Taj Mahal, India's Top World Heritage Site
Agra Monument to Love, Mughal Architecture, Persian Gardens
Mar 28, 2009
Located on the bank of the Yamuna river, three km south of Agra, the Taj Mahal took 22 years to complete at a cost of trillions of dollars by today’s currency. Twenty thousand men and over 1000 elephants worked on the project, using material from India and Asia, as far as China and Afghanistan.
The Taj Mahal was declared a World Heritage site in 1983 and measures are in place to protect it from pollution. Tourist coaches and cars are kept well away from the gate and access is on foot or by electric vehicle.
Taj Mahal, Agra Monument to Love
India’s top World Heritage site was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died aged 38, giving birth to their 14th child. She had never left her husband’s side, even during his military campaigns, and the inconsolable Emperor promised he would build the most beautiful mausoleum ever seen.
True to his word, Emperor Shah Jahan set to work with his first architect to design the world’s most celebrated monument to love. Later, deposed and imprisoned by his son in Agra’s Red Fort, the Emperor gazed from afar at the marble dome mirrored in the river, grieving until the day he died. He now rests with Mumtaz in the Taj Mahal.
Taj Mahal, Mughal Architecture at its Best
Covered in white marble, inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones, the Taj Mahal is the perfect fusion of Indian and Persian styles, a stunning display of floral and geometrical patterns, Hindu symbols and Arabic calligraphy. Raised on a plinth, it is topped by a white onion dome and framed by four minarets, detached from the mausoleum to minimise damage in an earthquake.
A day is barely enough to appreciate the fine Mughal craftsmanship, from latticed marble screens to decorated archways, from pietra dura to gilded finials. Inside, visitors gaze in silence at the imperial cenotaphs placed above the actual tombs.
The magnificent entrance gate faces the mausoleum, some 275 metres away, while to ensure symmetry, the red sandstone mosque on the west side of the gardens is mirrored by a replica rest house to the east.
Taj Mahal Persian Gardens
Like all Mughal Emperors, Shah Jahan was fond of gardens. Laid out in classical style, the Taj Mahal Persian Gardens are said to symbolise the four rivers and garden of Paradise. Leading to the mausoleum at the far end, they are divided into four sections, a holy number in Islam, each one subdivided into 16 beds. English lawns have replaced many of the original fruit trees and shrubs but the symmetry and feeling of space remain breathtaking.
Water channels and fountains enhance this peaceful oasis, regardless of crowds, while the central pool reflects the mausoleum in all its splendour. The gardens are enclosed by red sandstone walls on three sides but open towards the river.
