Taj Mahal

Taj trivia:
When Mumtaz Mahal, whose beauty court poets wrote made the moon hide in shame, died in Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh (she had gone there with Shah Jahan. They were always together and he had gone to Burhanpur to quell a rebellion), delivering their 14th child, Shah Jahan went crazy with grief. He ceased to have interest in ruling India and mourned for two years while he thought of building the Taj Mahal. He found solace in creating a monument that would be the loveliest memorial ever.
It cost Shah Jahan Rs 32 million to build the Taj. That is a lot of money but Shah Jahan had enormous wealth from the immense amount of gems that were being mined in India (according to historians he had trunks and trunks of diamonds, sapphires and rubies). It took 16 years to complete the Taj. 20,000 workmen and 1,000 elephants constructed it. Workmen came from all over Asia for this job.
Ninety-nine names of god are scripted on Mumtaz Mahal's tomb.
The Taj Mahal is completely symmetrical except for the placement of Shah Jahan's tomb within (which was not in his plan).
Persian calligrapher Amanat Khan, who worked on the Taj Mahal, has signed his name in places.
Nearly every inch of the entire 55 metre high Taj Mahal is decorated. Twenty-eight types of precious and semi-precious stones are embedded in its white marble. Its marble is from Rajasthan.
A rumour persisted for years that British Governor General Lord William Bentinck planned to tear down the Taj Mahal and sell it for its marble. If he did have that plan, happily he abandoned it.
Rabindranath Tagore once wrote: Let the splendor of the diamond, pearl and ruby vanish like the magic shimmer of the rainbow. Only let this one teardrop, the Taj Mahal, glisten spotlessly bright on the cheek of time...
The Taj Mahal is the most popular destination in India.
Enthusiastic guides at the Taj Mahal will point out the 'Diana Bench' to you and suggest you take a photograph there. Princess Diana visited the Taj in February 1992 without Prince Charles, an early indication that all was not well in their marriage.