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Agra,
medieval city with a population of about 1.4 million, situated at 27.18°N 78.02°E in the Ganges plain on the western bank of the Yamuna River in the State Uttar Pradesh. From the time Agra was the capital of the Mughal emperors from 1526 to 1658, the town possesses a massive red sandstone fort that now is a major tourist attraction. But first of all, Agra is the place to go when visiting the Taj Mahal.
Agra Fort was built under Mughal emperor Akhbar in 1565 as a military construction, and completed by his grandson Shah Jahan, who added buildings made of white marble, turning the fort into a palace containing spacious gardens. After 1658, when Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb seized the power, the red fort served as a gilded prison for Shah Jahan. From Agra Fort, visitors enjoy a splendid view over Yamuna River bed to the distant shiningly white marble dome of the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal was built by a creative team led by Persian architect Ustad Ahmad Lahauri for the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as the final resting place of his beloved wife. "In 1631 Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal's period of greatest prosperity, was griefstricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their daughter Gauhara Begum, their fourteenth child." - wikipedia
Construction of the Taj Mahal was begun soon after Mumtaz' death. The principal mausoleum was completed in 1648, and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished in 1653. Finished in white marvel, the perfectly symmetrical monuments took 22 years and the hard labour of 20,000 workers, masons and jewellers to be built high above the banks of Yamuna river surrounded by lush landscape gardens on a marvel platform above sandstone. The dome of the Taj, with a diameter of 60 feet, rises 80 feet and houses the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. Shah Jahan's tomb has been placed next to his wife's. Elaborate inlay works using semi-precious stones are decorating facades and interiors.
Considered to be the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles, the Taj Mahal has been listed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
The domed white marble mausoleum with its walkways beside reflecting pools is the most familiar part of the monument. Often named one of the seven wonders of the modern world, millions of tourists have visited the site, more than three million in 2004 - most of them from India, 200.000 from overseas. Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex. Visitors must either walk from the car parks or take an electric bus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agra
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_mahal