The Tomb that is as Big as a Palace: The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world, is truly deserving of its title. It is definitely a wonder. On my way to Agra, I had no idea what I was about to experience. I did not expect it to be so vast and massive. Not only was the Taj Mahal an amazing sight to behold, it also has quite an interesting story behind it.

Seeing the Taj Mahal was a dream come true. It felt like I was walking straight into a fairytale. The beautiful white structure glowed so brightly, that it blinded you as you walked toward it. Gorgeous green grass and trees surrounded the path and the touch of fog made it look like heaven on earth. This whole breath-taking picture was reflected in a crystal clear lake directly in front of the Taj Mahal, making the scene picture perfect. Of course, no amount of words or pictures could ever describe what it is like to see it in person.

Now that you sort of have an idea of what the Taj Mahal looks like, I’m going to talk about some of it’s history. The Taj Mahal began when the wife of emperor Shah Jahan passed away hundreds of years ago. He built this humongous structure to house his wife’s remains. This giant mausoleum was named after Mumtaz Mahal. It was constructed of white marble and inlaid with a variety of precious stones, including jade and ruby. Inside the main dome is a false tomb with beautiful carvings and colorful stones. However, the real remains of the emperor’s wife lay deep underground. Other parts of the complex include a red sandstone entry gate and a mosque. Twenty years of labor later, the Taj Mahal was complete.

Today, over three million people visit here annually. Carvings on the Taj Mahal are still clearly visible and the gemstones have yet to lose their vibrant colors. The only sad part is that the the Taj Mahal used to have solid gold everywhere, but Britain invaded and stole all of it many years ago.

I honestly never saw myself getting to see and touch the Taj Mahal, so the experience was pretty overwhelming. I thought that I would wake up at any second and it all have been a dream, but it was for real. This is really my life and I am so grateful that I get to do what I do. I would not want to live any other way. Being only a small part of my India adventure, I will share the rest in my next post.