Taj Mahal History Channel
Taj Mahal mausoleum and mosque Red sandstone mosque (left, west) and mausoleum, in the Taj Mahal complex, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. © Ron Gatepain A tradition relates that Shah Jahān originally intended to build another mausoleum across the river to house his own remains.
That structure was to have been constructed of black marble, and it was to have been connected by a bridge to the Taj Mahal. He was deposed in 1658 by his son, however, and was imprisoned for the rest of his life in Agra Fort. Layout and architecture Resting in the middle of a wide 23 feet (7 metres) high, the mausoleum proper is of white marble that reflects hues according to the intensity of sunlight or moonlight.
It has four nearly identical facades, each with a wide central arch rising to 108 feet (33 metres) at its apex and chamfered (slanted) corners incorporating smaller arches. The majestic central dome, which reaches a height of 240 feet (73 metres) at the tip of its, is surrounded by four lesser domes. The acoustics inside the main dome cause the single note of a flute to reverberate five times. The interior of the mausoleum is organized around an octagonal marble chamber ornamented with low-relief carvings and semiprecious stones ( pietra dura).
Taj Mahal History Channel
Therein are the cenotaphs of Mumtāz Maḥal and Shah Jahān. Those false tombs are enclosed by a finely wrought marble screen. Beneath the tombs, at garden level, lie the true sarcophagi. Standing gracefully apart from the central building, at each of the four corners of the square plinth, are elegant minarets.
Black Taj Mahal History
The Taj Mahal at sunrise, Agra, India. © Galyna Andrushko/Shutterstock.com (image digitally enhanced) Flanking the mausoleum near the northwestern and northeastern edges of the garden, respectively, are two symmetrically identical buildings—the mosque, which faces east, and its jawab, which faces west and provides balance. Built of red Sikri with marble-necked domes and, they contrast in both colour and texture with the mausoleum’s white marble. The garden is set out along classical Mughal lines—a square quartered by long watercourses (pools)—with walking paths, fountains, and ornamental trees.
Enclosed by the walls and structures of the complex, it provides a striking approach to the mausoleum, which can be seen reflected in the garden’s central pools. The southern end of the complex is graced by a wide red sandstone gateway with a recessed central arch two stories high. White marble paneling around the arch is inlaid with black and floral designs. The main arch is flanked by two pairs of smaller arches.
Crowning the northern and southern facades of the gateway are matching rows of white chattris ( chhattris; cupola-like structures), 11 to each facade, accompanied by thin ornamental minarets that rise to some 98 feet (30 metres). At the four corners of the structure are octagonal towers capped with larger chattris. Taj Mahal: main gateway Gateway to the Taj Mahal complex, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.
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© Ron Gatepain Two notable decorative features are repeated throughout the complex: pietra dura. As embodied in the Mughal craft, (Italian: “hard stone”) incorporates the inlay of semiprecious stones of various colours, including, and amethyst, in highly formalized and intertwining geometric and floral designs. The colours serve to moderate the dazzling expanse of the white Makrana marble. Under the direction of Amānat Khan al-Shīrāzī, verses from the were inscribed across numerous sections of the Taj Mahal in calligraphy, central to Islamic artistic tradition. One of the inscriptions in the sandstone gateway is known as Daybreak (89:28–30) and invites the faithful to enter paradise. Calligraphy also encircles the soaring arched entrances to the mausoleum proper. To ensure a uniform appearance from the vantage point of the terrace, the lettering increases in size according to its relative height and distance from the viewer.
Taj Mahal: marble portal A marble portal of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. © TMAX/Fotolia Current issues Over the centuries the Taj Mahal has been subject to neglect and decay. A major restoration was carried out at the beginning of the 20th century under the direction of, then the British of India. More recently, caused by emissions from foundries and other nearby factories and exhaust from motor vehicles has damaged the mausoleum, notably its marble facade.
A number of measures have been taken to reduce the threat to the monument, among them the closing of some foundries and the installation of pollution-control equipment at others, the creation of a parkland buffer zone around the complex, and the banning of nearby vehicular traffic. A restoration and research program for the Taj Mahal was initiated in 1998. Progress in improving environmental conditions around the monument has been slow, however. From time to time the Taj Mahal has been subject to India’s political.
Night viewing was banned there between 1984 and 2004 because it was feared that the monument would be a target of Sikh militants. In addition, it increasingly has come to be seen as an Indian cultural symbol. Some Hindu nationalist groups have attempted to diminish the importance of the Muslim influence in accounting for the origins and design of the Taj Mahal.