The Taj Mahal isn’t a castle, isn’t a mosque and neither is it a palace. It’s actually a mausoleum for the wife Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who commenced the building of the mausoleum in the memory of his beloved wife.

If Paris is the city of love, then the Taj Mahal is looked upon as the symbol of everlasting love. The Taj Mahal is seen as an architectural marvel, a source of admiration surrounding the culture and geography of India as well as a symbol of personal and emotional connection of love, loyalty and feelings of sorrow and happiness.

In 1983, the Taj as it is also known became a UNESCO World Heritage site and is cited as ‘the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.”  The Taj is built using Mughal architecture which contains a combination of architectural design elements such as the Persian, Ottoman, Indian and Islamic architectural art with workers, sculptors, calligraphers, in layers and stone cutters of the finest from Syria, Persia and Bukhara carving, sculpting and cutting day and night to produce the monument as we see it today.

Shah Jahan ordered the building of the Taj Mahal in 1632 and was completed in 1653. Each section, minaret, dome, wall and ceiling incorporates beautiful carvings and engravements by the era’s finest artisans and craftsmen. The principal designer of the Taj Mahal was credited to Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. Annually, the Taj Mahal attracts about two to four million visitors from all over the world with peak months during October, November and February. Just like all ancient structures like the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal is also prone to the dangers of pollution such as acid rain and erosion.