What it is - The Taj Mahal is one of the world’s most beautiful buildings because of its architectural design, white marble construction and elaborate engravings. It is India’s largest tourist attraction and a great source of pride for the nation. We looked forward to visiting Agra, India, to see the Taj Mahal on our trip around the world. We were not disappointed.

The Taj Mahal was the pinnacle achievement of the Mughal Empire which controlled northern India for three centuries. Islamic Prince Babur marched into India from Central Asia in 1526 and conquered the lands around Delhi. Babur’s descendants, especially the well-regarded emperors Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan, expanded the empire into nearby Rajasthan as well as most of modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mughal Empire

The Mughals built their empire by promoting commerce, making numerous political and marriage alliances, and deploying a fierce army of war elephants, artillery and soldiers. Equally important, until around 1700, the Mughals tolerated diverse ideas and cultures and blended Hindu and Islamic traditions into their kingdoms. Ultimately, however, the Mughals devolved into figurehead rulers dominated by British colonialists.

Agra was the capital of the empire for much of the 16th and 17th centuries. The city was centrally located on the Yamuna River along an important trade route. Many luxurious palaces, gardens and mausoleums were built in the vicinity using the region’s distinctive red sandstone. All of these structures were dwarfed, however, by the perfect proportions and white marble exterior of the Taj Mahal.

Shah Jahan

Emperor Shah Jahan had many wives, but his favorite was Mumtaz Mahal, who bore him 13 children before dying in childbirth at the age of 33 in 1631. Legend has it that she asked her husband to build her a monument to demonstrate their love to the world, and he certainly honored her wish. Gathering the best craftsmen from the subcontinent, Turkey and Persia, Shah Jahan oversaw the construction of the Taj Mahal by an estimated 20,000 workers who completed the building only 12 years later.

There are many features of the building that make it special and unique. Surrounded by elaborate gardens and pools of water, the main building is topped by a huge onion-shaped dome. It stands at the center of a marble platform that includes four 130-foot-tall minarets. At each end of the platform, there is a red sandstone mosque that provides stability, symmetry and contrast to the white marble.

Experiencing the Taj

The experience of seeing the Taj Mahal is worth savoring. You enter the site through a large gate that frames the building perfectly and then you see the image of the Taj reflected in a series of ponds. As you get closer, it becomes apparent that this is a massive structure with four symmetrical sides. Mumtaz’s crypt is located in the middle of the rotunda and is surrounded by mosaics and marble screens. The interior carvings are impressive, even though the jewels and gold that once filled the inlays have disappeared. At the rear of the building, you can look out over the peaceful Yamuna River, which is considered holy by many but is quite polluted nonetheless.

The great irony of the story of the Taj Mahal is that shortly after it was built, Shah Jahan’s son, Aurangzeb, revolted against the emperor and imprisoned him in the Agra Fort several miles away. He lived there for the rest of his life in a suite with a distant view of the Taj. Devoted to the end, Shah Jahan was later buried by his daughter in a tomb in the Taj next to his wife.