Taj Mahal in India – Mar. 18/12

Here’s the list of “The 7 Wonders of the World”

1. TAJ MAHAL IN INDIA

2. THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

3. THE COLOSSEUM IN ITALY

4. CHICHEN ITZA IN MEXICO

5. PETRA IN JORDON

6. CHRIST REDEEMER IN BRAZIL

7. MACHU PICCHU IN PERU

I remember looking at this list back in 2007 during my Vietnam trip. Then, I had already decided that I would eventually go and see them all. Today, I can’t believe I am actually looking at the Taj Mahal. It is amazing! It is magnificent! But, you kind of need to be here to understand what I am saying and appreciate it because looking at its pictures is just not the same as being here to witness it with your own eyes. Wow!!

Now, I am even more inspired to check out the other 4 Wonders of the World which I haven’t seen yet. So far, I’ve had the chance to see only 3 of the 7 in this list: the Great Wall of China, the Colosseum in Italy and now the Taj Mahal. I hope to see the rest of these 4 places before I turn 50.

This is what the book “Rajasthan, Delhi & Agra” has to say about Taj Mahal.

The Taj was build by Shah Jahan as a memorial for his 3rd wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631. The death of Mumtaz left the emperor so heartbroken that his hair is said to have turned grey virtually overnight. Construction of the Taj began the following year and, although the main building is thought to have been built in 8 years, the whole complex was not completed until 1653. Not long after it was finished, Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb and imprisoned in Agra Fort where, for the rest of his days, he could only gaze through a window out to look at the Taj Mahal where his wife was buried. Following his death in 1666, Shah Jahan was buried here alongside Mumtaz.

In total, some 20,000 people from India and Central Asia worked on the building. Specialists were brought in from as far away as Europe to produce the exquisite marble screens and pietra dura (marble inlay work) made with thousands of semiprecious stones.