Hello,

The Taj Mahal was so amazing that I thought it warranted its own individual postcard. I was completely taken in by the story behind the Taj Mahal as well as the actual place; so here’s a brief summary about the history behind it….

• Emperor Shah Jahan had the Taj Mahal constructed in honour of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, to house her tomb. It is considered to be the ‘summation of Mughal architecture’, and is considered by some to be 1 of the 7 Wonders of the World.
• It took 22 years to complete and was funded with tax payer’s money! It is made of white marble transported 300km from Rajasthan and covered in intricate floral decorations carved into the marble and black marble Arabic calligraphy.
• The gardens and buildings were designed to be completely symmetrical. Mumtaz Muhal’s tomb is positioned in the centre of the Taj Mahal, and this provides the line of symmetry of the design. For example, there is a mosque to the west, and to keep the symmetry, an identical building is on the east – but this is only to maintain symmetry as it can’t be used as a mosque because it doesn’t face Mecca.
• Shah Jahan even planned that in the event of an earthquake, the building would not collapse. For example, the 4 minarets which surround the dome all lean outwards so that they would fall outwards.
• Shah Jahan apparently planned to build a similar tomb for himself in black marble opposite the Taj Mahal so that they could be linked by a bridge.
• However, his son Aurangzeb killed his brothers and imprisoned his father to assume power; and so Shah Jahan couldn’t realise his dream.
• Instead, Aurangzeb had his father’s tomb placed next to his mother’s in the Taj Mahal – thus ruining the symmetrical perfection that Shah Jahan had created!
• As such, the Taj Mahal is seen as a symbol of love and is visited by people from every religious background.

We approached the huge archway which was the entrance to the gardens, and caught a glimpse of the Taj Mahal through it, before we could see it in all its glory when we passed through. It was absolutely amazing; it was so impressive that I couldn’t take it in.

Our guide took us through the gardens and explained everything to us (as per my lesson to you above!), and we entered the main dome of the Taj Mahal to view the marble replicas of the two tombs. We then took our time to stroll around the outside and admire the architecture – it’s hard to convey just how big it is, but you can get an idea of the scale from my photos by how small I appear when stood just in one of the archways!

I could have stayed in the gardens all day and marveled at how magnificent it was; I now understand why some people consider the Taj Mahal to be 1 of the 7 Wonders of the World.