Taj Mahal, Agara

Taj Mahal is one of the 7 wonders of the world, and one of three World Heritage Sites in Agra, the others being Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.

Completed in 1653 A.D., the Taj Mahal is believed to be built by the Mughal Badshah (king) Shah Jahan as the final resting place for his beloved wife, Mumtaz. It took 22 years (1630-1652) of hard labour and 20,000 workers, masons and jewellers to build this perfectly symmetrical monument.

It was built on a marble platform that stands above a sandstone one. The most elegant dome of the Taj, with a diameter of 60 feet, rises 80 feet over the building and directly under the dome is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal.

Built by the Persian architect, Ustad Isa, it is on the bank of the Yamuna River. It can be observed like a mirage from the Agra Fort from where Emperor Shah Jahan stared at it, for the last eight years his life as a prisoner of his son Aurangzeb.

It is a masterpiece of symmetry, seeming to be floating in the air from a distance, and each revealed as an illusion experienced as one enters through the main gate. Verses of the Holy Koran are inscribed on it .