Taj Mahal(ताज महल),Agra,India
Location : Agra, India
Built In : 1632–1653
Built By : Mughal emperor Shah Jahan
Architect : Ustad Ahmad Lahauri
Architectural style : Mughal
Area Covers : 1003 acres or 405 hectares
Cost to Built : 32 million Rupees at that time
HOW TO REACH TAJ MAHAL?
Nearest Airport :
Agra airport (AGR) is a military airbase 12.5 km away from the city.
Nearest Railway Station :
Agra is located in between the main train lines from Delhi to Mumbai and from Delhi to Chennai. It is like a junction and this makes Agra easy to reach by train from almost anywhere. From Delhi, you can reach Agra by train in about 2-3 hours by Bhopal Shatabdi, Bhopal Express, Malwa Express, Gondwana Express, Jabalpur – Jammutawi Express.
Nearest Bus Stand :
Agra is 204 km away from the capital Delhi and is on the crossroads of national highways 2, 3 and 11.
Highlights :
Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
Taj Mahal is the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish and Indian architectural styles.
ABOUT TAJ MAHAL :
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".
It covers an area of about 1003 acres or 405 hectares.Taj Mahal is the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, 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.
PHOTO GALLARY :
ABOUT MUMTAZ :
ABOUT SHAH JAHAN :
HISTORY :
Soon after the Taj Mahal's completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Upon Shah Jahan's death, Aurangzeb buried him in the mausoleum next to his wife.
By the late 19th century, parts of the buildings had fallen badly into disrepair.
During the time of the Indian rebellion of 1857, the Taj Mahal was defaced by British soldiers and government officials, who chiselled out precious stones and lapis lazuli from its walls.
At the end of the 19th century, British viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a sweeping restoration project, which was completed in 1908.
He also commissioned the large lamp in the interior chamber, modelled after one in a Cairo mosque. During this time the garden was remodelled with British-style lawns that are still in place today.
Threats :
In 1942, the government erected a scaffolding in anticipation of an air attack by German Luftwaffe and later by Japanese Air Force. During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, scaffoldings were again erected to mislead bomber pilots.
More recent threats have come from environmental pollution on the banks of Yamuna River including acid rain due to the Mathura Oil Refinery, which was opposed by Supreme Court of India directives.
The pollution has been turning the Taj Mahal yellow. To help control the pollution, the Indian government has set up the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), a 10,400-square-kilometre (4,000 sq mi) area around the monument where strict emissions standards are in place.
Concerns for the tomb's structural integrity have recently been raised because of a decline in the water level of the Yamuna River which is decreasing at a rate of 5 feet a year.
In 2010, cracks appeared in parts of the tomb, and the minarets which surround the monument were showing signs of tilting, as the wooden foundation of the tomb may be rotting due to lack of water. Some persons predict that the tomb may collapse within 5 years.
Myths :
Ever since its construction, the building has been the source of an admiration transcending culture and geography, and so personal and emotional responses have consistently eclipsed scholastic appraisals of the monument.
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, one of the first European visitors to the Taj Mahal.
A longstanding myth holds that Shah Jahan planned a mausoleum to be built in black marble across the Yamuna river.
The idea originates from fanciful writings of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a European traveller who visited Agra in 1665.
It was suggested that Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb before it could be built. Ruins of blackened marble across the river in Moonlight Garden, Mahtab Bagh, seemed to support this legend.
However, excavations carried out in the 1990s found that they were discolored white stones that had turned black.
A more credible theory for the origins of the black mausoleum was demonstrated in 2006 by archaeologists who reconstructed part of the pool in the Moonlight Garden.
A dark reflection of the white mausoleum could clearly be seen, befitting Shah Jahan's obsession with symmetry and the positioning of the pool itself.
Another myth suggests that beating the silhouette of the finial will cause water to come forth. To this day, officials find broken bangles surrounding the silhouette.
The garden :
The complex is set around a large 300-metre (980 ft) square charbagh or Mughal garden.
The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four quarters of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds.
A raised marble water tank at the center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and gateway with a reflecting pool on a north-south axis, reflects the image of the mausoleum.
The raised marble water tank is called al Hawd al-Kawthar, in reference to the "Tank of Abundance" promised to Muhammad.Elsewhere, the garden is laid out with avenues of trees and fountains.
