Taj Mahal (Agra)

Taj Mahal, one of the iconic images of India, is considered to be one of  the world's eight, wonders. In 1632, the Mughal Emperor  Shah Jahan built Taj Mahal to house the remains of his third beloved wife. It is located on the bank of the River Yumana in Agra. The construction of the mausoleum took over 20 years to be finished. The building has got not only Indian architectural solutions, as Persian and Islamic influences are significant. The tradition says that Shah Jahan intended to build another mausoleum on the other bank of the River Yumana, where they would bury his remains.
  

The graceful minarets ad archways give a magnificent view to the building. But architecture is not the only thing to point out its wonder, as Taj Mahal is an outcome of a rich history. It is said that over 22,000 people participated in the construction of the building, including painters, workers, sculptures, and many others. It is said that Taj Mahal obtains different colors during the different times of the day; it is pink in the morning time, white in the evening, and golden when the moon is high in the sky. These changing colors are associated with the changing mood of women, in this case- the wife of the Emperor. After his third and most favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal died,  the Shah Jahan is said to have his hair grown white in a short period of time. Inside the mausoleum, the false tomb of Mumtaz is located, thought the real sarcophagus with her remains is below (at the garden level). 

Taj Mahal is not the only building there, as the complex is home to delicate gardens, a mosque and several guest houses. The construction of Taj Mahal was carried out with the help of dozens of elephants. The top of the mausoleum is over 170 meters (560 feet).  Though, in 1857 many precious stones, were ripped off from the building by the British.

Today’s Taj Mahal attracts over 3 million visitors annually. The sad thing about the building is that, its white gleam of the white marble stone is threatened by the nearby factories pollutions. In 1998, the Supreme Court of India undertook a number of protection measure to lessen the amount of harm to the landmark. Not only factories, but also the polluted air by automobiles continue to be a threat to the white marble of Taj Mahal.