Agra Tajmahal in India

Taj Mahal is a monument located in Agra, India. It was commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, the son of Jahangir, as a mausoleum for his Persian wife, Arjumand Banu Begum, also known as Mumtaz-ul-Zamani or Mumtaz Mahal. It took 23 years to complete (1630 - 1653) and is a masterpiece of Mughal architecture.

The architectural complex of the Taj Mahal covers an area of approximately 580 m × 300 m, comprised of five main components: the darwaza (gateway), the bageecha (garden) which is in the form of the typical Mughal charbagh (garden divided into four parts), the masjid (mosque), the mehmaan khana (guest house), and finally the mausoleum of Taj Mahal, at the northern end of the complex.
The Taj Mahal is the most extravagant monument built as a symbol of eternal enduring love. It is India's most famous tourist attraction, situated on the banks of river Yamuna. Taj Mahal, India is a mausoleum known as a finest example of enchanting architecture and aesthetic beauty. Completed in 1653, it was built by the Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal. If one wants to capture the beauty of the Taj, the epitome of love, one should visit it at dawn or dusk. The glittering Taj in the moonlit night entices the viewers.

Taj Mahal, Agra was completed in 22 years, employed twenty thousand workers and was designed by the Iranian architect Ustad Isa. Revered for its grace and detailed beauty, the Taj Mahal is considered to be the zenith of Indo-Persian architecture and the elaborate marble designs are inlaid with semi-precious stones such as jade, crystal, turquoise and coral. The Taj stands on the octagonal foundation of red sandstone crowned by a terrace made of white marble. The marble terrace cradles the dome, which houses the cenotaph of Shah Jahan's beloved wife Mumtaz Banu Begum. The grave of Mumtaz Mahal is located at the lower chamber, while the grave of Shah Jahan was added to it later. Four minarets rising to a height of 162.5 feet surround the 213 feet high central dome. The architectural intelligence lies in tilting the four towers of the Taj Mahal at a 2-degree angle. In the face of any natural calamity like earthquake the minarets surrounding the dome would not fall and destroy the dome but would fall away from it.

If you ever plan Agra travel India we strongly recommend you for Taj travel. Visit Taj Mahal, Agra-India, the epitome of love, to make yourIndia tour complete. For a foreign traveler who wishes to visit Taj Mahal, New Delhi is the best frontier airport in India. Taj Mahal information is available at Mapsofworld.com along with all other information related to accommodations and attractions. Information on online flight booking is also included in your India tour package.Just by clicking on the relevant links in the hotel review section, the tourist who would like to visit India can get detailed list of car rental companies and affordable accommodations like list of luxurious and budget hotels. Other travel-related links are also accessed, such as last minute travel detail and cheap flights available to Agra. Taj Mahal tickets are not required for the monument is open to all.
On your Taj Mahal travel you would discover the feminine elegance of Taj Mahal in Agra. The main gate of Taj Mahal Delhi symbolises the veil that covers the face of a beautiful woman on her wedding night. The beauty is slowly unraveled as one moves forward. Inside the Taj, the delicate designs on the arch would draw the attention of the viewers. Standing on the banks of the Yamuna, the Taj, one of the seven wonders of the world, overlooks the Agra Fort. Shah Jahan used to view the Taj from the windows of the Agra Fort in his last days when he was imprisoned by his son Aurangazeb.
The beauty and elegance of the Taj cannot be expressed in words alone. Although the corpses of Shah Jahan and his better half lie silent, the Taj speaks loud and clear of their immortal love story.
DHAKA - THE owner of Bangladesh's newly opened replica of the Taj Mahal has defended the building after visitors said it was shoddily designed and constructed of cheap materials.

Thousands of Bangladeshis have descended on Sonargaon, 30 kilometres north-east of the capital Dhaka, since film director Ahsanullah Moni unveiled his own version of India's monument to love last week.
Mr Moni said he had spent US$58 million (S$87 million) building the 'Bangladesh Taj Mahal' importing marble and granite from Italy, diamonds from Belgium and using 160 kilograms of bronze for the dome.
His project attracted interest around the world and even prompted Indian diplomats to question whether Mr Moni had breached copyright laws.
But a report in the Bengali language newspaper Prothom Alo said that visitors who travelled to Sonargaon felt cheated.
'We came to see the Taj Mahal with high hopes but we are greatly disappointed,' Dhaka resident Asma Mita said.
'The whole project is done in a shoddy manner. It is nothing compared to the real Taj,' another visitor, Mr Sohana Parvin, told the paper. 'There is no sign of the valuable stones, tiles and diamonds the owner has spoken of using.'
Bloggers too have reacted angrily to Moni's replica, which he claims is life-size.
Mr Aparna Ray concluded that the hype surrounding the attraction was a gimmick. He said it was 'a money-making scam in the name of the Taj'.
'The tiles look like the type you'd use in a bathroom. We've been cheated by this guy,' another blogger wrote.
Mr Moni, who will next month raise the entry fee from 50 taka (S$1) to 100 taka, defended his building to AFP, saying the quality of the tiles he used was better than those in the real building.
'It's the Taj of Bangladesh. If you want to see the real Taj you have to travel to the Indian city of Agra and spend at least 20,000 taka. It costs just 50 taka to see my Taj,' he said.
'There's nothing I can do if a visitor is disappointed,' he said.
Mr Moni's copycat construction took five years to finish, while the real Taj Mahal was built by 20,000 people over 22 years by Moghul emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife who died during childbirth in 1631.
Mr Moni, a successful director in Bangladesh's 'Dhaliwood' film industry, has made 20 movies. He also owns a cinema hall in Dhaka and a three-star hotel.