This is a photo I have taken of a tower of the Taj Mahal on a previous trip. I have manipulated it, and applied some textures. Us crocs will visit the Taj Mahal in Agra again. Agra is a very dirty town, and you can actually see what you breathe in! That is why I thought the texture I put on the image is apt!
Please make a note: Never change your camera lens in Agra, your sensor will get very dirty.
But the Taj makes up for this. See how expensive they make it for foreigners!
http://www.tajmahal.org.uk/taj-mahal-facts.html
Year of Construction: 1631Completed In: 1653
Time Taken: 22 years
Built By: Shah Jahan
Dedicated to: Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum), the wife of Shah Jahan
Location: Agra (Uttar Pradesh)
Building Type: Islamic tomb
Architecture: Islamic
Cost of Construction: 32 crore rupees
Number of workers: 20,000
Highlights: One of the Seven Wonders of the World
A UNESCO World Heritage site
Timings: 6:00 am to 7:30 pm (Friday closed)
Fee: Rs 970 (Foreigners)
Rs 20 (Indians, during daytime)
Rs 110 (Indians, during sunrise and sunset)
Some more Taj Mahal trivia:
- Before his accession to the throne, Shah Jahan was popularly known as Prince Khurram.
- Shah Jahan fell in love with the beautiful Arjumand Bano Begum and married her, making her his third wife.
- Arjumand Bano Begum christened by Shah Jahan as Mumtaz Mahal, meaning the "chosen one".
- Shah Jahan lost Mumtaz Mahal when she got giving birth to their 14h child.
- It is believed that in her last breath Mumtaz secured a promise from Shah Jahan that he would construct the most beautiful monument in the her memory.
- For the transportation of the construction materials, more than 1,000 elephants were made use of.
- As many as 28 different varieties of semi-precious and precious stones were used to adorn the Taj with exquisite inlay work.
