Seven Things You Did Not Know About The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is a world-famous monument, but people don’t know much about its history. This statement is not true? Do you think that you are an expert on the magnificent mausoleum and its history? Here are a few things that will prove you wrong.

1. Agra gets lucky

You read that right! Agra wasn’t the first choice for the Taj Mahal. Mumtaz was temporarily buried in a town called Burhanpur, located in present-day Madhya Pradesh. Shah Jahan may have already cleared a plot of land for the construction. The area lacked the white marble needed for construction. Agra, therefore, was chosen as the location for the magnificent structure.

2. It’s calamity-proof

The four minarets that flank the mausoleum were slightly tilted away from the center. The minarets were built so that they would not fall off the Taj in the event of an earthquake. The architects of the Taj wanted it to be a lasting structure.

3. This is not perfect

It turns out that the Taj Mahal is not as perfect as it appears. Shah Jahan’s tomb, which was added to the monument many years after its construction, introduced asymmetry into an otherwise perfectly-symmetrical structure.

4. Yamuna is the reason it has survived

The Taj Mahal’s foundation, made of wood, should have collapsed years ago. The Yamuna River, which gushes nearby, has kept the foundation moist and solid, allowing people from the younger generations to marvel at the mausoleum. The authorities in charge of its preservation are concerned about the dry land beneath the structure.

5. Shah Jahan was only able to visit the monument after his demise

It is possible to buy cheap domestic flights and admire the building whenever you like. The person who built the Taj did not. Shah Jahan was under house arrest for the last few years of his lifetime and only saw the Taj from afar. He was not reunited until after his death with his wife. Both remain buried beneath the inner chamber in the monument’s crypt.

6. Shah Jahan has spent billions of dollars

Shah Jahan spent 32 million rupees on the construction of the Taj Mahal. Today, this is equivalent to approximately 1 billion USD. Imagine the money spent on one monument.

7. It is likely that the artisans who worked on this were not amputated

Many believe that Shah Jahan amputated the hands of the 20,000 workers that built the Taj so that such a magnificent structure could never be recreated. It is likely that this myth is true, as its chief architect Ustad Ahmed Lahauri worked on other projects after completing the Taj.

Did you know all these facts about the Taj Mahal? You should book a flight to the Taj if you haven’t yet seen the beauty of the structure.