Taj Mahal, Agra

Being one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the great Taj Mahal is situated at Agra. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a symbol of love to his beloved wife, Mumtaz.

Taj Mahal is a very beautiful monument fully built in white marbles. It has a combination of the Persian, the Turkish, the Indian, and the Islamic architectural styles. The most familiar part of the monument is the white domed marble mausoleum.

Taj has been considered as a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site in 1983. It is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage. It is about 55 meters tall and the domes are 8 meters in diameter and 24 meters high.

Entrance - The main gateway is built primarily of marble. The style is of Mughal architecture of earlier emperors. The mirror, the shape of the tomb's archways, and its pishtaq arches are decorated by the calligraphy with floral motif.
 
Base - The base is a cube with chamfered edges. The design is completely symmetrical on all sides of the building. There are four minarets, one at each corner of the plinth, facing the chamfered corners, frame the tomb.

Dome - The marble dome that surmounts the tomb is the most spectacular. Its height is about 35 meters. The height is so accentuated because it sits on a cylindrical "drum" about 7 meters high. It is called as onion dome, amrud or guava dome. The top is of lotus design by a gild finial symbolizes the mixture of Persian and Hindu decorations. The lotus motif is repeated on both the chattris and guldastas.

Finial - The finial was made of gold till 1800s, and now it is of bronze.  The horns of the moon and the finial point combine reminiscent of the traditional Hindu symbols of Shiva.

Minarets - At the corners of the plinth stand minarets, there are four large towers each more than 40 meters tall. The minarets again display the Taj Mahal's penchant for symmetry.

The decorative elements basically categorized into three types:

Calligraphy
Abstract geometric elements
Vegetative motifs

The decorative elements were created in three ways:

Paint or stucco applied to the wall surface
Stone inlay
Carvings

The Jali screen is the interior chamber of the Taj Mahal traditional decorative element. The inlay work material includes precious and semiprecious gemstones. The tomb’s exterior decoration defines with jeweler's art.

The raised marble water tank called al Hawd al-Kawthar with four flowing Rivers of Paradise is situated halfway between the tomb and the gateway at the center of the garden. Its linear reflecting pool reflects the Taj Mahal.

The charbagh garden is rectangular in form with a tomb or pavilion in the centre. Four rivers source the central spring and separate the garden into north, west, south and east. Taj Mahal tomb is located at the end rather than at the centre of the garden.

Location

The great Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located at Agra, New Delhi, India.

Historical Importance

The construction began in 1632 and was completed approximately in 1648. The surrounding buildings and the garden were finished five years later. Ustad Ahmad Lahauri is considered to be the principal designer of the structure. The construction materials were brought from all over India and Asia.

To transport the material, over 1,000 elephants were used. The translucent white marble was brought from Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China. Twenty eight types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble. The cost of the construction is estimated to be about 32 million rupees.