August 30, 2010

Taj Mahal Trivia - 15 things I didn't know about Taj Mahal until last week

Been to Taj Mahal yesterday, to be very honest  I was more surprised by the vision of Shah Jahan than the building it self.




 Eleven mini tombs on front and 11 on back  represents the number of years it took to build Taj Mahal – 22


Another nice view, If you step forward and see Taj from the main gate you feel like Taj is going back when you step backward you feel Taj is closer to you


 moon represents Islam and the trishul represents Hinduism


 The most popular point in Taj complex to take photos is know as Diana Point because Princess Diana spent 2 hours there and gave poses to Media



22 steps in main entrance block again to represent the number of years it took to build taj

All chapters of Islam on Taj walls


 Artisitic expression to Mumtaz - The crown (Taz) and the yellow flowers (mum)

 Om symbols inside Taj and if you actually read it in other way it mean Allah in arabic



 Shah Jahan planned to build the second monument here. He spent 4 or 6 crore rupees in those days to build Taj Mahal

8 blocks of gardens on each side of Taj and 53 fountains represent the year of finishing Taj - 1653


View from Agra fort where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb. He was worried of the financial implications of building one more monument and decided to arrest his dad. How did he did it? Simple, he cut down water supply to agra fort and shajahan surrendered in matter of days. Shah Jahan used to see Taj from his prison via Kohinoor Diamond !!

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