Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. This immense mausoleum was built between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. The Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage. Before his accession to the throne, Shah Jahan was popularly known as Prince Khurram. He fell in love with the beautiful Arjumand Bano Begum, and then he married her,making her his third wife. Arjumand Bano Begum was christened by Shah Jahan as Mumtaz Mahal- meaning the ''Chosen One of the Palace'' or ''Jewel of the Palace''. Shah Jahan lost his wife, when she was giving birth to their 14th child. The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian and earlier Mughal architecture. The tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. Tomb is large, white marble structure and it consists of a symmetrical building with an iwan ( an arch-shaped doorway ) topped by a large dome and finial- element marking. 

Taj Mahal was built in stages, with the plinth and the tomb taking up roughly 15 years. Building of minarets, mosque, jawab and gateway took about 5 years to be completed. In contruction of  Taj Mahal different types of marbles were used  and brought over from many different regions and contries-Rajasthan, Punjab, China, Tibet, Shrilanka, Arabia ..Depending on what time of the day it is and whether or not there's moon at night, Taj Mahal appears to be of different color every time. Some even believe that this changing pattern of colors depict different moods of a woman. Taj Mahal attracts 2-4 million visitors annually with over 200,000 from overseas. Number of visitors increased to about 3 million in 2015. Price for entrance is much lower for indian citizens, but more expensive for foreigners. Most tourists visit this mausoleum in October, November and February. Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex, so the tourists have to eather walk from the parking lots or catch an electric bus. The complex is opened from 06:00 to 19:00 weekdays, except for Friday, when the complex is open only for prayers at the mosque between 12:00 and 14:00. Also Taj Mahal is open for night viewing on the day of the full moon and two days before and after.