The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum and memorial to Mumtaz Mahal, the adored wife of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.
Her tomb is located in this lavish building, which was constructed in the 1630s and 1640s after she passed away while giving birth to their fourteenth child.
UNESCO recognizes the ivory-white marble mausoleum, which combines Islamic, Persian, and Indian architectural elements, as the pinnacle of Indo-Islamic architecture. The building is located in the middle of a 42-acre compound that also has formal gardens, a guest house, and a mosque.
The Taj Mahal may be reached by train from New Delhi, the nation’s capital, to the city of Agra. Up to three hours can pass during the ride. It’s recommended to visit in the morning because of the huge crowds this well-known location attracts. Additionally, visiting early in the morning allows you to witness the dawn, which will undoubtedly give the magnificent monument a captivating light.
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The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, on the Yamuna River’s right bank.
The fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (1628–1658), ordered it built in 1631 to contain both his own tomb and the grave of his adored wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Situated in formal gardens surrounded on three sides by a crenellated wall, the tomb is the focal point of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex that also contains a mosque and a guest house.
Although the mausoleum’s construction was finished in 1648, other project phases took five more years to complete. On February 6, 1643, Shah Jahan hosted the inaugural ceremony at the mausoleum to commemorate Mumtaz Mahal’s twelfth anniversary of passing away. The entire Taj Mahal complex is thought to have been finished in 1653 for an estimated ₹32 million, or over ₹52.8 billion (US$827 million) in 2015.
Mughal and Indo-Islamic architectural styles are incorporated within the building complex. It uses a variety of forms and symbols in symmetrical compositions. The mausoleum is made of white marble that has been inlaid with semi-precious stones, although other structures in the complex that resembled those from the Mughal era were made of red sandstone. Under the direction of a board of architects headed by Ustad Ahmad Lahori, the emperor’s court architect, the construction project employed about 20,000 laborers and craftspeople.
The Taj Mahal was recognized as “the jewel of Islamic art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage” when it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. It is considered an icon of Indian history and one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture. Over five million tourists visit the Taj Mahal each year, making it a popular tourist destination. It was named one of the New 7 Wonders of the World in 2007. The Archaeological Survey of India oversees the Taj Mahal and its surroundings, buildings, and gardens as a Monument of National Importance.
