Taj Mahal, Agra

The Taj Mahal (lit. Crown of the Palace) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra.

It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned from 1628 to 1658) to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself.

The tomb is the centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.

Approaching the Taj Mahal.
India's most famed building, the Taj Mahal is situated in the eastern part of Agra city on the southern (right) bank of the Yamuna River, about 1.6 km (1 mi) east of the Agra Fort, also on the right bank of the Yamuna.

Taking an electric bus.
Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex and tourists must either walk from parking areas or catch an electric bus.

Queuing for the ticket office.
The Taj Mahal attracts a large number of tourists. UNESCO documented more than 2 million visitors in 2001, which had increased to about 7–8 million in 2014.

Walking to the Forecourt (Jilaukhana).

Main Gateway from southwest.
The main gateway is here to be seen from the southwest.

Main Gateway (Darwaza).
The Main Gateway (Darwaza) is a monumental structure built primarily of marble, and reminiscent of the Mughal architecture of earlier emperors.

Its archways mirror the shape of the tomb's archways, and its pishtaq arches incorporate the calligraphy that decorates the tomb.
It utilises bas-relief and pietra dura inlaid decorations with floral motifs.
The vaulted ceilings and walls have elaborate geometric designs like those found in the other sandstone buildings in the complex.

Taj Mahal Plan.
The planning and structure of the Taj Mahal, from the building itself to the gardens and beyond, is symbolic of Mumtaz Mahal's mansion in the garden of Paradise.

The Taj seen from the Main Gate.
Symbolic of Islamic teachings, the plan of the worldly side is a mirror image of the otherworldly side, and the main gate in the middle represents the transition between the two worlds.

Taj Mahal shrouded in morning mist.

Walkways beside reflecting pool.
The complex is set around a large 300 m (980 ft) square charbagh or Mughal garden.

The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four-quarters of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds.

On top of the first platform.
On top of the platform where the Taj Mahal, the mosque and the guest house are located.

Taj Mahal seen from the west.
Note that the Taj Mahal and the four minarets are perched on a plinth.

Climbing onto the plinth.
Climbing up to the plinth, upon which the Tal Mahal rests.

South wall and Great Gate.
The exterior decorations of the Taj Mahal are among the finest in Mughal architecture. As the surface area changes, the decorations are refined proportionally.

The decorative elements were created by applying paint, stucco, stone inlays or carvings.
In line with the Islamic prohibition against the use of anthropomorphic forms, the decorative elements can be grouped into either calligraphy, abstract forms or vegetative motifs.
Throughout the complex are passages from the Qur'an that comprise some of the decorative elements.
The calligraphy on the Great Gate reads "O Soul, thou art at rest. Return to the Lord at peace with Him, and He at peace with you."

Flowers carved in marble.
On the lower walls of the tomb are white marble dados sculpted with realistic bas relief depictions of flowers and vines.

The marble has been polished to emphasise the exquisite detailing of the carvings.

Yamuna River.
The Taj Mahal garden is unusual in that the main element, the tomb, is located at the end of the garden. With the discovery of Mahtab Bagh or "Moonlight Garden" on the other side of the Yamuna, the interpretation of the Archaeological Survey of India is that the Yamuna river itself was incorporated into the garden's design and was meant to be seen as one of the rivers of Paradise.

Northwest minaret.
In the distance you can see the Agra Fort.

The minarets, which are each more than 40 metres (130 ft) tall, display the designer's penchant for symmetry.
They were designed as working minarets – a traditional element of mosques, used by the muezzin to call the Islamic faithful to prayer.
Each minaret is effectively divided into three equal parts by two working balconies that ring the tower.
At the top of the tower is a final balcony surmounted by a chattri that mirrors the design of those on the tomb. The chattris all share the same decorative elements of a lotus design topped by a gilded finial.
The minarets were constructed slightly outside of the plinth so that in the event of collapse, a typical occurrence with many tall constructions of the period, the material from the towers would tend to fall away from the tomb.

Mosque.
At the far end of the complex are two grand red sandstone buildings that mirror each other, and face the sides of the tomb. The backs of the buildings parallel the western and eastern walls. The western building is a mosque and the other is the jawab (answer), thought to have been constructed for architectural balance although it may have been used as a guesthouse.

Distinctions between the two buildings include the jawab's lack of a mihrab (a niche in a mosque's wall facing Mecca), and its floors of geometric design whereas the floor of the mosque is laid with outlines of 569 prayer rugs in black marble.
The mosque's basic design of a long hall surmounted by three domes is similar to others built by Shah Jahan, particularly the Masjid-i Jahan-Numa, or Jama Masjid, Delhi.
The Mughal mosques of this period divide the sanctuary hall into three areas comprising a main sanctuary and slightly smaller sanctuaries on either side. At the Taj Mahal, each sanctuary opens onto an expansive vaulting dome. The outlying buildings were completed in 1643.

Southwest minaret.

The garden seen from the Taj Mahal.
The garden seen from the plinth (top) and from the platform (bottom).

The complex is set around a large 300-metre (980 ft) square charbagh or Mughal garden.
The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four-quarters of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds.
Halfway between the tomb and gateway in the centre of the garden is a raised marble water tank with a reflecting pool positioned on a north–south axis to reflect the image of the mausoleum. The elevated marble water tank is called al Hawd al-Kawthar in reference to the "Tank of Abundance" promised to Muhammad.

Taj Mahal seen from the southeast.

Taj Mahal (right) and the mosque (left).

A craftsman repairs a damaged stone.
Recent threats have come from environmental pollution on the banks of the Yamuna River including acid rain.

Concerns for the tomb's structural integrity have recently been raised because of a decline in the groundwater level in the Yamuna river basin which is falling at a rate of around 1.5 m (5 ft) per year.