Rabindranath Tagore described the Taj Mahal, Agra as “a tear on the cheek of immortality”, Rudyard Kipling as “personification of all immaculate”, and its creator, Emperor Shah Jahan, said that “the sun and the moon did tears fall from the eyes “. Every year, tourists with twice the population of Agra, pass through the city gates at least once in their lifetime to see the building, aptly named by many of the most beautiful in the world. Few leave disappointed.
This is truly a monument, beautiful in all seasons. There are those who really love the view of the Taj Mahal in Sharad Purnima, the first full moon after the monsoons, on a cloudless evening in October, when the light is the clearest and most romantic. Others like to watch it in the middle of the most intense rains, when the marble becomes translucent and its reflection in the canals of the gardens surrounding the mausoleum is washed away in the rippling water. But it makes a bewitching impression at any time of the year and at any time of the day. At dawn, its color changes from milky to silver and pink, and at sunset it seems made of gold. Look at it also in the afternoon splendor, when it is blindingly white.
History of Taj Mahal, Agra
The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to his 14th son in 1631. The death of Mumtaz broke the emperor’s heart. They say it turned gray overnight. The construction of the Taj Mahal began the following year. The main building is believed to have been built in 8 years, but the entire complex was only completed in 1653. Shortly before construction was completed, Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb and imprisoned in the Agra fort, where he spent the remaining days watching his creation through the basement window. After his death in 1666, Shah Jahan was buried here near Mumtaz.
In total, around 20,000 people from India and Central Asia have been employed in the construction. The specialists were brought from Europe to make beautiful carved marble panels and decorate them in the style of Pietra Fool (inlay using thousands of semiprecious stones) .
In 1983, the Taj Mahal was listed as a World Heritage Site. UNESCO now seems as flawless as after construction, although a large-scale restoration was carried out at the beginning of the 20th century. In 2002, due to the fact that the building gradually lost its colour due to the strong pollution of the city, it was refreshed by applying an ancient recipe for a cosmetic face mask used by Indian women to preserve the beauty of the skin. This mask is called Multani mitti – a mixture of earth, cereal cereals, milk and lemon. Now, a few hundred meters around the building, driving is only allowed on environmentally-friendly vehicles.
Architecture of Taj Mahal, Agra
It is not known exactly who the architect of the Taj Mahal was, but the honor of its creation is often attributed to an Indian architect of Persian origin named Ustad Ahmad Lahori. Construction began in 1630. The best masons, craftsmen, sculptors and calligraphers were invited from Persia, the Ottoman Empire and the European countries. The complex, located on the southwestern bank of the Yamuna River in Agra, consists of five main buildings: Darvaza, or the main gate; bageyecha, or garden; mustard or mosque; nakkar zana, or retirement home, and rause, the mausoleum itself, where the tomb is located.
The unique style of the Taj Mahal combines elements of Persian, Central Asian and Islamic architecture. Among the attractions of the complex is a marble floor with a black and white checker cage, four 40m minarets at the corners of the mausoleum and a magnificent dome in the centre.
The suras written around the arched openings of the Koran seem to have the same dimensions, regardless of how far they are from the floor: this optical illusion is created using a larger font and the distance between the letters when the height of the inscription increases. There are other optical illusions in the Taj Mahal mausoleum. The impressive hard stone decorations include geometric elements, as well as images of plants and flowers, traditional for Islamic architecture. The level of skill and the difficulty of working on the monument become evident when you start to consider small details: for example, in some places more than 50 precious inlays have been used on a decorative element of 3 cm in size.
The doors of the mausoleum’s gardens can be admired as a separate masterpiece, with graceful marble arches, domed chambers on four corner towers and two rows of 11 small castles (umbrella domes) above the entrance. They are a perfect setting for a first look at the whole ensemble.
Char bagh (four gardens) – an integral part of the Taj Mahal, in the spiritual sense that symbolizes paradise, in which Mumtaz Mahal has ascended, and in an artistic sense emphasizing the colour and texture of the mausoleum. The dark cypresses enhance the brilliance of the marble and the canals (on those rare occasions when they are full) converging on a large central platform for viewing, they not only give a beautiful second image of the monument but also, since the sky is reflected in them, they add soft light from below at sunrise and sunset.
