India; Taj Mahal

In 1607 Shahab-un-din, the 15 year old son of the Mughal emperor was betrothed to 14 year old Arjumand Banu Begum. 24 years later Arjumand died while giving birth to her 14th child and her husband promised that he would build her a tomb without equal. A year later work began on the greatest monument to love the world has ever seen: the Taj Mahal.

Shahab-ud-din was renamed Shah Jahan by his father and when he married Arjumand he gave her the title Mumtaz Mahal, meaning “Chosen One of the Palace”. Mumtaz Mahal was Shah Jahan's trusted companion and court historians went to great lengths to describe the intensity and intimacy of their relationship. Despite Shah Jahan having taken two wives before marrying Mumtaz Mahal the chief chronicler of the court describes Shah Jahan's feelings for his third wife as being “a thousand times what he felt for any other”.

Regarded as being one of the seven wonders of the modern world and finest architecture in India, the Taj Mahal took over twenty years to build with craftsmen from across the empire bringing together white marble with twenty eight types of precious and semi precious stones. Legend has it that a thousand elephants and twenty thousand men took part in the transportation of materials and construction of the tomb. The cost of the construction in 1648 was 32 million rupees; a figure which exceeds that of the “Downtown Dubai” in 2008 which included the Burj Dubai and had a budget of $20 billion.

The Taj Mahal is often “described” as indescribable and many people claim that even photographs don’t do the magnificent structure justice. If you were to transport Nelson's Column from Trafalgar Square and place it next to the Taj, the highest tip of Lord Nelson's tri-cornered hat would still be over forty feet below the top of the dome. The majesty of the Taj comes not only because it is made primarily of marble but the walls are intricately decorated with motifs, calligraphy, inlays, pierce work, lapidary and mosaics.

When Mumtaz Mahal was interred in the Taj her casket was placed in the precise centre of the crypt, an act which brought every architectural detail of the entire project into perfect symmetry. It was only when the casket of Shah Jahan was placed alongside by his son Aurangzeb that the symmetry was broken.

India; The Taj Mahal Today

Today the Taj Mahal attracts between 2 and 4 million tourists a year and a vote in the early twenty first century saw the site become one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. To India the Taj Mahal is a symbol of national pride which is why there are stringent security measures in place for its protection. Everything Travel advises its customers that only five items are allowed to be brought onto the site by visitors; water in clear plastic bottles, small video cameras, stills cameras, mobile phones (turned off) and small ladies purses. Facilities are provided for the storage of other items but the cloakroom is often over filled and to ensure the best experience of India's magnificent Taj Mahal we recommend avoiding taking excess baggage.