TAJ MAHAL

“Crown of the Palace”, TajMahal is an ivory white mausoleum designed to house the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan’s wife MumtazMahal’s tomb. TajMahal was commissioned when MumtazMahal died while giving birth to their child, such was his love for her wife that King ordered his ministers to establish a monument, a symbol of love, seen admired from far beyond the empire and by the whole world. Shah Jahan’s undying grief of the demise of her beloved wife was seen as the inspiration behind the design. To start, TajMahal is constructed with materials from all over the Asia and India. White Marble from Rajasthan, Jasper from Punjab, Jade and Crystal from China, Turquoise from Tibet all were used to bring this magnanimous monument to breathing. More than 28 types of precious stones have been submerged in the white marble to further enhance the beauty of this undying spirit of love.

The tomb took 12 years to completei.e in 1643 the tomb was completed and the remaining parts of the whole complex took an additional 10 years. They were completed in order of Mosque and Gateways. Estimates of the cost of construction vary due to difficulties but the total cost is estimated to be about 32 million Indian rupees which is 827 million $ in today’s value

Location: TajMahal is located in city of Agra in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Agra is accessible by road from Delhi (3 hours) and Jaipur (4 hours). Closest airports are in Delhi and Jaipur. Agra also has an airport but commercial flights normally do not serve it. Beside road, Agra is well connected by two fast trains from Delhi and also from Jaipur.

Entry and information: TajMahal is open from Sunrise to sunset. It is closed on Friday for public visit. Also from time to time, state heads or VIPs from different countries visit it during which it may be closed for public for few hours.