Unfortunately, the vandals stole all the treasures from the grave, but the delicate beauty of roses and poppies has been preserved in richly inlaid slabs of onyx, green chrysolite, carnelian and agate of different colors.
Two almost identical buildings are located on both sides of the mausoleum: to the west is a mosque, to the east is a building that may have been a guest pavilion, although its main objective was to ensure complete symmetry of the entire complex architectural. Each of them looks good: try looking at the pavilion at dawn and the mosque at sunset. Also go to the back of the Taj Mahal, on the terrace, which overlooks the Jamna River to the Agus. The best at dawn (and cheap) the observation point is located on the opposite bank of the river, where, according to the popular (but probably unreliable)legend, Shah Jahan planned to install a completely black marble mirror, which reflects the Taj Mahal. A row of boats lined up on the shore, ready to transport tourists across the river.
The Taj Mahal sits on a raised marble platform at the northern end of the decorative gardens, with its back to the Yamuna River. The elevated position means that “only heaven is higher” – this is an elegant move by the designers. 40m white decorative minarets adorn the building from all four corners of the platform. After more than three centuries, they folded a little, but perhaps it had been designed specifically (installation slightly inclined to the building) so that in the event of an earthquake, they do not fall on the Taj Mahal, but far from it. The red sandstone mosque on the west side is an important temple for Agra Muslims.
The Mausoleum of the Taj Mahal was built with translucent white marble blocks on which flowers and a mosaic of thousands of semiprecious stones are carved. This is an excellent example of symmetry: four identical sides of the Taj with magnificent arches decorated with ornaments carved with curls in the style of an idiot and quotes from the Qur’an, carved in calligraphic characters and decorated with jasper. The entire structure is crowned by four small domes that surround the famous central bulb dome.
Immediately under the main dome is the cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal, a beautiful work tombstone (False) , surrounded by perforated marble slabs, decorated with dozens of different semi-precious stones. Shah Jahan’s cenotaph, buried by his overthrown son Aurangzeb in 1666, was established here, breaking the symmetry, the Light penetrates the central room through carved marble screens. The real tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan are located in a closed room on the ground floor below the main hall. They cannot be seen.
Mahal means “palace”, but in this case the Taj Mahal is the abbreviation of Mumtaz Mahal (“Palace Gem”) which was given to Shah Jahan’s cousin when he married him. Daughter of her mother’s brother, she was his constant companion long before she received the throne, and was later the first woman among hundreds of other people in her harem. For 19 years of marriage, he gave birth to 14 children and died during the birth of his last son in 1631.
Legend has it that Shah Jahan’s beard – he was 39 years old, only a year older than his wife – turned white almost one night after his death, and continued to cry for several years, wearing white on each anniversary of his death. It took twelve years of tireless work with the Persian architect and craftsmen brought from Baghdad, Italy and France to build the Taj Mahal, a period that can be considered the maximum expression of his pain. “The empire now has no sweetness for me,” he wrote. “Life itself has lost all taste for me.”
Myths about the Taj Mahal, Agra
Taj Mahal black
This is the story that Shah Jahan planned to build a double black marble Taj Mahal on the opposite side of the river as his mausoleum, and this work was started by his son Aurangzeb after imprisoning his father in the Agra fortress. Intensive excavations in the Mehtab Bagh region have not confirmed this hypothesis. No traces of construction were found.
The partition of the masters
Legend has it that after the completion of the construction of the Taj, the Shah Jahan ordered that the hands are cut and the craftsmen’s eyes torn so that they could never repeat it. Fortunately, this story has not found any historical confirmation.
The Settling Taj Mahal
Some experts say that according to some reports, the Taj Mahal is slowly leaning towards the river bed and this is caused by changes in the soil due to the gradual drying up of the Yamuna river. Archaeological intelligence from India has stated that the existing changes in height of the building are insignificant, adding that no structural changes or damage were detected in the course of 70 years since the first scientific study of the Taj Mahal conducted in 1941.
