The Facts About Taj Mahal

The Facts About Taj Mahal

Fast facts:

Year of Construction: 1631

Completed In: 1653

Commissioner: Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan Alamgir

Height of Dome: 35 Meters

Height of Minarets: 40 Meters

Length of Pedestal: 55 Meters

Circumference: 30 Meters

Breadth of Pedestal: 55 Meters

Time Taken: 22 years

Built By: Shah Jahan

Dedicated to: Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum), the wife of Shah Jahan

Location: Agra (Uttar Pradesh), India

Building Type: Islamic tomb

Architecture: Mughal (Combination of Persian, Islamic and Indian architecture style)

Architect: Ustad Ahmad Lahauri

Cost of Construction: 32 crore rupees

Number of workers: 20,000

Highlights: One of the Seven Wonders of the World; A UNESCO World Heritage Site

Timings: Sunrise to Sunset (Friday closed)

Fee: Rs 750 (Foreign Tourists)

Rs 510 (Citizens of SAARC & BIMSTEC Countries)

Rs 20 (Domestic Indian Tourists)

No Entry Fee for children below 15 years of age (Domestic or Foreigner)

Some more Facts:

The pillars surrounding Taj Mahal are slightly tilted outwards so that in the event of an earthquake they will fall away from the tomb.
Emperor ordered to chop off the hands of the workers who had constructed the Taj Mahal so no one could make anything like it.
It is believed that the cost 35 million rupees to build the Taj Mahal. (That would be about 1 million dollars in American money).
Some important studies feel that the Taj Mahal is sinking.
Before his accession to the throne, Shah Jahan was popularly known as Prince Khurram.
Over 1,000 elephant were used to transport building materials during the construction.
It took 22 years and 22,000 people to complete the Taj Mahal.
Taj Mahal attracts 2-4 million visitors annually with over 200,000 from overseas.
In all, 28 types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble.
Taj Mahal appears pink in the morning, white in the day and changes its color to golden in the moon light.
One of the less common known Taj Mahal facts is that many jewels and semi precious gems were used to decorate the structure. Over the years and through a number of wars and pillages these jewels were removed, but you can still see where they were
Passages from Quran have been used as decorative elements throughout the complex.