The charbagh garden, a design inspired by Persian gardens, was introduced to India by the first Mughal emperor, Babur.
Most Mughal charbaghs are rectangular with a tomb or pavilion in the center. The Taj Mahal garden is unusual in that the main element, the tomb, is located at the end of the garden.
With the discovery of Mahtab Bagh or "Moonlight Garden" on the other side of the Yamuna, the interpretation of the Archaeological Survey of India is that the Yamuna river itself was incorporated into the garden's design and was meant to be seen as one of the rivers of Paradise.
Outlying buildings :
The Taj Mahal complex is bounded on three sides by crenellated red sandstone walls, with the river-facing side left open. Outside the walls are several additional mausoleums, including those of Shah Jahan's other wives, and a larger tomb for Mumtaz's favourite servant.
These structures, composed primarily of red sandstone, are typical of the smaller Mughal tombs of the era.
The garden-facing inner sides of the wall are fronted by columned arcades, a feature typical of Hindu temples which was later incorporated into Mughal mosques.
The wall is interspersed with domed chattris, and small buildings that may have been viewing areas or watch towers like the Music House, which is now used as a museum.
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Construction :
The Taj Mahal was built on a parcel of land to the south of the walled city of Agra. Shah Jahan presented Maharajah Jai Singh with a large palace in the center of Agra in exchange for the land.
An area of roughly three acres was excavated, filled with dirt to reduce seepage, and levelled at 50 metres (160 ft) above riverbank. In the tomb area, wells were dug and filled with stone and rubble to form the footings of the tomb. Instead of lashed bamboo, workmen constructed a colossal brick scaffold that mirrored the tomb.
A fifteen kilometre (9.3 mi) tamped-earth ramp was built to transport marble and materials to the construction site and teams of twenty or thirty oxen pulled the blocks on specially constructed wagons. An elaborate post-and-beam pulley system was used to raise the blocks into desired position.
The plinth and tomb took roughly 12 years to complete. The remaining parts of the complex took an additional 10 years and were completed in order of minarets, mosque and jawab, and gateway.
Since the complex was built in stages, discrepancies exist in completion dates due to differing opinions on "completion". For example, the mausoleum itself was essentially complete by 1643, but work continued on the rest of the complex.
Estimates of the cost of construction vary due to difficulties in estimating costs across time. The total cost has been estimated to be about 32 million Rupees at that time.
The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia and over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials. The translucent white marble was brought from Makrana, Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China.
A labour force of twenty thousand workers was recruited across northern India.
Interior Decoration :
The interior chamber of the Taj Mahal steps far beyond traditional decorative elements. Here, the inlay work is not pietra dura, but a lapidary of precious and semiprecious gemstones.
The inner chamber is an octagon with the design allowing for entry from each face, although only the door facing the garden to the south is used.
The interior walls are about 25 metres (82 ft) high and are topped by a "false" interior dome decorated with a sun motif.
Eight pishtaq arches define the space at ground level and, as with the exterior, each lower pishtaq is crowned by a second pishtaq about midway up the wall.
Each chamber wall has been highly decorated with dado bas-relief, intricate lapidary inlay and refined calligraphy panels, reflecting in miniature detail the design elements seen throughout the exterior of the complex.
The octagonal marble screen or jali which borders the cenotaphs is made from eight marble panels which have been carved through with intricate pierce work.Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decoration of graves.
Builders involved in construction of Taj Mahal are:
Ismail Afandi (a.k.a. Ismail Khan) of the Ottoman Empire — Turkish architect, designer of the main dome.
Ustad Isa (Isa Muhammad Effendi) of Persia — Turkish architect, trained by Koca Mimar Sinan Agha of the Ottoman Empire and frequently credited with a key role in the architectural design.
'Puru' from Benarus, Persia — has been mentioned as a supervising architect.
Qazim Khan, a native of Lahore – cast the solid gold finial.
Chiranjilal, a lapidary from Delhi — the chief sculptor and mosaicist.
Amanat Khan from Shiraz, Iran — the chief calligrapher.
Muhammad Hanif — a supervisor of masons.