Taj Mahal museum
The Taj Mahal complex includes a small but wonderful Taj Museum (admission 5 rupees; 10 am-5 pm Saturday-Thursday). It is located in the western part of the gardens. The museum houses the originals of the Mughal miniatures, a couple of portraits of Shah Jahan and his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal from the ivory (17th century). There are several well-preserved gold and silver coins from the same period, Taj architectural designs and several elegant celadon slabs, which are said to shatter into pieces or change colour if the food contains poison.
The best views of the Taj Mahal
In the territory of the Taj
Please pay 750 rupees, but only inside the complex around the Taj Mahal will you be able to fully experience the beauty and power of the most beautiful building on earth. Make sure to pay attention to the mosaic (crazy stone) inside niches with arches (Pishtakov) on the four external walls. Don’t forget to bring a torch with you to better see similar ornaments inside the dark central hall of the mausoleum. Pay attention to white marble and semiprecious stones interspersed with it.
From Mehtab Bagha
Tourists are no longer allowed to walk freely along the promenade on the opposite bank of the Yamuna River, but it is still possible to admire the Taj Mahal from behind, from the Mehtaba Bagh Park (16th century) on the other side of the river. The path that goes down to the river will lead you to a place where you can enjoy the same views for free, even if from a limited angle.
View from the south bank of the river
This is a great place to watch the sunset. Follow the path that runs along the eastern wall of the Taj Mahal, to a small temple near the river. There you will find boats where you can ride along the river and enjoy even more romantic views. Prepare to pay around 100 rupees per boat. For safety reasons, it is best not to go here alone at sunset.
From the rooftop cafe in the Taj Ganja
A great option for sunrise photography: the roof of a cafe in the Taj Ganja. The photos are very beautiful. It seems to us that the rooftop bar of the Saniya Palace is the best place. The location is excellent, there are a lot of greenery around. But in principle, such beautiful places a lot, and all of them offer, as a bonus, a view of the Taj Mahal, which you can enjoy over a cup of morning coffee.
From Fort Agra
By having a camera with a decent lens, you can take luxurious photographs of the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort, especially if you are ready to get up at dawn and catch the moment when the sun rises from behind its walls. Perhaps the best places for filming are Musamman Burj and Khas Mahal, the octagonal tower and the palace where Shah Jahan was placed and where he spent the last eight years of his life.
Information for visitors
Taj Mahal opening hours
The mausoleum is open every day from 6 to 19, except on Friday (this day is open only to those who come to serve Friday on a mosque in the Taj Mahal).
You can also admire the Taj Mahal in the moonlight – two days before and two days after the full moon, the mausoleum is open in the evening – from 20.30 to midnight.
entrance
Entry to the Taj Mahal costs 750 INR (approximately $ 12) , children under 15 years – free entry.
Best time to visit the Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is magnificent at dawn. It is definitely the best time to visit and there are fewer people during these hours. Sunset is another magical moment where you can enjoy wonderful views. You can see the Taj for five nights on a full moon. The number of entrances is limited. Tickets must be purchased on the day before a visit to the Archaeological Intelligence Office of India. Note that among rickshaw drivers, this office is known as the Taj Mahal Office.
Taking photos and videos
It is forbidden to photograph and shoot videos with professional equipment (SLR cameras, due to the great popularity among tourists, are normally not considered professional equipment, but there may be problems if you already have a very large lens). Permission to shoot with a regular camera will cost an additional 25 INR.
How to get there
The Taj Mahal is located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, in the city of Agra, about 200 km away. from Delhi.
The following trains leave from Delhi to Agra:
- Shatabdi Express: departure from New Delhi station at 6:00 am, return at 20:40 (journey time 2 hours).
- “Taj-Express” – departs from Nizamuddin station at 7:15 am 6:50 pm (travel time 3 hours).
- In addition to them, through Agra, all trains go to Calcutta, Mumbai and Gwalior.
In addition, Agra can be reached by bus (3-hour express), taxi (2000 INR) or by ordering a group tour (from 1500 INR, including entrance fees).
Already from Agra to the Taj Mahal you can board a rickshaw or taxi.
