Taj Mahal- One Of The Seven Wonders Of World
Whenever a person plans to visit India, the first and foremost place that he or she thinks to visit is Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonders of World. It is known as ‘ Jewel of Muslim art in India’. It is considered as a symbol of love. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan made Taj Mahal in the memory of his wife Mumtaz. It is situated on the banks of Yamuna River in Agra in Uttarpradesh.
History of Taj Mahal: Mumtaz married Shah Jahan in 1612 and become his second wife. She was the favorite wife of Shah Jahan. In the year 1631, Mumtaz died at the time of childbirth. There was mourning in the court for more than 2 years. In the memory of his beloved wife, Shah Jahan built the mausoleum Taj Mahal.
Architecture of Taj Mahal: Taj Mahal’s architect is not only praised by the tourists, but also by the poets, historians and architects. The architecture of Taj mahal is live example of the perfection of work of the craftsman of that time. It is made up of white marble. It took 17 years to construct the great Taj Mahal and another 5years to finish the garden and surrounding buildings.
The most skilled architect, craftsman, stone-graphers and masons from India, Persia and Turkey worked together to build this marvelous Mausoleum of Mumtaz. Taj mahal was designed by Persian architect Ustad Ahmed Lahauri. The dome was constructed by Isamail Khan Afridi from Turkey. 20,000 workers were recruited from nothern parts of India. Sculptors were called from Bukhara and sculptors and others were brought from different parts of the world to build this memorable monument.
Inlay work has been used to decorate the interiors of the famous Taj Mahal. Semi-precious stones like turqouise, jasper, jade, crystal which were used in the decoration were brought from the different parts of the world. The white marble was brought from Rajasthan, turqouise from Tibet and so on.
Visit to Taj Mahal: Taj Mahal looks attractive all days and nights. But on full moon night it looks stupendous. It remains open from 6a.m. to 7p.m. It is as difficult to define the beauty of Taj Mahal in words as it is to define the beauty of love. Many people take their beloved to Taj Mahal to express their love.
