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India / Agra / Taj Mahal

Shahjehan built the Taj in memory of Mumtaz Mahal who died giving birth to their 14th child.

No cost was spared to make it the most beautiful monument the world had ever seen. White marble and red sandstone, silver and gold, carnelian and jasper, moonstone and jade, lapiz lazuli and coral were fashioned by 20,000 skilled workers to make the emperor's dream a reality: It took 22 years to complete - a symbol of eternal love where Shahjehan too lies buried, re-united at last with his beloved Mumtaz.

Set at the north end of a formal Persian garden with water courses, paved walkways and row of dark cypresses, the Taj rises on a high red sandstone base topped by a huge white marble terrace, its flawless double dome flanked by four tapering minarets. Within lies the jewel-inlaid cenotaph of the queen, ad a little to one side - the only asymmetrical feature in the Taj the richly decorated casket of the emperor. Both are enclosed by an octagonal screen of finely pierced marble so perfect are the proportions of the Taj, so exquisite its workmanship, that it has been described as having been designed by giants and finished by jewellers.

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