About the Taj mahal
This mosque mausoleum which is located in India in the city Agra. In the mosque, you can see elements of both Indian and Persian style. The Indian Taj Mahal has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.
The most famous component of the mosque is, of course, the white dome. Twenty thousand craftsmen and craftsmen worked on it. Construction continued from 1632 to 1953. The Taj Mahal is a five-domed structure with a height of 74 meters, on the platform, in the corners of the mosque, there are four minarets. The surrounding area also has swimming pools, fountains and a garden. The walls of the Taj Mahal are made of translucent polished marble inlaid with gems. During construction stones such as agate, malachite, turquoise, carnelian and others were used. In sunlight, the marble appears white, pink at dawn and silver on a moonlit night.
Romantic and sad story of the Taj Mahal , talks about the love story of a padisha and his wife. The mosque became the last refuge of Mumtaz Mahal, the wife of padisha Shah Jahan, who died at the age of thirty-eight during childbirth, giving birth to a fourteenth child. At nineteen, he married and became the third and most beloved wife of the padisha. The Taj Mahal is a symbol of their eternal love. The pain of the loss was very great for Jahan. He went gray, lost his sense of life and even thought of suicide. Before the death of his beloved wife, he promised to build such a monument that it would convey all of Mumtaz’s tenderness and beauty. It was in honor of the Mumtaz Mahal that the Taj Mahal was built.
The exterior of the Taj Mahal is no less surprising. Sculptures, various paintings, stone and plaster inlays were used as decorative elements. An important decorative element is that the extracts from the Koran are used throughout the complex. Pedestals, gates, grave surfaces, minarets and mosques use abstract forms. There are also pictures of the vine and flowers.
Inside the Taj Mahal there are two tombs: the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal and her husband. But they are not buried in them, but deep beneath the tombs. Shah Jahan’s cenotaph is located near the Mumtaz Mahal, it is taller and bigger only because it was completed much later. But it is decorated in the same way as Mumtaz’s coffin. The bodies of the spouses are not buried in them, as it is forbidden to decorate the tombs. Their bodies lie in ordinary crypts and their faces are turned to Mecca. On the lid of the tomb of Mumtaz is a triangular rhombus, which was created to write on it. Calligraphic inscriptions on the plaque praise the deceased wife of the padishah. Despite the remarkable harem, all Jahan’s love and tenderness belonged only to her.
Shah Jahan had six wives and several concubines. The remaining wives are buried in separate mausoleums located outside the walls of the central building. Furthermore, in one of these mausoleums, the beloved servant of Mumtaz-Mahal is buried.
Over time and due to environmental pollution, the white walls of this magical building have started to turn yellow. And due to the movement of the ground, cracks have even been noted on the walls. Despite everything, the mosque-mausoleum of the Taj Mahal in the city of Agra has been and remains one of the most popular tourist destinations in India and is rightly considered one of the 7 wonders of the world!
You can’t fly over it. It can be reached at night, but only in the full moon. All the architects who worked on it were killed. This is the Taj Mahal. The heart of India
The history of the Taj Mahal in India
The Taj Mahal was built in honor of a woman. Who was loved and died. Descendant of Khan Tamerlane, emperor of the great Mongols, Shah Jahan ordered the construction of a palace in honor of his late wife Mumtaz Mahal. Taj Mahal is translated as “the chosen one of the palace”. According to the traditions of that time, the khan had a huge harem, but he only loved his wife.
The silhouette of the Taj Mahal in India is immediately recognized by people in every corner of the world. This is one of the most photographed buildings in history. Created from white marble decorated with gold and semiprecious stones, this building testifies to the wealth of the state and the skill of the 17th-century masters. And of course about great love.
Not surprisingly, the Taj Mahal on the map of India is the most popular place. Over 3 million people visit it every year.
Shah Jahan and his love
Contemporaries called Shah Jahan the ruler of the world. He ruled his empire for 30 years and during this period the country reached a period of maximum cultural and political splendor.
