18 unexpected facts about Taj Mahal

The symbolic work of this eternal love is famous for its gorgeous beauty and romantic story, but there are many other things, not everyone knows.

1 . King Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal to commemorate his third wife, Queen Mumtaz Mahal. She died at the birth of their 14th child at the age of 40, after 30 hours of labor.

2 . Four towers around the Taj Mahal are located farther away from the main building than usual, so that if they fall down, they will not harm the main mausoleum.

King Shah Jahan and queen Mumtaz Mahal.

3 . In the British colonial era, the garden around the tomb was renovated in a garden style in London. Earlier, the garden of Taj Mahal was planted with roses and narcissus.

4 . Taj Mahal has a cathedral and is still active. Every Friday, the tomb is closed so that believers can enter into prayer.

Cathedral inside the tomb.(Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen).

5 . According to legend, artists and architects involved in building the Taj Mahal were killed so that they could never 'build such a beautiful building'. But historians think they are only required to sign contracts.

6 . Taj Mahal is the image of King Shah Jahan about the residence of Queen Mumtaz in heaven.7. About 20,000 people worked around the clock for 22 years (1632-1653) to complete this giant tomb. The cost of building the Taj Mahal amounted to 320 million rupees (US $ 1 billion at the time).

7 . Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, who is considered the chief architect of the Taj Mahal, is not an Indian but a Persian from Iran.

Decorative motifs on the tomb wall.

8 . King Shah Jahan came to the tomb by sailing on the Yamuna River behind the Taj Mahal.

9 . Other wives of Shah Jahan and his most beloved servants were buried in mausoleums just outside the Taj Mahal.

10 . More than 1,000 elephants were used to transport heavy materials during the construction of the mausoleum.

The tomb is decorated with sophisticated and elegant motifs.

11 . There are 28 types of precious and semi-precious stones that are inlaid with marble at Taj Mahal. Turquoise is brought from Tibet, jade from China, white marble blocks - the main construction material - was brought from Rajasthan.13. After the Taj Mahal was completed, Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in 1658. The king could only watch Taj Mahal from the window for the last eight years of his life.

12 . The white marble section of the tomb is turning yellow due to high air pollution in Agra. Only electric vehicles are allowed to get close to the mausoleum and the government has announced an area of ​​over 10,000 square kilometers of environmental protection around the Taj Mahal to control pollution here.

This work is considered a symbol of eternal love.

13 . Taj Mahal is cracking at an alarming rate due to the shortage of groundwater below the building. The wooden foundation, previously submerged, is slowly rotting. Even the towers begin to tilt.

14 . At each time of the day, Taj Mahal has different colors. Many people believe that change is like a woman's character.

15 . In the 19th century, British soldiers had lost precious stones on the wall of the tomb. By the end of the 19th century, the British governor, Mr. Curzon, had requested reconstruction of the tomb and offered a large lamp hanging in the Taj Mahal.

The inscription on the tomb.

16 . India's Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, likens the Taj Mahal as a "tear on the cheek of time".

17 . The words on the tomb describe and praise Queen Mumtaz.

18 . After his death, Shah Jahan was taken to the Taj Mahal and rested beside his beloved wife.