Taj Mahal, Agra

[balthazar]

Great pictures

[ahiliya fernandes]

The Taj Mahal "crown of palaces", pronounced; also "the Taj" is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". Taj Mahal is regarded by many as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, employing 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. Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer.

[sursena]

Originally Posted by ravan

sad to see no indian art on taj mahal..but still a magnificient and one of a kind building..
my guide told me that there are appx 20,000 lines written lines in persian and appx 10000 from arabic mainly related to quran..But nothing of language spoken in agra itself..
there is no artistic paintings of calligraphy of indian elephants like elephants and peacock..
i whouLd be happy if it was in middle east..

I agree with you.

[tanzirian]

"Paintings of calligraphy"...the phrase has no meaning. Animals were rarely depicted on buildings built for Muslim rulers... if they did appear somewhere it would usually be on palace buildings, certainly not on tombs. For a Muslim tomb to feature Quranic inscriptions in Arabic is only natural. And Persian was the language of the Mughal court. One nice thing about the calligraphy is that it allows us to date the progress of construction. The artist (Amanat Khan) dated his work. The calligraphy on the exterior of the main building is dated 1636-1637, which tells us that the main tomb structure itself was completed in about 4 - 5 years, not the "22 years" of popular legend. The calligraphy (by the same artist) on the main gate is dated 1647, which tells us the whole complex was virtually complete by then.

I would also disagree with you on the notion this building not being "Indian". The style here is "Indo Islamic"... not Persian, not Arabic ... although there are many influences from Islamic architecture more generally ... the massing, shapes, spatial arrangement, materials, details found in mature Mughal architecture ... are all distinctly subcontinental.

As an aside ... genetically speaking, Shah Jahan was the most "South Asian" of the six great Mughals. Both Shah Jahan's mother and paternal grandmother were Rajput ... so that he was 75% of Rajput ancestry. Only his paternal grandfather (Akbar) was of fully Central Asian descent.

Originally Posted by indian

Shahjahan wanted to build an exact replica of the Taj on the other side of Yamuna with black marble. But unfortunately, he didn't have enough money to do that. And of course he was jailed by his son Aurangazeb.

The tale of the Black Taj is very popular... but without any basis in fact. Any architectural historian with familiarity on the subject will say unequivocally that the Shah built this tomb not just for his wife, but with every intention of himself being buried there. The idea of Shah Jahan not having money left is also not accurate. The revenue of the Great Mughals exceeded that of any other ruler in the world into the early 1700s...exceeding over 100 million pounds sterling per annum at peak in the later years of Aurangzeb's reign. The Taj and all of Shah Jahan's other architectural projects over a 30 year period could easily be accomodated by a year or two's worth of imperial revenue.

On the opposite bank (where people say the Black Taj would go) was the Mehtab Bagh or "Moonlight Garden." This was one of series of gardens and mansions which once lined the banks of the Jamuna. The Mehtab Bagh was a seasonal garden ... in the monsoon it would be largely flooded. It featured a terrace (east to west) along the riverfront. In the middle of this terrace, oriented north to south, were two "Bangla" style pavilions on either side of large octagonal reflecting pool. There were more pavilions on either side of the two Bangla pavilions. At each end of the terrace were small towers. The pavilions are long gone but the octagonal pool has been excavated and one of the corner towers still remains. The rest of the garden was a fairly typical "chahar bagh" or garden divided into four parts by intersecting canals (just like the one of the Taj itself). If interested, take a look at the wonderful book "The Complete Taj Mahal" by Ebba Koch.

Finally, thanks for starting the thread and for the nice pictures!

[himmat113]

A picture of the Taj Mahal from my collection.

[IMG]image hosted on flickr
Taj Mahal by Himmat Rathore, on Flickr[/IMG]



[IMG]image hosted on flickr
Taj Mahal by Himmat Rathore, on Flickr[/IMG]

[addyson]

Here is some images of taj mahal agra or other side

[addyson]

Taj Mahal of India - "the epitome of love", "a monument of immeasurable beauty". The beauty of this magnificent monument is such that it is beyond the scope of words. Here is the website http://www.tajmahalagra.com

[ankushgupta]

Originally Posted by addyson

Taj Mahal of India - "the epitome of love", "a monument of immeasurable beauty". The beauty of this magnificent monument is such that it is beyond the scope of words. Here is the website http://www.tajmahalagra.com

Thanks for letting me know

[Jerrodwhite]

There is no sense to make any doubt that Taj Mahal is one of the greatest monuments around the world. It is the real beauty of the Indian culture. I have seen it many times. Have you seen??