Taj

Some interesting things about the Taj. Taj Mahal was built as a monument of love for the Shah Jahan's wife who gave him like 13 children and died after 14 was born. Taj means "crown" just like in Tajikistan where the people speak Tajik. That is the first place I learned what Taj means. It was incredible to see the vast Persian influence here in India, particularly with the Taj. Everything is symmetrical and the entire building is made of white marble - unbreakable marble. The coloration in the marble is actually inlaid with semi-precious jewels. None of the pictures of the flowers or designs are painted - they are all inlaid sem-precious stones
No photographs were allowed inside the Taj, but on the inside were the tombs and around them a marble lattice, each panel made of one piece of marble. The craftsmanship was incredible. The Shah (king) Jahan (of the world) was definitely in love with his queen who was actually from Persia. He built this as a memorial for her with a guest house on one side and a mosque on the other side, both replicas of each other, again continuing the Persian ideal of symmetry in architecture. The Taj was actually an idea that originated from the tomb of the Shah Jahan's mother-in-law. This is the same design also with inlaid marble but not with semi-precious stones which is unique to the Taj. The Shah's plans were to build another Taj exactly like the first across the river that flows behind the Taj but before he could do so, his son imprisoned him in the Agra fort which overlooks the Taj also along the river. So the Shah lived out the end of his days gazing over the immaculate tomb that he built in the center of the kingdom he used to rule as a prisoner still mourning the death of his beloved wife.