Taj Mahal, India

The Taj Mahal ( 'Crown of the Palace') is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who dies while giving birth to their 14th child; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself.

The tomb is the centrepiece of a 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.

The Taj Mahal attracts around 5 million visitors a year and in 2007, it was declared one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.Read more