Why visit Taj Mahal
- Taj Mahal - world famous icon of India
- 20,000 work force and 20 years for completion
- Marks the pinnacle of Mughal architecture
- Symbol of eternal love
- A World Heritage site
Said to be one of the most elegant and harmonious buildings in the world, Taj Mahal is the manifestation of the wealth and luxury of Mughal art as seen in its architecture, garden design, painting, and calligraphy. The 144 foot double dome of the Taj is capped with a finial and the four minarets each 131 ft high are crowned by an open octagonal pavilion, highlighting the perfect symmetry of the tomb. The filigree screen, meant to veil the area around the royal tomb, was carved out of single block of marble. Mumtaz Mahal's cenotaph, raised on a platform is next to Shah Jahan's. The actual graves are in a dark crypt below and closed to visitors. The Mughals believed that flowers were the symbols of the divine realm, thus in the Taj pietra dura has been extensively used to translate naturalistic forms into decorative patterns that complement the majesty of its architecture. While pietra dura adds colour to the pristine white marble, the decorative panels carved on the lower portions of the walls highlight the texture of the polished marble. Inlaid calligraphy in black marble was used as a form of ornamentation on undecorated surfaces, with the size of the Koranic verses increasing as the arch gets higher, creating the subtle optical illusion of an uniformly flowing script.
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