Taj Mahal (0)

TAJ MAHAL
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra , India, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife , Mumtaz Mahal.
The Taj Mahal (also "the Taj") is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture , a style that combines elements from Persian, Ottoman, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."
Building began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, and employed thousands of artisans and craftsmen. The Persian architect, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer of the Taj Mahal.
Origin and inspiration
In 1631 the emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest prosperity, was griefstricken when his third wife died during the birth of their fourteenth child. In her dying breath, his wife urged him to build a mausoleum for her that the world has never seen before . Shah Jahan granted his wife's wish and the constructions started one year after her death with the principal mausoleum completed in 1648. The surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later .
Architecture
The focus of the Taj Mahal is the white marble tomb , which stands on a square plinth consisting of a symmetrical building with an iwan, an arch -shaped doorway, topped by a large dome.
The base structure is a large, multi-chambered structure. The base is essentially a cube with chamfered edges and is roughly 55 meters on each side (see floor plan, right). On the long sides , a massive pishtaq, or vaulted archway, frames the iwan with a similar arch-shaped balcony.
The main dome is crowned by a gilded spire or finial . The finial, made of gold until the early 1800s, is now made of bronze. The finial provides a clear example of integration of traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements. The finial is topped by a moon , a typical Islamic motif, whose horns point heavenward. Because of its placement on the main spire, the horns of moon and finial point combine to create a trident shape, reminiscent of traditional Hindu symbols of Shiva.
Construction
The Taj Mahal was built on a parcel of land to the south of the walled city of Agra. An area of roughly three acres was excavated, filled with dirt to reduce seepage and leveled at 50 meters above riverbank. In the tomb area, wells were dug and filled with stone and rubble as the footings of the tomb. Instead of lashed bamboo, workmen constructed a colossal brick scaffold that mirrored the tomb. The scaffold was so enormous that foremen estimated it would take years to dismantle. According to the legend, Shah Jahan decreed that anyone could keep the bricks taken from the scaffold, and thus it was dismantled by peasants overnight. A fifteen kilometer tamped-earth ramp was built to transport marble and materials to the construction site. Teams of twenty or thirty oxen were strained to pull blocks on specially constructed wagons.
The plinth and tomb took roughly 12 years to complete . The remaining parts of the complex took an additional 10 years.
Facts: The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia . Over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials during the construction. The translucent white marble was brought from Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China . The turquoise was from Tibet and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, while the sapphire came from Sri Lanka and the carnelian from Arabia . In all, twenty eight types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble.
Exterior decoration
The exterior decorations of the Taj Mahal are among the finest to be found in Mughal architecture. As the surface area changes , a large pishtaq has more area than a smaller one, and the decorations are refined proportionally. The decorative elements were created by applying paint or stucco, or by stone inlays or carvings. In line with the Islamic prohibition against the use of anthropomorphic forms, the decorative elements can be grouped into either calligraphy, abstract forms or vegetative motifs.
Interior
The interior chamber of the Taj Mahal steps far beyond traditional decorative elements. the inlay work is not pietra dura, but lapidary of precious and semiprecious gemstones. The inner chamber is an octagon with the design allowing for entry from each face , though only the south garden-facing door is used. The interior walls are about 25 metres high and topped by a "false" interior dome decorated with a sun motif. Each chamber wall has been highly decorated with dado bas relief, intricate lapidary inlay and refined calligraphy panels, reflecting in miniature detail the design elements seen throughout the exterior of the complex.
The garden
The complex is set around a large 300- meter square charbagh, a Mughal garden. The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four quarters of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds. A raised marble water tank at the center of the garden. Elsewhere, the garden is laid out with avenues of trees and fountains.
The Taj Mahal garden is unusual in that the main element, the tomb, instead is located at the end of the garden.
Outlying buildings
The Taj Mahal complex is bounded by crenellated red sandstone walls on three sides with river-facing side open . Outside these walls are several additional mausoleums, including those of Shah Jahan's other wives, and a larger tomb for Mumtaz's favorite servant. These structures , composed primarily of red sandstone, are typical of the smaller Mughal tombs of the era.
At the far end of the complex, there are two grand red sandstone buildings that are open to the sides of the tomb. Their backs parallel western and eastern walls, and these two buildings are precise mirror images of each other.
Tourism
The Taj Mahal attracts from 2 to 4 million visitors annually, with more than 200,000 from overseas. Most tourists visit in the cooler months of October, November and February . Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex and tourists must either walk from parking lots or catch an electric bus.