Mir Abdul Karim and Mukkarimat Khan of Shiraz — handled finances and management of daily production.
Built In : 1632–1653
Built By : Mughal emperor Shah Jahan
Architect : Ustad Ahmad Lahauri
Architectural style : Mughal
Area Covers : 1003 acres or 405 hectares
Cost to Built : 32 million Rupees at that time
HOW TO REACH TAJ MAHAL?
Nearest Airport :
Agra airport (AGR) is a military airbase 12.5 km away from the city.
Nearest Railway Station :
Agra is located in between the main train lines from Delhi to Mumbai and from Delhi to Chennai. It is like a junction and this makes Agra easy to reach by train from almost anywhere. From Delhi, you can reach Agra by train in about 2-3 hours by Bhopal Shatabdi, Bhopal Express, Malwa Express, Gondwana Express, Jabalpur – Jammutawi Express.
Nearest Bus Stand :
Agra is 204 km away from the capital Delhi and is on the crossroads of national highways 2, 3 and 11.
Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
Taj Mahal is the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish and Indian architectural styles.
ABOUT TAJ MAHAL :
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".
It covers an area of about 1003 acres or 405 hectares.Taj Mahal is the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, 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.
PHOTO GALLARY :
HISTORY :
Soon after the Taj Mahal's completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Upon Shah Jahan's death, Aurangzeb buried him in the mausoleum next to his wife.
By the late 19th century, parts of the buildings had fallen badly into disrepair.
During the time of the Indian rebellion of 1857, the Taj Mahal was defaced by British soldiers and government officials, who chiselled out precious stones and lapis lazuli from its walls.
At the end of the 19th century, British viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a sweeping restoration project, which was completed in 1908.
He also commissioned the large lamp in the interior chamber, modelled after one in a Cairo mosque. During this time the garden was remodelled with British-style lawns that are still in place today.
In 1942, the government erected a scaffolding in anticipation of an air attack by German Luftwaffe and later by Japanese Air Force. During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, scaffoldings were again erected to mislead bomber pilots.
More recent threats have come from environmental pollution on the banks of Yamuna River including acid rain due to the Mathura Oil Refinery, which was opposed by Supreme Court of India directives.
The pollution has been turning the Taj Mahal yellow. To help control the pollution, the Indian government has set up the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), a 10,400-square-kilometre (4,000 sq mi) area around the monument where strict emissions standards are in place.
Concerns for the tomb's structural integrity have recently been raised because of a decline in the water level of the Yamuna River which is decreasing at a rate of 5 feet a year.
In 2010, cracks appeared in parts of the tomb, and the minarets which surround the monument were showing signs of tilting, as the wooden foundation of the tomb may be rotting due to lack of water. Some persons predict that the tomb may collapse within 5 years.
Myths :
Ever since its construction, the building has been the source of an admiration transcending culture and geography, and so personal and emotional responses have consistently eclipsed scholastic appraisals of the monument.
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, one of the first European visitors to the Taj Mahal.
A longstanding myth holds that Shah Jahan planned a mausoleum to be built in black marble across the Yamuna river.
The idea originates from fanciful writings of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, a European traveller who visited Agra in 1665.
It was suggested that Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb before it could be built. Ruins of blackened marble across the river in Moonlight Garden, Mahtab Bagh, seemed to support this legend.
However, excavations carried out in the 1990s found that they were discolored white stones that had turned black.
A more credible theory for the origins of the black mausoleum was demonstrated in 2006 by archaeologists who reconstructed part of the pool in the Moonlight Garden.
A dark reflection of the white mausoleum could clearly be seen, befitting Shah Jahan's obsession with symmetry and the positioning of the pool itself.
Another myth suggests that beating the silhouette of the finial will cause water to come forth. To this day, officials find broken bangles surrounding the silhouette.
The garden :
The complex is set around a large 300-metre (980 ft) square charbagh or Mughal garden.
The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four quarters of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds.
A raised marble water tank at the center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and gateway with a reflecting pool on a north-south axis, reflects the image of the mausoleum.
The raised marble water tank is called al Hawd al-Kawthar, in reference to the "Tank of Abundance" promised to Muhammad.Elsewhere, the garden is laid out with avenues of trees and fountains.
