Taj Mahal Complex (Agra)
India /
Uttar Pradesh /
Agra Cantonment /
Agra
World
/ India
/ Uttar Pradesh
/ Agra Cantonment
World / India / Uttar Pradesh / Agra
mausoleum, place with historical importance, UNESCO World Heritage Site, historical building
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Taj Mahal means "crown of buildings" in Urdu.
The Taj Mahal (also "the Taj") is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Islamic, Indian and Persian architectural styles.
In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In a project that attempted to update the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, popularity poll was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber and organized by the Swiss-based, government-controlled New7Wonders Foundation considered Taj Mahal to be one of the present new seven wonders of the world.
While the white domed marble mausoleum is its most familiar component, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. Building began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, and employed thousands of artisans and craftsmen. The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.Lahauriis generally considered to be the principal designer.In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest prosperity, was grief-stricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their fourteenth child, Gauhara Begum.Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632, one year after her death.The court chronicles of Shah Jahan's grief illustrate the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal.The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later. Emperor Shah Jahan himself described the Taj in these words:
Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator's glory.
The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian architecture and earlier Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including; the Gur-e Amir (the tomb of Timur, progenitor of the Mughal dynasty, in Samarkand),Humayun's Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb (sometimes called the Baby Taj), and Shah Jahan's own Jama Masjid in Delhi. While earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, and buildings under his patronage reached new levels of refinement.The official website of the Taj Mahal is www.tajmahal.gov.in
3D Panoramic View of Taj Mahal:
www.airpano.ru/files/Taj-Mahal-India/2-3
The Taj Mahal (also "the Taj") is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Islamic, Indian and Persian architectural styles.
In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In a project that attempted to update the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, popularity poll was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber and organized by the Swiss-based, government-controlled New7Wonders Foundation considered Taj Mahal to be one of the present new seven wonders of the world.
While the white domed marble mausoleum is its most familiar component, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. Building began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, and employed thousands of artisans and craftsmen. The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.Lahauriis generally considered to be the principal designer.In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest prosperity, was grief-stricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their fourteenth child, Gauhara Begum.Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632, one year after her death.The court chronicles of Shah Jahan's grief illustrate the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal.The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648 and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later. Emperor Shah Jahan himself described the Taj in these words:
Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator's glory.
The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian architecture and earlier Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including; the Gur-e Amir (the tomb of Timur, progenitor of the Mughal dynasty, in Samarkand),Humayun's Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb (sometimes called the Baby Taj), and Shah Jahan's own Jama Masjid in Delhi. While earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone, Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, and buildings under his patronage reached new levels of refinement.The official website of the Taj Mahal is www.tajmahal.gov.in
3D Panoramic View of Taj Mahal:
www.airpano.ru/files/Taj-Mahal-India/2-3
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/agra_taj_mahal
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 27°10'22"N 78°2'31"E
- Tughlakabad Inner Fort 169 km
- Walled city of Jaipur 223 km
- Kathmandu Nepal 719 km
- Tilla Joggiyan (Koh-e-Balnath) 790 km
- Historical Sar Jalal and Shrine of Syed Jahan Shah Badshah residuary of Village Karonta Sikandar 799 km
- Chitrakot 961 km
- Sadashivpet old town 1063 km
- METAL AND STEEL FACTORY, ICHAPUR (M. S. F.) 1148 km
- Chandragiri Fort 1518 km
- Sadabad Complex of Palaces 2693 km
- Charbagh Garden
- Jilaukhana (Forecourt) 0.2 km
- Chameli Farsh (Riverfront Terrace) 0.2 km
- Taj Ganj 0.5 km
- Agra Golf Course 1 km
- Khairaati Tola 1.3 km
- 15th Battallion P.A.C. (Residential Colony) 1.3 km
- ITC Mughal, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Agra 1.4 km
- Shaheed Nagar 2.3 km
- odf quarter 2.7 km
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