The Taj Mahal

After lunch, we returned to the hotel, where we checked in to our rooms and had the opportunity to get changed ahead of our visit to the Taj Mahal. Kathy had bought a dress specially for the occasion. The rest of us just put on clean trousers and tops 😀.

At 4pm, we got back on the minibus and went to the Taj Mahal. From where we were dropped off, we transferred to a large golf buggy to take us the one kilometre to the entrance to the Taj itself. Mila, one of our group, was feeling so poorly and weak that she had to be transported in a wheelchair for the whole of the visit. Kathy quizzed her about her symptoms and suggested to Tushel that she have a Covid test - if only to reassure the rest of us that she's not contagious.

Anyway, we arrived at the outer entrance to the Taj. We walked through immaculate grounds with lush emerald green lawns, through an archway thronged with people, most of whom had their phones held aloft, and emerged to get our first uninterrupted view of the monument itself. We must have seen thousands of images of the Taj Mahal durung our lifetimes. After all, it is one of the most famous buildings on earth. However, nothing prepares you for the reality of it. It is stunningly beautiful. The symmetry. The way the light reflects off the marble. The smooth curves of the domes. It is a truly magical experience.

For those who don't know, the Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.

Construction of the mausoleum was completed in 1648, but work continued on other phases of the project for another five years. The first ceremony held here was an observance by Shah Jahan, on 6 February 1643, of the 12th anniversary of the death of Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around ₹32 million, which in 2015 would be approximately ₹52.8 billion (US$827 million).

The building complex incorporates the design traditions of Indo-Islamic and Mughal architecture. It employs symmetrical constructions with the usage of various shapes and symbols. While the mausoleum is constructed of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, red sandstone was used for other buildings in the complex similar to the Mughal era buildings of the time. The construction project employed more than 20,000 workers and artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by Ustad Ahmad Lahori, the emperor's court architect.

The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Islamic art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". It is regarded as one of the best examples of Mughal architecture and a symbol of Indian history. The Taj Mahal is a major tourist attraction and attracts more than five million visitors a year. In 2007, it was declared a winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World initiative. The Taj Mahal and its setting, surrounding grounds, and structures are a Monument of National Importance, administered by the Archaeological Survey of India.Baca selengkapnya