The charbagh garden, a design inspired by Persian gardens, was introduced to India by the first Mughal emperor, Babur.
Most Mughal charbaghs are rectangular with a tomb or pavilion in the center. The Taj Mahal garden is unusual in that the main element, the tomb, is located at the end of the garden.
With the discovery of Mahtab Bagh or "Moonlight Garden" on the other side of the Yamuna, the interpretation of the Archaeological Survey of India is that the Yamuna river itself was incorporated into the garden's design and was meant to be seen as one of the rivers of Paradise.
Outlying buildings :
The Taj Mahal complex is bounded on three sides by crenellated red sandstone walls, with the river-facing side left open. Outside the walls are several additional mausoleums, including those of Shah Jahan's other wives, and a larger tomb for Mumtaz's favourite servant.
These structures, composed primarily of red sandstone, are typical of the smaller Mughal tombs of the era.
The garden-facing inner sides of the wall are fronted by columned arcades, a feature typical of Hindu temples which was later incorporated into Mughal mosques.
The wall is interspersed with domed chattris, and small buildings that may have been viewing areas or watch towers like the Music House, which is now used as a museum.
.jpg)
Construction :
The Taj Mahal was built on a parcel of land to the south of the walled city of Agra. Shah Jahan presented Maharajah Jai Singh with a large palace in the center of Agra in exchange for the land.
An area of roughly three acres was excavated, filled with dirt to reduce seepage, and levelled at 50 metres (160 ft) above riverbank. In the tomb area, wells were dug and filled with stone and rubble to form the footings of the tomb. Instead of lashed bamboo, workmen constructed a colossal brick scaffold that mirrored the tomb.
A fifteen kilometre (9.3 mi) tamped-earth ramp was built to transport marble and materials to the construction site and teams of twenty or thirty oxen pulled the blocks on specially constructed wagons. An elaborate post-and-beam pulley system was used to raise the blocks into desired position.
The plinth and tomb took roughly 12 years to complete. The remaining parts of the complex took an additional 10 years and were completed in order of minarets, mosque and jawab, and gateway.
Since the complex was built in stages, discrepancies exist in completion dates due to differing opinions on "completion". For example, the mausoleum itself was essentially complete by 1643, but work continued on the rest of the complex.
Estimates of the cost of construction vary due to difficulties in estimating costs across time. The total cost has been estimated to be about 32 million Rupees at that time.
The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia and over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials. The translucent white marble was brought from Makrana, Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China.
A labour force of twenty thousand workers was recruited across northern India.
Interior Decoration :
The interior chamber of the Taj Mahal steps far beyond traditional decorative elements. Here, the inlay work is not pietra dura, but a lapidary of precious and semiprecious gemstones.
The inner chamber is an octagon with the design allowing for entry from each face, although only the door facing the garden to the south is used.
The interior walls are about 25 metres (82 ft) high and are topped by a "false" interior dome decorated with a sun motif.
Eight pishtaq arches define the space at ground level and, as with the exterior, each lower pishtaq is crowned by a second pishtaq about midway up the wall.
Each chamber wall has been highly decorated with dado bas-relief, intricate lapidary inlay and refined calligraphy panels, reflecting in miniature detail the design elements seen throughout the exterior of the complex.
The octagonal marble screen or jali which borders the cenotaphs is made from eight marble panels which have been carved through with intricate pierce work.Muslim tradition forbids elaborate decoration of graves.
Builders involved in construction of Taj Mahal are:
Ismail Afandi (a.k.a. Ismail Khan) of the Ottoman Empire — Turkish architect, designer of the main dome.
Ustad Isa (Isa Muhammad Effendi) of Persia — Turkish architect, trained by Koca Mimar Sinan Agha of the Ottoman Empire and frequently credited with a key role in the architectural design.
'Puru' from Benarus, Persia — has been mentioned as a supervising architect.
Qazim Khan, a native of Lahore – cast the solid gold finial.
Chiranjilal, a lapidary from Delhi — the chief sculptor and mosaicist.
Amanat Khan from Shiraz, Iran — the chief calligrapher.
Muhammad Hanif — a supervisor of masons.
Mir Abdul Karim and Mukkarimat Khan of Shiraz — handled finances and management of daily production.
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