Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is a great historical monument built during the rule of the great Emperor Shah Jahan for his third and the prettiest Mumtaz.
Hey guys, today we will talk about the Taj Mahal. When I went to Taj Mahal sometime back, the guide explained to us about the Taj Mahal. I am sure that some of you have visited the Taj Mahal. But there are some stories that you may not know. That’s why I have written this blog and want you to know a little more, so read this blog.
The real name of the Taj Mahal is Mumtaz Mahal. It is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the southern bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was built in 1632 by the mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself.
The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.
A Little About Mumtaz
Do you know the real names of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz? So let me tell you their real name. The real name of Shah Jahan is Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram and of Mumtaz is Arjumand Banu Begum.
Shah Jahan had three wives, but his favorite one was Mumtaz due to two reasons- first she was the most beautiful, second his first wife didn't have a child but Mumtaz gave birth to 14 children, but her eight children died.
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He built forts for his rest of the wives except for Mumtaz; he built the magnificent Taj Mahal.
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It has four entry gates but only two gates are open. The north gate also known as Mumtaz gate is the main entry. It is built with the red sand stone brought from Fateh Pur Sikri.
Little Known Facts About Taj Mahal
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You will be surprised, there are 20,000 rest rooms not for the tourists but for the 20,000 workers who built the Taj for their resting. Still those rooms are used for the family of their workers to stay as Taj is closed on Friday. At times those workers come and clean the taj with the same technique.
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The base structure is a large multi-chambered cube with chamfered corners forming an unequal eight-sided structure that is approximately 55 metres (180 ft) on each of the four long sides. Each side of the iwan is framed with a huge pishtaq or vaulted archway with two similarly shaped arched balconies stacked on either side. This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on the chamfered corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical on all sides of the building.
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Four minarets frame the tomb, one at each corner of the plinth facing the chamfered corners.
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The main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan; the actual graves are at a lower level. The four tombs at the side of the mausoleum surrounding it are tilted so that by chance they fall, so they do not damage the main. The most spectacular feature is the marble dome that surmounts the tomb. The dome is nearly 35 metres (115 ft) high. Because of its shape, the dome is often called an onion dome or amrud (guava dome).
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For the interior, they had not used paints, they used black marble, gems and precious stones for the lotus design. One design of lotus takes one year with two workers and at the top a big sunflower is made from black marble and at the side the chapters of the Quran are written in Urdu.
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The grave of Mumtaz is buried there only before making the Taj. After making Taj Shah Jahan ordered the workers to build one more Taj with black marble, but it was not completed as Shah Jahan’s third son Aurangzeb killed two elder brothers and captured his father for seven years. After the death of Shah Jahan his grave is also buried there only at the right side of Mumtaz because of their culture.
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What you see above is just the dummy, below it are their original graves. It was opened earlier but now it is closed. It now opens only on the death anniversary of Mumtaz. But people with low immunity can't go inside due to low oxygen levels.
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Ever since its construction, the building has been the source of an admiration transcending culture and geography.
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A dark reflection of the white mausoleum could clearly be seen, befitting Shah Jahan's obsession with symmetry and the positioning of the pool itself.
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The Mumtaz gate has 22 domes built on its significance that the Taj took 22 year to be completed.
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When we put light in the Taj Mahal it shines, it looks very beautiful. So how beautiful will it look on the full moon night especially during the night of Diwali.
So isn't there so much to explore about Taj Mahal? It is truly the pride of India and deserves to be in the Seven Wonders of the World.
Before I leave there is a question for you - is Qutub Minar taller than the Taj Mahal. Why or why not? Drop in your answer in the comment section.
Ok, so pls like and share.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal
https://agra.nic.in/tourist-place/the-taj-mahal/
Image Edits:Canva.com