Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Taj Mahal

THE TAJ MAHAL


The Taj Mahal is located in Agra, India. It is one of the seven wonders of the world and it attracts many tourists. 2 to 4 million tourists go to the Taj Mahal every year, which includes more than 200,000 from overseas. October, November and December are when the most tourists come to the Taj because it is colder.
The Taj Mahal is mostly interesting because of why it was built. In India, there are arranged marriages, so love is not tolerated. Arranged marriages work out most of the time, but the partners barely ever fall in love. Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal were exceptions. They loved each other enough that once Mumtaz died, Shah Jahan built a beautiful monument in honor of her. She wanted people to realize their love for each other.










Shah Jahan was a Mughal emperor, so the Taj Mahal was the finest example of Mughal architecture. Mumtaz Mahal, his wife's, tomb was then placed inside the Taj Mahal. After the monument was built, his son put him under house arrest, so he was forced to look out at the Taj Mahal. He never went inside the finished monument. When he died soon after, his son placed his tomb beside his beloved wife's.










Exterior -









calligraphy on large pishtaq







Herringbone











plant motifs




Spandrel Detail







incised painting



Interior -







Jail screen surrounding the cenotaphs







Arch of Jali










Delicate pierce work









Detail of Jali








Detail of Pietra dura jali inlay



Outlying Buildings -











The Great Gate -- gateway to the Taj Mahal











The Taj Mahal mosque


Video







8 comments:

  1. Those pictures are so pretty. I find it so crazy that his own son locked him up and that this building was built for a woman.

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  2. The Taj Mahal is soooooooo neat! I think its so interesting that it is so beautiful but it was built so long ago!

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  3. The Taj Mahal is amazing. It is interesting that this amazing building, built by Shah Jahan, was for the love of his wife.

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  5. The Taj Mahal has amazing architecture. It is very interesting that tourists usually come in November and December the most.

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  6. Nice pictures Charlotte they really showed that you knew a lot about what you were presenting and the Taj Mahal's architecture is awesome.

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  7. You did such an amazing job presenting! It looked like you knew the whole thing by heart and I learned so much. The building is incredibly beautiful, it's so sad that Shah never got to go inside, and he was locked up by his own son.

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  8. I think the exterior designs are really cool! Great job Charlotte!

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