Why is the taj mahal on the world heritage list
World Heritage Wonders - Taj Mahal (UNESCO/NHK World)
a building made by a Mughal Emperor to
give form to the love he felt for his
queen
monument for the beloved Taj Mahal
Agra northern India the glittering white
Taj Mahal towers towards the heavens
it was completed in the mid 17th century
at that time it was praised as exceeding
paradise in beauty
the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built under
the fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan the
soft curves of the white marble dome are
typical of Islamic architecture
the arches were built by piling up
stones that were arranged in beautiful
symmetry Islamic culture pervades the
Taj Mahal
to construct this tube the best
craftsmen in the Islamic world were
gathered the project would showcase the
Mughal empires prestige desert-dwelling
Muslims who advanced into India a Hindu
nation were the founders of the Mughal
Empire around a hundred years later the
Mughal Empire was at the peak of its
power with Shah Jahan as its ruler for
whom could he have built this giant
mausoleum in the very center sits the
stone coffin of shah jahan's queen Shah
Jahan built this mausoleum for his
beloved wife
Empress Mumtaz Mahal the Emperor's love
for her was boundless he even took her
with him to the battlefield
however after giving birth to their 14th
child at age 36 she passed away
the Emperor decorated his wife's coffin
with agate and Jade and enclosed it in
marble fretwork symbols of his deep love
for her then he fell into deep mourning
for his beloved Empress
a magnificent garden full of water and
beautiful greenery spreads out in front
so the Taj Mahal - desert-dwelling
Muslims it represented paradise
the gardens lawn is full of star-shaped
patterns and so other paved walkways in
Islam stars are a symbol of heaven the
emperor put stars everywhere hoping to
show his queen the way to get there
the Emperor despaired it is said his
beard instantly turned white and in his
last year's he was imprisoned in a
castle on the shore across from the Taj
Mahal by his own third son
the Emperor could see the tajmahal from
the castles tower gazing upon it and
thinking of his wife was his only
consolation
at 74 Shah Jahan's life came to a close
his body was placed near the Queens by
his third son the sixth Mughal emperor
the Emperor and his beloved side-by-side
again in the Taj Mahal
the Mughal Empire eventually collapsed
however the Taj Mahal the beacon of an
emperors love still shines it is part of
our shared global heritage
