Ancient Mausoleums: Taj Mahal

When our beloved people died, what would we do to memorize her or him? Writing an article, sing a song for them or mourn their death in our heart. These are the ways to show our respects and our love for them. But in the ancient time, king could do more than that. A king could build mausoleum. Taj Mahal is this kind of mausoleum. It's a symbol of love. In addition, it's also a way to get to know the country's culture. We can see the characteristics in culture blending.
Taj Mahal was said to be the most perfect building in the world. Lots of scholars wrote wonderful articles for it, not only for its magnificent building but also for the love in the court. This beautiful building is a great royal mausoleum which was built by Shah Jahan for memorizing his queen, Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz Mahal, meaning crown palace, was a name given by Shah Jahan. Mumtaz Mahal died for childbirth when she was on the way to a battlefield with Shah Jahan. Before she died, she asked king to build a mausoleum and never marry other women. The king began to build the mausoleum after the year of queen's death. It cost twenty-two years and twenty-two thousand workers to construct the monument.

The picture of Mumtaz Mahal

Taj Mahal stands on a raised, square platform with its four corners truncated, forming an unequal octagon. The whole building is built by white marble. Its central dome is crowned by a gilded spire or finial. The finial, made of gold until the early 1800s, is now made of bronze. The finial provides a clear example of integration of traditional Persian and Hindu decorative elements.
→Inlay detail, which use precious gems

The bronze finial, which used to be made of gold←
The finial is topped by a moon, a typical Islamic motif, whose horns point heavenward.

→Calligraphy on large pishtaq

The entire mausoleum is decorated with inlaid design of flowers and calligraphy using precious gems such as agate and jasper. The main archways, chiseled with passages from the Holy Koran(Qur'an) and the bold scroll work of flowery pattern, give a captivating charm to its beauty. The central domed chamber and four adjoining chambers include many walls and panels of Islamic decoration. Beside the Taj, there are a mosque and a guest house whose function is to fit the concept of symmetry and balance.

At the corners of the plinth stand four minarets which are constructed slightly outside of the plinth. In the event of collapse, a typical occurrence with many such tall constructions of the period, the material from the towers would tend to fall away from the tomb. In front of the mausoleum, there is a garden. The garden uses raised pathways that divide each of the four quarters of the garden into 16 sunken parterres or flowerbeds. A raised marble water tank at the center of the garden, halfway between the tomb and gateway, with a reflecting pool on North-South axis reflects the image of the Taj Mahal. Elsewhere, the garden is laid out with avenues of trees and fountains. The charbagh garden, a design inspired by Persian gardens, symbolizes four flowing rivers of Paradise and reflects the gardens of Paradise derived from the Persian paridaeza, meaning 'walled garden'.

This is Mughal garden

Taj Mahal is so magnificent that the UN had recognized as the new seven wonders in the world. For tourists, it's one of the most beautiful sites that can't be missed. For scholars, it's the best place to study for there are lots of culture elements in it. However, it's in danger because of the industry pollution. The white marble building is gradually getting destroyed. Maybe in the future, it wouldn't be as pure as the picture in the texts and records. But the love story between Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal would be passed down forever. It's really romantic, but it's also cruel because it cost a lot of labors and substances. Nevertheless, as a tourist, I think it's still the best place for visiting.