Taj Mahal

The first thing that most people think of when someone says India is the Taj Mahal. Unfortunately, it seems that most people have little true knowledge about the Taj. The Taj was built by Shah Jahan, a Mughal Emperor, as a final resting place for his wife, Mumtaz, in the 1630s. It took 1,000s of people 22 years to complete. There is no paint used in the Taj, only white marble and semi-precious stones. The marble is all translucent, when you shine your flashlight on it, you can see through it. There are verses from the Quran etched around the enterances of the building. When you look at the building the calligraphy all looks the same size, but actually the calligraphy gets larger as it moves up away from the ground. Ingenious! The minarets (tall towers) around the Taj are not built straight. Instead, they were designed to lean away from the main monument so that if they were to fall they would not harm the main structure. The engineers who designed the monument were ingenious. They took many precautions to ensure that the masouleum would last for eternity. The foundation of the Taj is practically floating on the river behind it. This way, if there is an earthquake, the building will be able to move with the earth instead of cracking and falling apart. Honestly, I don't think I've ever been more enamoured of a building in my life. It's kinda like the ultimate love story - what woman doesn't want a guy to build her an enormous monument so that he can always remember her?!?! That's the way to get a girl!