Taj Mahal 🇮🇳

The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum located on the right bank of the Yamuna River in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and selected as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, the site represents a major example of Mughal architecture. It houses the tombs of Mumtaz Mahal and her husband, the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who commissioned the complex in 1631 following her death.

Construction began in 1632 on property acquired from Raja Jai Singh I. Directed by a board of architects under court architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori, the project employed more than 20,000 artisans and workers. The primary mausoleum building was finished in 1648, while the wider 17-hectare (42-acre) complex—which includes a mosque, a guest house, formal gardens, and outer walls—was completed in 1653.

Built using symmetrical proportions, the main mausoleum rests on a raised square plinth. Its exterior presents four identical sides with large vaulted doorways, flanked at the plinth's corners by four minarets that stand over 40 meters tall and tilt slightly outward. A prominent 23-meter-tall onion dome sits atop the building, accompanied by four smaller corner domes. The outer marble surfaces are ornamented with bas-relief plant carvings, semi-precious stone inlays, lattice windows, and Arabic calligraphic script designed by Amanat Khan.

The interior features an octagonal central room under a 25-meter-high inner dome. This space contains the upper false sarcophagi of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, surrounded by a delicate marble screen inlaid with gemstones. The actual graves are located directly beneath in an unadorned basement chamber, where the bodies lie aligned north to south with their faces directed westward toward Mecca.

Beyond the central tomb, the complex includes secondary red sandstone structures adorned with white stone inlays and painted geometric patterns. The grounds feature formal gardens inspired by earlier Timurid and Mughal sites. Attracting over five million visitors annually, the landmark is designated as a Monument of National Importance and is managed by the Archaeological Survey of India.