We rose at 3:30 a.m. today to witness the sun rise at the Taj Mahal – an experience that was totally worth the sleep deprivation. The Taj Mahal is the centerpiece of a 42-acre complex which includes a mosque and a guest house and is set in formal gardens surrounded by walls and massive gateways. We entered through the east gate. It took more than 20,000 artisans and laborers nearly 22 years to build the complex at a cost of nearly $830 million in today’s dollars. According to our guide that was the equivalent of one year’s worth of taxes at the time the complex was completed in 1653. The Taj Mahal itself is the ivory-white mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna River where Emperor Shah Jahan’s favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, is entombed.
As the story is told the Emperor met his future wife at a local market when she was just fourteen years old. She was selling silk and glass beads in one of the booths there. He was struck by her beauty, and then by her wit when she engaged in some lively banter with him. Five years later the two were married. The Emperor had a total of four wives and a harem of concubines, but Mumtaz Mahal was his favorite. It is said that she travelled everywhere with him, including military campaigns. The Emperor and Mumtaz had 14 children together, only 6 of whom survived. She died from complications associated with the delivery of her 14th child. The Emperor was so distraught he vowed to build a monument to her.
A less well-known story theorizes Mumtaz, who it is well-documented had a keen mind and participated in many of the Emperors business and military decisions, bested the Emperor in a high-stakes game of chess where the Emperor gambled the throne. It is suggested the Emperor was horrified that he had lost the throne and wanted it back. He pushed Mumtaz, causing her to fall and sending her into premature labor, which ultimately led to her death. He was so wracked by guilt that he built the Taj Mahal as a sort of penance and apology to Mumtaz.
The Emperor commissioned 32 architects to offer their best designs for the project. The finished product is a combination of the features the Emperor liked best from each of the proposals. The mausoleum is constructed entirely of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones to form intricate designs. Its central dome is 240 feet high. Love poems from the Quran are inscribed in calligraphy around the arches of the entrance, with the size of the letters increasing from the bottom to the top to give them the appearance of all being the same size. Additional writings are found inside the tomb and around other areas of the mausoleum. Inside the mausoleum, in the center, is an octagonal marble chamber adorned with carvings and semi-precious stones where symbolic tombs for Mumtaz and the Emperor are displayed (the real caskets are buried below). The Emperor had originally planned to build a smaller version of the Taj Mahal for his own tomb on the opposite side of the river and join the two buildings with a bridge. Unfortunately, his son intervened before he could do that (more on that in the next post) and when the Emperor died his son had his body entombed next to his favorite wife instead.
We visited the Taj Mahal again at sunset. The last few pictures of the post are from the evening visit.
Approaching the Eastern Gate 
We entered through the Eastern Gate 
The carving on the sandstone building is incredibly detailed 
Inlayed marble decorates the sandstone buildings as well 
The carving and corner piece are one piece of marble 
Inlaid marble up close 
Nothing is painted – it is all inlaid marble and carved marble 
Outside the mosque 
The entrance to the Taj Mahal. The borders contain the words of love poems from the Quran. 
The Tree of Life – an essential part of Indian life. 
Indian Flame Tree 
Taj Mahal at sunset 
Taj Mahal at sunset 
Bulls and cows roam freely just outside the gates of the Taj Mahal 
Evening traffic in Agra 
Our bus driver’s view
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