When Shah was a fifteen-year-old boy, he met a girl at the market. He was 14 years old, trading in costume jewelery. It was Arju-mand Banu Begam. The story of the Taj Mahal in India began from this meeting. According to legend, young loves immediately fell in love with each other. But the shah was forced to enter into a beneficial marriage for the dynasty. His wife was a Persian princess. The first of the four allowed by Islam. The second time, Shah married his lover. The new name – Mumtaz Mahal – was given to her by her father-in-law, the great Khan Jahangir.
The young couple’s relationship was cloudless, confident and kind. According to contemporaries, the emperor’s wife was beautiful and wise. And also, also bold. Pregnant, she accompanied him to a countryside and died during childbirth. It was to be their fourteenth child. Mumtaz Mahal was 39 years old.
True or not, but when she died, the woman would ask her lover to satisfy her two wishes. The first – no longer marries, so as not to provoke enmity between the heirs. And the second is to erect a mausoleum in his honor, a peer to whom the world has not yet seen. The emperor promised to satisfy both requests and kept his word.
After the death of his wife, the ruler closed himself in his room for eight days, neither drank nor ate. During this period he is very old. And when he left, he started creating the most majestic mausoleum in India called the Taj Mahal.
Building of the palace
The best teachers of Baghdad, Istanbul, Samarkand and many other cities gathered on the call of the emperor. Everyone presented their own project. The ruler liked the sketches drawn by the Iranian Ystad Usa more than others. A famous architect in those days. Like those who built the Taj Mahal in India according to its layout, Istad Usa has never seen. He was blinded to never do such a thing again. It is, of course, possible that this is fiction and that the poor architect has not been injured. It is also known that, in addition to him, design work also engaged in French and Venetian masters.
The palace was laid in Agra in 1632. Only 10 years later, the works for the central building were completed.
Architectural features of Taj Mahal
Palace in India Taj Mahal – an entire complex of buildings. Here are the main ones:
- the same mausoleum (five-domed temple, the largest dome is reminiscent of a flower bud; the height of the entire structure is 74 m);
- four minarets (they were designed and installed on a slight slope from the grave, so that in case of a fall they do not touch it);
- two identical sandstone buildings;
- a garden (and fountains and a swimming pool in it);
- huge doors (according to Muslim beliefs, they seem to lead from the realm of feelings to the realm of spirit, symbolize the doors to paradise; just behind the doors there is a view of the mausoleum, which is reflected in the pool water; initially the doors were of silver, then they were replaced by copper).
A staircase leads to the mausoleum. Since the Taj Mahal in India is also a kind of mosque, it is customary to take off your shoes at the entrance. The building is covered in marble. It is translucent and polished. The marble was to be delivered for over 300 km. It reflects beautifully on the light: it looks pink in the morning, white in the afternoon and silver in the night.
At the windows and arches, the perforated grates, in the transitions of black marble, eliminate the sura of the Koran. The walls are covered with gilding, marble mosaics and ornaments. 1.5 thousand tons of diamonds, pearls, agate, carnelian, malachite and turquoise have appeared there. At the center of the mausoleum there are marble screens and behind them there are tombs. They always have fresh flowers. But these tombs are fake, empty. The bodies of Shah and his wife are under the building, in a crypt.
The Taj Mahal temple in India was erected for 22 years. For this, the work of 20 thousand builders was required. The best craftsmen worked at the temple: sculptors from Bukhara, Syrian calligraphers, jewelers from southern India.
Subsequently the temple was sacked, many precious stones disappeared. The park around the mausoleum is very beautiful. The traces are in marble. The swimming pool, which is located opposite the main entrance, is lined with cypress trees. In these parts they are considered trees of pain.
At the entrance to the garden is a red sandstone mosque. It has eleven domes and two minarets. The whole complex stands on the banks of the Yamuna River. The mausoleum is reflected in the ripples of the water. The image is blurred, it evokes thoughts of the supernatural nature of the Taj Mahal. In the morning, at dawn, the fog rises over the river and the building seems to hover in the clouds.
The fate of Shah Jahan
The emperor completed the construction of the most beautiful Taj Mahal palace in India and was about to begin the next one. The same shah wanted to build the same mausoleum on the opposite bank of the river, but made of black marble. And it connects both complexes with a bridge. This bridge was to symbolize the victory of love over death.
