The Taj Mahal, A Tribute to Beauty !

Overlooking the River Yamuna, the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, that was built under Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died in 1631.

Agra was once the capital of the Mughal Empire during the 16^th and 18^th centuries. It’s only one and a half hour by train from New Delhi and tourists come from all over the world to visit India’s most famous architectural building.

The Taj Mahal (also "the Taj") is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles.

More than 20 000 workers were involved in its construction, and the marble and semi-precious stones that cover the wall faces to give it its brilliant white appearance were brought from Rajasthan, Persia, Russia, Afghanistan, Tibet, China, and the Indian Ocean. It took 22 years to complete!

In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a Unesco World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of uslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."

While the white domed marble and tile mausoleum is most familiar, Taj Mahal is an integrated symmetric complex of structures that was completed around 1648. Ustad Ahmad Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer of the Taj Mahal.

Click on the picture below

This picture was taken by Yann Arthus-Bertrand