourism.

According to Taj Mahal history, its construction was started in 1631 and completed at the end of 1648 AD. A large number of craftsmen, sculptors and calligraphers from Persia, Baghdad, and Europe were employed to build the Taj Mahal, an architectural marvel in white marble. The history of Taj Mahal tells us that over 20,000 workmen toiled day and night for seventeen years to build this architectural extravaganza. A small town called Mumtazabad, named after the deceased empress Mumtaz Mahal, was built first to accommodate such a large number of laborers, craftsmen, sculptors and calligraphers.

According to history of the Taj Mahal, it's believed that Ustad Ahmad Lahori, a master architect of the age, designed this wonderful architecture. Amanat Khan Shirazi was the calligrapher of Taj Mahal, and his name occurs at the end of an inscription on one of the gates of this beautiful monument. Muhammad Hanif was the superintendent of Masons, while Ismail Khan Afridi of Turkey designed the giant dome. For the construction of the Taj Mahal, the materials were brought in from all over India and central Asia. While white marble was brought from Makrana Rajasthan, Red sandstone was brought from the nearby Fatehpur Sikri; Jasper from Punjab; Jade and Crystal from China; Turquoise from Tibet; Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire from Sri Lanka; Coal and Cornelian from Arabia; and diamonds from Panna. It's believed that it took a fleet of 1,000 elephants to transport the building material of Taj Mahal to the site. According to Taj Mahal history, in all 28 kinds of rare, semi precious and precious stones were used for inlay work in the Taj Mahal. Visit Taj Mahal and discover the fascinating details about this wonderful architecture in white marble.

Taj Mahal Timings

The visit timings of Taj Mahal in Agra, India, are between 6 AM-7 PM everyday, except Fridays. Tourists can also visit Taj Mahal during the sunrise and the sunset to enjoy breathtaking beauty of this wonderful monument of love. All day entry costs for foreigners is US$ 20 (approx. Rs. 750), while for Indians daytime entry cost is Rs. 20. At sunrise and sunset, the entry cost for Indians is increased to Rs. 110, while foreigners can enjoy all day entry at just US$ 20.

The Archaeological Survey of India has decided that the Taj Mahal will remain closed on Fridays for the public, except for those who go to offer Friday prayers in the mosque next to the Taj. On Fridays, the entry timings to

the mosque in the Taj Mahal complex are between 1200 hrs 1400 hrs. The beautiful monument of love, which attracts thousands of visitors every day, previously remained closed on Mondays. There's no timings limit on visits to the Taj, once you are inside the complex till the evening. Some people spend most of the day in the Taj complex, relaxing in the beautifully landscaped lawns and gardens and enjoying the breathtaking view of the

beautiful Taj Mahal .

The Taj Mahal in Agra is one of the finest architectural masterpieces in the world. The beautiful monument of love shows a different aspect of beauty at different times of the day. As its vast marble surfaces fall into shadow or reflect the sun, its color changes, from soft grey and yellow to pearly cream and dazzling white. At sunrise the Taj looks pinkish offering a mesmerizing sight to its visitors, while at sunset the Taj turns into an exotic shade of orange. But the best timing to enjoy the poignant beauty of the Taj is during moonlit nights, when the cool white marble is bathed in the soft silver light of the moon, providing a truly stunning view to visitors.

Taj Mahal Architect

Though the Taj Mahal is considered to be the zenith of Mughal architecture, the identity of its architect remains a mystery, in part perhaps because Shah Jahan seems to have played such an active role in its design. In his obsessive drive for perfection, he may have served as his own artistic director, making the personal overseeing of his artists part of his daily routine. According to art historian Milo Beach, "This is something we simply have to speculate about. We know Shah Jahan was interested in architecture. We know he was interested in architectural decoration and design. Clearly, he was consulted. He was probably very interested in continually seeing the plans as they developed and commenting on them, and suggesting changes that might be made. The idea that he did any more than that, in terms of the design, is unrealistic. Clearly it's a building that was designed by professional architects who knew what they were doing, not by a prince and an amateur. But an architect was, in a sense, a kind of functionary. Architects and painters never achieved the kind of acclaim that placed them within the ranks of the nobility, for example. They were recognized, but they were never given an enormous amount of
importance." It has often been suggested that a European architect was responsible for building the Taj , but this is contradicted by the existence of the monuments previously constructed in India. "First of all, I can't imagine that there was one architect for the Taj Mahal or for any of these buildings," adds Beach. "I mean, it had to have been a team effort for such an enormous undertaking. Second of all, a building like the Taj grows out of the earlier artistic traditions in India, and in Iran as well, traditions that a European architect would know virtually nothing about. So I think it's extremely unlikely – there's certainly is no historical evidence whatsoever – that there was a European architect."
Several designers and architects – thirty seven men in all – are mentioned by name in the official Mughal histories, and it is probable that they would have worked together to form the creative team that shaped the Taj Mahal: Ismail Afandi (a.k.a. Ismail Khan) who had worked for the great Ottomans in Turkey as a designer and builder of domes; Qazim Khan, a goldsmith from Lahore who cast the gold finial that crowns the dome; Chiranji Lal, a lapidary from Delhi chosen as the chief mosaicist; Amanat Khan from Shiraz, the master calligrapher whose signature is inscribed on the Taj gateway; Mohammed Hanif, Multan and Quandhar, master masons from Delhi; and Mukrimat Khan and Mir Abdul Karim from Shiraz, chief supervisors and administrators. Ustad Ahmad (a.k.a. Isa Khan), an architect in the court of Shah Jahan from Lahore, is most often credited as the chief architect (or plan drawer) of the Taj Mahal, based on a seventeenth century manuscript which claims that Ustad Ahmad was the architect of both the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort at Delhi.