But the emperor was disappointed with health. He planned to transfer control of the country to his first son, with whom they were close. But the intrigues of Shah’s second son prevented it. Gossip spread that his father had lost his head and was not allowed to choose an heir alone. Only the second son ascended the throne. He got rid of his brothers and imprisoned his father. It is not known exactly where the fallen emperor spent his last years. Most historians are inclined to keep it at the Red Fort. This building is located opposite the mausoleum, on the opposite bank of the river. There Shah spent the last eight years of his life. He could admire the Taj Mahal and remember his beloved. Together with her, he is buried in the crypt of the building.
The fate of the Taj Mahal
The descendants did not treat the mausoleum with the same trepidation as its creator. Two centuries later, the palace was perceived more as an entertainment venue rather than a sanctuary. The girls could afford to dance on the terrace and rich young couples came to Agra, a city in India, near the Taj Mahal, to celebrate the wedding. The mosque and guesthouse as a whole could easily be rented.
Following the Indians themselves, the British colonialists continued the looting of the Taj Mahal. They took away stones, rugs and even doors. They easily arrived at the palace with a hammer and chisel, so that it was more convenient to tear jewelry. At some point, the Governor General of India even planned to demolish the Taj Mahal and sell the marble. The palace saved that at that time there were no buyers.
The mausoleum underwent even greater destruction during the Indian uprising of 1857 and by the end of the 19th century it was in complete decline. The garden is overgrown, the tombs are desecrated.
Another governor general has undertaken the restoration. Lord Curzon. The restoration of the Taj Mahal was completed in 1908.
The next danger came to the palace in the second half of the 20th century. Agra – the city of India, near the Taj Mahal – has become an industrial center. It rained heavily on the Taj Mahal, ruining the marble. Only in the late 1990s did the Indian authorities order the transfer of all harmful production from Agra.
Now the Taj Mahal, Agra is the main symbol of India. A tear on the cheek of eternity. The Taj Mahal is a white marble palace, one of the most grandiose monuments of Indian architecture with elegant interior decorations and an extraordinarily beautiful park. This is the latest gift from the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to his late wife Mumtaz Mahal, as well as the main and most popular attraction in the country, which is visited by thousands of tourists every year.
The legend of the Taj Mahal
An ancient and very beautiful romantic legend is associated with the Taj Mahal. The Indian Shah Jahan was fascinated by the beauty of the poor girl who traded in the local market and married her. He soon became his beloved wife and lived 17 happy years with the Shah. However, happiness was not meant to last forever and Mumtaz Mahal died during the birth of the fourteenth child. Jahan could not forget her and was never happier.
In memory of his beloved wife and the years of their family happiness, the Indian ruler ordered the construction of the most beautiful mausoleum in the world, which is more beautiful than in the whole world. The best architects and masters of India and Europe have been involved in the work – only about 20 thousand people. The construction lasted 20 years and a magnificent structure was built on the banks of the Jamna river, which still delights everyone who sees it.
Despite the numerous earthquakes in these parts, it has never been destroyed and has not been damaged at all.
Park, architecture, interiors
The construction of the mausoleum creates a unique architectural ensemble in combination with a park, which is divided around it. The entire structure is in snow-white marble, the semicircular niches penetrate the square facade, and thanks to this it seems almost weightless, despite its massive size. The impression of “wheelie” is also created by the reflection of the facades in the canals of the gardens surrounding the mausoleum. And the most striking feature of this building is the ability to change its colour depending on the time of day and the weather. In the rain it seems translucent, it glows pink in the morning and when the sunset casts gold. The internal walls of the mausoleum are decorated with painted tiles and inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones and pearls.
The luxury of the Taj Mahal was even more impressive: the front doors were made of pure silver, but like many other precious internal objects, they were stolen. However, the Taj Mahal still impresses with its luxury and rich decoration.
Practical information
How to get there: the Taj Mahal is located in the city of Agra (200 km from Delhi). You can get on any train that goes to Calcutta, Mumbai and Gwalior (all pass through Agra), the journey time is 2-3 hours. From Agra to the mausoleum – by rickshaw or taxi.
Opening times: the mausoleum is open every day, except on Friday, during the daytime.
