Taj Mahal (1653), view08, Agra, India

Agra, India (est. 1504, pop. 1.7 MM) • Uttar Pradesh

 

"the tear-drop on the cheek of time" —Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel Laureate

 

• the Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum

• name iis Arabic for "Crown of Palaces"

• construction spanned 22 years

• attracts 7-8 million visitors a year

• commissioned by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1592-1666)

• built to house tomb of favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal (1593-1631)

• mausoleums of his other wives are outside the complex's walls

• bldg. also contains Shah Jahan's tomb

• 42 acre complex includes a mosque & guesthouse

• project employed about 20,000 artisans

• led by the emperor's court architect Ustad Ahmad Lahauri

• Mughal Architecture

• Origins & Architecture of the Taj Mahal Architects & Craftsmen

• The Architecture of Love —Muslim Heritage

 

• surahs from the Quran in Arabic selected & inlaid by Persian calligrapher Abdul Haq, aka Amanat Khan (d. 1644-45), using a cursive script called Thuluth

 

• designated Unesco World Heritage Site for being "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage," reference # 252, 1983

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