Taj Mahal Fact

Type of Architecture
With its immaculate design and impeccable decorations, Taj Mahal is regarded as the best specimen of Saracenian architecture.

Who Built the Taj?
The Taj Mahal was constructed by the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in memory of his beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal. After the death of the queen, the lovelorn Emperor decided to erect this splendid structure so as to perpetuate his love for Mumtaz. From 1631, when work on the Taj was started, it took 22 years of tireless effort of 20,000 workers to accomplish the task.

The Main Architect
There is an aura of mystery around the fact as to who was the brain behind the design of the Taj. From the claims of the Italian Geronimo Veroneo to the French silversmith Austin de Bordeaux, there are many contenders. But the poems contained in a seventeenth century manuscript called the Diwan-i-Muhandis, recovered in the 1930s, ascribes this position to one Ustad Ahmad from Lahore, a Persian engineer-astrologer. Ahmad was the father of Luft Allah, who wrote the verses found in the manuscript.

The Taj Complex
The Taj Mahal is a fabulous combination of tomb, mosque, gardens, gateways and fountains. The main mausoleum is set on a raised platform, 6.6 meters in height, and covers an area of 93.9 sq. meters. There are four corner minarets, each 41.1 meters high. The main structure is 62 meters on each side. While the mausoleum is made of gleaming white marble, the pair of buildings flanking the tomb to the west and to the east is made of red sandstone. While the western building is a mosque, the other is the guest house cum museum. The water causeway and fountains join the gateway and the tomb to complete the symmetry of the scene.

The Flawless Craftmenship
There is a plethora of significant and striking elements inherent in the creation of this magnificent structure- both inside and outside. The grandeur of the stone inlay work certainly remains unparalled. It includes the three main features of the Muslim decorative arts: quotes from the Q'uran, geometrical shapes and a variety of plant forms and flowers, often repeated as borders. The marble and precious stone inlays are fit together with such dexterity as to make it impossible for one to detect a seam. The calligraphy of the quotes from the Q'uran on the mausoleum is done in a kind of trompe l'oeil style to create a decorative illusion- the letters gradually increase in size as they go up the side of the structure, so that from the ground all letters appear perfectly uniform. And all these parts put together- you have this mesmerizing marvel of marble!

Nitty Gritties of Building Materials Used
The materials used for building this monument of love was transported from places far and wide. For instance, marble was dug from the hills of far-off Makrana, in Rajasthan; Chinese Turkestan in Central Asia supplied Nephrite jade and crystal; from Tibet, turquoise; from upper Burma, yellow amber; from Egypt, chrysolite et al. The Taj is bejewelled with 43 types of gems including topazes, onyxes, garnets, sapphires and bloodstone.