Facts About The Taj Mahal

• Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, in the memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
• Apart from being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
• The name Taj Mahal, with Taj meaning Crown and Mahal meaning Palace, literally means ‘Crown Palace’.
• The construction work on Taj Mahal was started in the year 1632 and carried on for the next 16 years, ending in 1648.
• It is believed that 20,000 workmen, who worked on a daily basis, were involved in the construction of Taj Mahal.
• Taj Mahal is made purely of white marble, which was brought from the quarries of Makrana, in Nagaur district of Rajasthan.
• It is said that as many as 1000 elephants were used to transport the white marbled used in construction of Taj Mahal.
• The main entrance gate of Taj Mahal faces the Southern gate and is 151 feet by 117 feet. It rises to a height of 100 feet.
• A very popular myth surrounding the Taj Mahal is that after its construction, Shah Jahan ordered amputation of the hands of all the workers. It is said that he wanted to make sure that no person on this earth will ever be able to recreate the magic of ‘Taj’.
• The cost of construction of Taj Mahal, even at that time, came to 32 crore rupees.
• The inlay work in the Taj Mahal has been done with 28 kind of rare, semi precious and precious stones.
• Shah Jahan got Red sandstone from Fatehpur Sikri, Jasper from Punjab, Jade and Crystal from China, Turquoise from Tibet, Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire from Sri Lanka, Coal and Cornelian from Arabia and Diamonds from Panna, for Taj Mahal.
• The calligrapher of Taj Mahal was Amanat Khan Shirazi, since his name appears at the end of an inscription on one of the gates of the Taj.
• The main red sandstone gate of Taj Mahal is 30 feet high and stands adorned with verses from the Koran, in Arabic.
• The central dome of Taj Mahal is 187 feet high at the centre.
• The architecture of Taj Mahal represents a kind of fusion of Persian, Central Asian and Islamic architecture.
• The main building of Taj Mahal is surrounded by gardens known as Charbagh (four gardens), measuring 300 X 300 mt.
• Taj Mahal stands on a raised platform, with one minaret at each of the four corners of the plinth.
• The minarets of Taj Mahal measure 41.6 m in height and have a deliberate outward slant.
• The interior of the Taj Mahal comprises of a lofty central chamber, which has a crypt immediately below it.
• There is a mosque on the left of Taj Mahal, made of red sandstone. It is used for conducting Friday prayers, even today.

There is another mosque, standing on Taj Mahal’s right hand side. Since it faces west, it is not used for prayers. It is believed to have been built for maintaining symmetry